A treehouse with no ladder? Apparently that is now the case. I’ve consistently recommended the Gamerchix treehouse to women that are Xbox LIVE newcomers as it’s a safe and secure space to meet and talk about games with other women while still encased within the Xbox forums. As of last week, I was still finding women in the general forums and referring them to the Chix, only to find out that they are not accepting new members.
There has been struggle and turmoil along the way since the Gamerchix founders opened the Treehouse. Men hated that women had a segregated space, lesbians could speak freely in our forums while homosexual men had no outlet to call their own, and general drama that just happens when you put that many women together in one spot, all put storm clouds over what should have been a bright sunny space. It still had its rays of sunshine though, particularly for the newcomers where they could say “Hey, I need some friends on my list” and not be bombarded with ten million comments about A/S/L and a couple of penis shots.
I know the men reading this are wondering if it’s really that bad. I guarantee you, it is.
When your first experiences on LIVE are like that, it’s easy to want to never come back. I’m positive the Gamerchix kept women coming back to Xbox and money flowing from people that might have otherwise turned their backs on the company.
The founders recently opened a site called Popchix which is similar to the Gamerchix Treehouse but allows for more expression from the group as they weren’t allowed to expand the treehouse beyond what it is now. It’s a great site and I’ll be recommending women to go there but it’s really sad that something all the women worked so hard to build is stunted in it’s growth as the community was well established and thriving.
So, if you see a woman in the forums looking for a place to call her own – Gamerchix is no longer an option. Instead of sending her a shot of your Junk, be nice and send her to one of the female gaming sites. Although there are plenty to choose from I’d recommend Popchix and also GamingAngels. I talk to women from both of the sites regularly and they are friendly, honest, and have years of knowledge behind them. All of them are ready to help as you navigate your journey through the gaming world.
It’s a scary place sometimes but you’ll have thousands of women that will have your back. You just might have to dig a little harder to find them now.
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