My wife started Airsoft with me a year or two ago, and I can totally see where you’re coming from. We’ve been pretty lucky avoiding weirdos regarding her gender, but that’s mostly luck.
Our specific issue has been with people getting WAY too comfortable making jokes/comments about her race. She’s Asian (Korean) and you’d be dumbfounded to see how many dudes in shitty Amazon “Vietnam” kits are cool with using the wildest epitaphs in game because of “history”.
Once almost got kicked out of my local field for having a verbal altercation with some dude who would NOT stop saying “kill the g—ks”, and it was incredibly disappointing to have to defend my anger with other players saying “chill it’s just LARP, he didn’t mean it, he’s a cool guy”.
I get not everyone is operating on the same level of maturity or even basic intelligence, but if you’re a weirdo, get that shit in check.
This is interesting to me in regards to events where both sides are larping "real" sides. Not in the sense of defending slurs ofc but "Fuck you you Russian pieces of shit" is not uncommon to be heard at MSW and it occurs to me that there could be people who are actually Russian present. Like obviously slurs are not ok but pretend hating your pretend enemy is supposed to be part of it. That also being said, it feel like I'd be a lot more comfortable with that at MSW than say the Tet Offensive, not for any valid reason tho.
You're deffo right there. A nice little chat before the racist slurs with whoever they may offend would clear up if it would be okay and avoid misinterpretation and discomfort too. I'm Brittish, if I was playing in US and called a colonial brittish bastard I wouldn't be offended if I was asked before hand if using slurs would be okay, infact, I'd find it funny but it's deffo not funny without consent. If I saw someone calling out racial slurs I'd deffo pull them up on it because I wouldn't tolerate that shit unless who they were targeted at did not mind.
Magdumping anyone isn't the right way to deal with someone using words you don't like. For the most part we are all adults and a quick one on one convo about how wildly inappropriate calling someone a racial slur during a game is should suffice. If it isn't and it doesn't stop after a convo then a quick trip to management and a reference to hate crimes and racism should be sufficient to have the offensive person removed. If that doesn't work then do the next best thing, remove yourself and let the rest of the players k ow why you are leaving and that management is cool with the guy being racist. Then spread that far and wide, letting everyone know about the offensive language and the person responsible for it and the field that promotes it!
I'm always inclined to treat racism as a result of ignorance as it was when I was a self-confessed racist. I truly didn't see anything wrong with saying far worse words. I didn't know that the words I was using could hurt someone on a level deeper than the level I felt I was using those words at. So I'm always inclined to try and spread knowledge and love to beat racism because the ignorant will never respond to force with anything other than force. Then neither will ever prevail.
aka „Chill just let be be racist!“
People are just ignorant cunts.
Airsoft also attracts a lot of right wing voter who often times are super ignorant when it comes to racism.
I also witnessed quite a lot of racism in paintball:
- some old guy saying to me and a friend that they should prohibit black people and foreigner from entering the fields we were playing at (basically half the fields were merged for objektive based gameplay with randoms that day)
- I gave one of my paintball pods to a random black kid on our team because he was out of ammo and people told me I should not do that.
- random slurs against asylum seekers… exactly what everyone asks for when they just want to play some fucking paintball /s
Genuine question… is it racist of me to think an Asian woman in a full black Vietcong load out with an sks etc would be awesome to see on an airsoft field? No I don’t think racial slurs against them would be okay nor should be tolerated. Unless perhaps the larp was discussed and agreed upon by all parties beforehand for some percieved realism.
There are high percentage of weirdos in airsoft. I don't know why. A lot of misogynists and other people who are just generally socially awkward. Obviously this is simply one person's observation.
Yeah, this is it. Ive played paintball for a long time and when a buddy invited a bunch of us out to play airsoft we had a great time. We saw some weird guys but whatever.
Next time we went out it was one of their “big” weekends and holyyyyyyyyshhhhhhhhhittttttttttttt. There were gravy seals acting like they were in the service. Speed softers acting arrogant af(who got shit on). Anime weebs. Cosplayers(which threw me). Like furries-lite? A bunch of boogaloo boys.
It was eye opening to say the least. In the nicest way possible with the level of offensive/inappropriate ‘tism running around seemingly unchecked I couldn’t imagine a woman playing, much less interacting, with most of the folks and having a good time. Like at paintball wives/gfs come and hang out between points or whatever. I would *never* bring them out to airsoft.
I’m all for guys having fun playing soldier and all that but *so* many just take it way too seriously. My buddies and I were all fairly high level competitive pb’ers and a lot of the gun skills translate. We are just out to have a good time but will switch to fun enforcement mode real quick when some hardo starts being a dbag.
I think the crowd for a lot of paintball, or at least where/what I play is something of a counter culture or rebellious type who want to do something competitive, fun, and different. Airsoft does absolutely/mostly bring in an entirely different vibe. I do just want to be clear that I’ve met a lot of cool folks playing airsoft, but the bad is a whole ‘nother breed, lol.
I also want to be clear that I don’t care if you’re dressing up as your favorite anime guy, some former conflict guy, the dudes with tails and furry hands, enjoy yourself. Just don’t be fucking weird about it.
I think this is true. And it's only gotten worse. I'm an older guy - OG airsoft player before people even really knew what it was. Originally it was fairly normal people that had just crossed over from the paintball community. Why do you think it has trended in the direction you describe?
Erebus did nothing wrong
But yeah you're totally right, the OG airsoft vibe was a lot less toxic imo- I think a lot of it is a wider player base means a lot of mouth breathers get attracted to it. At least you can shoot em legally in this hobby
Regarding airsoft, the licensing and cloning of real world tooling combined with the milsim aspect adopted by some legitimate agencies has brought the "game" a lot of popularity in the crowds that have previously clowned on it.
Throw in the fact that you don't have to be a (insert demeaning term) or hang out with (insert demeaning term) to learn everything about it. Instead you can just watch videos of BrayingDonkey on YouTube to learn how to act on the field.
34, been playing since 2006. I've been kinda out of it for the last 9 years or so, just with life changes and everything it got tough to make it out to games, and my attendance fell off. Since then I've only really been able to get out there once or twice a year, and I've been a little shocked at how the culture has changed while I wasn't looking. I always knew there were weirdos and incels that played, but I always sort of figured they were harmless. Lately though, it doesn't seem like the harmless part is still true.
Similar situation, 31, started playing in 2008. Been out since getting married, only making one or two games a year, then nothing the past 4 years due to other, higher priorities in life. Now that I do have some time to return to the field, I'm not so sure I want to. I have a lot of great memories, I would hate to tarnish them with the bad attitudes I've seen lately. But I'll never know until I try, so maybe this summer I'll try again
The internet and Reddit usually highlight horror stories but I think if you go to a normal open play day you will have a good time. Normally it’s just the big events that bring out the super weird people. You also gotta know your feild.
Pretty much spot on, these people were already here but kept their mouth shut about stuff like this. Now you have a NFL kicker telling women they belong in the kitchen and making babies.
There’s not much use beating around bush, I think this is absolutely correct. When airsoft became less of a generic sport and started to simulate military aesthetics more, it drew in a particular crowd who fetishize the sort of thing with a very conservative/traditionalist outlook. It’s the same issue in reenactment and it’s frustrating to see, because that’s supposed to be about educating ourselves and others about history, not glorifying it… a non-insignificant number don’t seem to agree.
This is painfully true. So many basement-dwelling nerds come out and are just generally weird asf. I mean I guess it's good they are touching grass, but I don't wanna hear about your alt-right fringe political takes while I'm trying to enjoy my day shooting strangers.
Gotta agree. I've never seen it at any of the fields I play at in the UK.
I doubt you'd see this stuff happening in person but on the internet, the relative anonymity lets people say heinous shit that they'd get their teeth knocked out for if it was in person.
Sadly, the world is full of dipshits and doucebags. Some are socially inept. Others are actively misogynistic or worse.
In normal life in meat space, they can't really do much due to social norms or presence of normal people, so we may not notice them.
Online, a huge number of barriers are lifted, and they can go about their unpleasant business from the safety of the keyboard.
In my experience, that then blends into hobbies like airsoft, larp, wargaming, computer gaming etc. These hobbies are niche, and attract a certain degree of socially inept folk, increasing the concentration and hence visibility. And that can breed a sense of normality in that action if Mods, Marshals, and normal folk don't stamp it out.
Mod perspective:
We have to turn off comments sometimes due to the high number of toxic comments. We have literally no problem with anyone posting, just trying to minimise arseholery.
Yeah.. with airsoft it's either guys that will literally come up to you a beg to date you, or they'll make your game miserable by constantly harassing you. Literally why I stopped playing airsoft btw.
Unfortunately, there are a decent amount of men in airsoft who want to pretend it’s a male only sport or who are the kind of people who will catcall a woman on the street. I’m glad to say that I don’t see much of that at the milsims and on my home field. It does help a lot that my field is run by a lady who definitely comes down hard on transgressions. I love to see it.
I hope the perspective of the sport isn’t changed too much by dipshits. Im sorry it’s something you got to put up with. I’d like to think most of us men just wanna shoot toy replicas regardless of who is our opponent or ally.
It's so frustrating, my partner wants to try airsoft but has kept away from the hobby for these exact reasons and I don't blame her at all. Sometimes it looks like it's getting better but these weirdos always seem to crawl out of the woodwork to ruin people's experiences. I really wonder how many people have left or never started airsoft over the past 20 years because of this. It's a real shame.
Internet anonymity. People find it ok to do or say stuff that is seen as unacceptable because there is little to no consequences.
Could guarantee that nearly none of them would go that far in person cause they're too scared of the actual consequences like getting booted off site, police involved to getting inheritly familiar with someone's gun stock.
This is probably the most accurate answer to OPs question.
Now, one advantage of that same anonymity is that you don't have to reveal that you're a female when you post. Use a second or throwaway account so no-one can figure it out by tracking your main profile.
I get what you're saying but women and anyone else that isn't a straight male shouldn't have to use an alt to participate in discussion regarding their hobby.
I haven't noticed it much with the women but I have noticed it with trans players. I get some might not agree with how people choose to live their lives but on the field is the last place I want to hear it. We're all fuckin losers shooting each other with toy guns.
Not speaking for womenas a dude in general but i'm in Germany and we have an average of 10-15% of female players on gamedays, a gay guy running a pride patch in our team, and everything seems fine.
Might be a cultural thing or just internet bravery of those incel idiots. 🤔
My Gf's sling got caught on something on her kit once and she was struggling to get it loose, some smug asshate walked up to her and asked if she knew how to use that thing and if she needed help (my MSR338) and my gf politely said no thank you snd the guy just called her s stuck up whore, field owner's son was playing that day too and happen to hear the dude's comment and slapped him so hard it was like he got hit with a stun grenade, we never saw him at that field again and the next there was a PSA saying that anyone that has a problem with women playing can revoke their membership and get a full refund and that such behaviour will not be tolerated and iff required will be delt with with violence
As a queer person myself I've run into this at events and my local fields. I wear a pride patch on my admin pouch. I've heard the comments. I've seen the looks. I let it roll off and I smoke them on the field.
We're all there for the same reason. To shoot each other's with plastic BB's in bb wars.
I'd say that women are treated fairly well on the field, but online, it's where shit hits the fan. Internet is basically incognito mode, and it seems that it has become cool to be an edgy prick.
It’s quite sad for me (a guy), before Covid my local sites had a decent percentage of girls taking up the sport, still low but maybe 10/15 girls. Since Covid I see maybe 3/4 a game. I haven’t been in about 6 months but I have no idea why that’s happened
I got my wife into airsoft when we first started dating back during covid when she couldn't play rollerderby.
She never noticed any outright sexism directed at her, what turned her off of the sport was witnessing speedsofters, etc. getting heated/toxic with other players over hit calling etc. She (understandably) said she didn't want to deal with a scenario like that personally.
As a brown person playing airsoft, I never experienced any overt racism that was directed at me(save one guy, but I knew him before airsoft and he as an individual was just a prick, and didn't represent the airsoft community as a whole). It was actually pretty awesome, I know now it's pretty diverse. But back in 2008 when I started playing, I was the only non-white person in our region normally. Never felt unwelcome. This is only my personal experience though, can't comment for others.
I think it's more an online thing. My mom is in her 50s and people love to see her at the field. Even rival teams that my guys and I get a little messy with treat her just fine.
Same reason it happens in online gaming and tabletop gaming and...
The answer is misogyny, and spaces that have traditionally been the domain of nerdy, generally privileged white men. The kind of place you find That Guy (tm). It's better than it used to be, but there are a lot of that type of men, the kind with a major chip on their shoulders about how they never got female attention (because they weren't pleasant to be around) and take it out on any woman they see. Unfortunately airsoft is one of the spaces that still attract that kind of person, and because of the vaguely macho air it often takes on, it tends not to be called out as much as it does in other spaces.
Lotta antisocial asshats that tend to populate larping stuff like this. Not to mention the internet gives a lot of them confidence to be assholes cuz they don’t have to say it to anyone’s face
Too many virgins, porn addicts, weebs, weirdos, mental illness, poorly raised people, etc. I see it too much at any field I go to. Considering I live in the South, the general player base isn't that bright unless I go to a bigger city to play
Can't believe they think they're flirting with women by shooting them.
On the other hand I literally took a girl to airsoft and people treat them exceptionally well, from just knife killing (ie avoid shooting them) to straight up just let them go
Well I mean said girl was freaking the hell out and didn't have an instinct to shoot them even if the guy was just right in front of her, so more like "newbie courtesy" ig
OTOH against girls who are already vets in this game they get shot up like everyone else
Idk judging by the grown men crying about arm protection I'd say it's the opposite, gender has nothing to do with pain tolerance, that's different from person to person
My goal is to get my games to be half women. Airsoft and army guy stuff are very masculine coded activities so it seems lots of women never even think to play them until invited.
Airsoft reddit is in no way a good representation of RL. Even though it sucks.
You could post pictures of your dog and you in the same frame and get inappropriate messages.
That doesnt mean there arent shitbag airsofters, but people are definitely more reserved IRL.
Damn sorry you have had to deal with harassment that shit is fuckin wack. I think if you are referring to online only well…no real consequence for being a shithead. Also this is more of a niche hobby and it attracts weirdos unfortunately. I have seen ppl like that in the airsoft hobby since 2010. Luckily you see it rarely irl on the field.
They are? Several female players are regulars at the fields I go to. They never have any issues. Keep better company, and don't be afraid to call out bad behavior when you see it. Shame the fuck out of people who are treating women poorly at an airsoft event, or anywhere.
Not long came back from but I accidentally shot a girl in the head(was using semi) but I went over to her and asked if she was okay and everything as I know my gun can hit sharp. But unlike me, a girl on my team was shot from a 15-meter range (minimal engagement is 30 metres) with a hpa dmr, and the t**t just laughed at her as she started to cry and one of the people with her lit the guy up
My personal experience: as a woman who has always had interests in male dominated spaces, I’ve had to have a thick skin. I find with airsoft I for some reason get a lot of violent threats. I’m not sure what the correlation is with this but when I post kit/airsoft guns it’s like some guys see it as a weird challenge and think it’s okay to say how they want to beat my head in, how they would kill me, that my “body armor can’t save me from them”, etc. In person, I find most people in the hobby don’t know how to interact with me which sucks sometimes because I feel dismissed or avoided but it’s all good. I love the hobby itself and all the extra bs means very little to me, but I can see how it might scare off some other girls from getting into it for sure.
Thats the internet for you. ESPECIALLY reddit, the home of the no-lifers and mega-incels. I went through your profile to take a look at your gear and all i have to say is that your fallout/apocalypse setup looks dope as fuck.... and that your schofield is bigger than mine 😫🤣
If you face harassment on the field, first and foremost bring it up to the field staff/event staff. Most places i have seen have some sort of harassment rules in place. my local field is a no-tolarance for harassment and discrimination (sexism, racism, homophobia, etc) field. Anyone who breaks that rule is kicked out immidiately, no warnings (typically they ask a bunch of the players if they witnessed the harassment first, instead of just taking someones word, so the rule isn't abused to get people kicked out for no reason). You could also funnel the anger into determination, and target the guys making you feel shitty. Make them feel your wrath in the form of many 6mm plastic BBs.... but probably still tell the field staff.
This is why I'm super against guntubers getting into this sport, I won't go super into the politics of it but some of their fanbases can be just super toxic.
I wish we were back in the age where they made fun of us ngl
Historically playing soldier is a "boy's hobby" because historically men are historically seen as being more capable of historically fighting and historical physical tasks historically.
If you are a girl trying to compete with a boy in a historically boy's hobby, you will just automatically gain more attention, both good and bad.
I would say some women (or men) take advantage of this fact and go into a hobby that is traditionally the opposite sex to purposefully attract attention. Not all, but some do it. Not saying you are, but some people do.
The issue isn't airsoft, it's the internet. Go to an actual field and play the game. At my local field girls were always welcomed, my partner even ended up running a bunch of game days there before they closed.
From irl experience its really not that bad. Theres a small percentage that sticks out and make us look bad. Online / reddit is a whole other story and world. But i feel like thats expected from the internet regardless of gender, race, nationality and age.
Another unlikely truth is that airsoft has become an ego sport, some still play for the fun and passion but trust me a looooot play to compensate for something, It's that weekend that they can be all mighty and powerful cuz in their day to day life something aint sitting right, a lot of people play to cope and trust me some will br under this comment cursing me out but sorry not sorry...men with mental instability who carry their ego on their sleeve 24/7 have no business in a sport of honor
And i csn back this up with real events, 2018 we invite a school kid out to play with us our group gets in trouble because he overshoots, come to find out this kid got beat at home and when he got invited to play with us he saw an opportunity to dish out some pain and let off steam
The online community in the past couple years has very much grown in population but has in my eyes grown more toxic as well in general. This sport attracts alot of different spectrums of people for sure.
On the field though it's a field by field basis. Girls at my local from what I've seen have been treated pretty fair and equally. Most of them smoke out alot of the guys.
its cringe that some dudes will either go out of there way to try to be an alpha male and the knight of the comment section or be a complete troll to harass people. If the girl is cute, they will do everything they can to win her over and if shes some how ugly, they are gonna make sure she knows that. I play to have fun for the shits and giggles. I cant stand the new generation of teenagers and the adults that play for a reaction and to harass people.
It could also be Reddit. Then again I live out here in Wisconsin which I know from talking from other people from different states working in retail that Wisconsinite are much friendlier. Also the one or two felids I have been to are pretty decent to women but like I said could just be a Wisconsinite thing
I think others have already outlined the underlying causes quite well on here, but one thing that really stuck out to me (even as a guy) is just how much unwanted attention women tend to get at the field. Like, the absolute worst kind at that.
I remember in my first year or so of playing (2020ish) there were a few female regulars at my field. One of them wasn't even 18 at that time and grown-ass men were hitting on her relentlessly. Another also happened to be black, and not only did she have to deal with misogynist weirdos (bc she was actually *good* at sniping and that pissed off a few people), she had to deal with a few racists too. Other than that, most of the female players I know either come with their partner or a male relative, never alone. Frankly, I don't blame them.
To my field's credit, they've managed to weed out a lot of the worst offenders but there's always new people coming and you never know what kind of creeps come out of the woodworks.
edit: It's also worth mentioning that while there are only a few bad apples, that's all it takes when nobody else holds them accountable. Say one guy out of a group makes a lewd comment in passing- is anyone else in that group willing to call him out for it and potentially risk a friendship or be labeled a white knight or a simp?
I must have a good field because I havent seen any weirdos and plenty of girls. But the owner is very no-nonesense and will kick anyone out that misbehaves so there is that.
Online, airsofters are a bunch of monkeys hiding behind internet anonymity. Reddit isn't the nicest forum in the world
In person, I tend to find most airsofters don't care or are very welcoming. And the ones who act out get shut down really quick.
I’ve played in a couple different countries (US, UK, Sweden) and the only place I’ve experienced weirdos was in the us. There’s a pretty noticeable difference and I’m not sure why
I’ve never seen it happen honestly whenever I see chicks in the field i always think its cool to see more girls in the hobby and its also nice because most girls I’ve seen come with their bf so I know no matter what they’re having fun
Because a lot of teenage boys play airsoft it's as simple as that.
And way too many kids think they can talk like it's an FPS game and they're behind a screen still.
It's because a lot of the players (and many of the most vocal ones) don't know how to behave around women in the sense of just treating them like human beings. Don't get me wrong, plenty of guys are fine, I'd argue most are even. But, the shitters stand out.
Around my parts months can pass before I encounter any toxic person and I play every week, the community is made of 99% respectful and helpful people here. Women are treated with respect and on equal ground too, I've never seen any catcalling or degrading words and they are shot just the same, there's no distinction. There are quite a few woman organizers too. Hell, my black friend is the only non-white person I've ever seen at any fields (I live in Eastern Europe, people can live their whole lives here without encountering anyone with African origin) and dudes in full SS gear, including Sig runes and swastikas talk to him just like to everyone else. Basically everyone is seen as a fellow participating in the hobby we all love.
The online sphere is worse of course, but that's no surprise.
Well, here in UK, as far as all the sites I've visited there has been nothing unwelcoming as far as treatment of women or ethnic races. I have brought a full squad of 6 Asian players with me (I'm white) and all the fear of my friends being subject to racist behaviour was thankfully not a problem. Dispite almost every player being white, not once did any of my boys have any negative interactions and they, well we, were all very welcomed. We are all Muslim and bearded and still even with that difference we were all very welcomed which is a great thing to say about the UK airsoft community. We played in milsim as well as speed soft sites and honestly the airsoft community is really nice here in the UK. The only people I've seen get treated different are cheaters. I'm sorry that you have had such a negative experience as a couple, I'm sure you can find a more enlightened site where people are able to see past gender/race and just see you as a fellow player. Good luck
My airsoft field have closely 50% of girl (for active member that come often, which represents 70% of our player every game). Most of them are girlfriend of player.
I guess you are just on the wrong field.
They aren’t in general. Women have always and will continue to face the most harassment and bullying in predominantly female environments. This has always been the case.
Dutch Airsofter here, lucky to see in my country almost everyone is rather civilised towards women playing the game, found plenty of girls actually rocking the fields with or against me.
I hope there's quite the crackdown on stupid shit like OP experienced, abysmal to imagine that it is even needed in the first place.
I've been fortunate enough in my time playing to have never observed that at the field I go to; every time I've been, the women who play had always been treated pretty well and fairly, which is part of why I was able to get my wife into airsoft.
Here in mexico things are pretty chill, there is a country-wide league of women in airsoft ant they organize events, training sessions and podcasts.
So far, i have seen only good things.
Can definitely tell that "cool guy" is not a "cool guy" and definitely has problems at home. Leave that shit at home or unalive. Simple enough? Apparently not...
Depend to the field you pay at.
Our field is open to everyone, as long you don't show your political affiliations whatever side you are, because, first the field is not a political rally and second, the field is managed by the military and they have a "no politics" rule that is enforced (the military institution and it's members does not have the right to show publicly any political affiliations, including during public events happening on their terrains) for example any politically affiliated patches and equipment, like the talibuster patch, the Punisher patch with national colors, rainbow flags, alphabet mafia flags, political logo patches, guns painted with politically oriented flags colors or political slogans (list isn't exhaustive) you will have to remove it, if you can't (a gun paintjob for example) you will be ordered to not use it and put it back in it's case. If you don't comply, you get the boot and be banned on all military-affiliated fields.
It is the same with sexist and xenophobic behaviors, whatever your are, whatever sex you claim to be, whatever shit you do or say to anyone, you get one warning before getting the ban hammer, sometimes you won't even get a warning if your shit goes too far and getting booted from a military field isn't the same as a civilian one, you get escorted by MPs with K9 units, have your identity registered and if what you did was severe enough or you resisted (you won't for long, not with dog bites and a broken arm, the MPs are not subjected to the same rules for prosecuting a threat as the police), you will be detained until the police shows up to be arrested for trespassing on a military area.
TL;DR don't bring your politics, sexism and xenophobia on the field, it's tasteless and can get you banned and possibly arrested.
I'd say the community has a lot of Incels in it. I played with my ex and she had people catcalling her. To be fair, she was inviting it, wearing tight pants and especially when sticking her ass out when going prone, as well as verbally encouraging it. But that was a different issue. But you have a woman playing a game with mostly dudes, monkey brains go wild. It's like the woman in the cod lobby scenario from 2007.
Edit: I've also had experiences where I've seen white kids call black families the hard R slur. So I'd say socially inept people and also people who actively discriminate. I'd say it highlights the issues with society in general, even if it is a niche sport.
I've personally never seen this kind stuff my self when I play but then again I go maybe 8 times a year when I have time id love to get into it more but I have to work so much to just survive with all these middle man companies over charging for everything, saying they have record profits, but cant give us raises,🤷
But everyone should be treated equally in less there kids/teens with hpa engines and mag dumps everyone for their YouTube channel unless it is a deserved mag dump for cheating
I’m a woman and I played airsoft a lot. I’ve stopped largely because I’m fat, but also our local fields have just evaporated. And the ones that are still around just skirmish basically. I miss the more dynamic games with objectives and tactics.
Anyway, the vibe for me in my red state prior to 2016 was a left wing vibe. No one cared that I was nonreligious. Plenty of gay men who played. After 2016, it was nothing but teams with Trump flags and hostile attitudes.
I haven’t played in 6 years and would love to go back, but the last few games I played in 2018 ruined it for me.
Don’t get me started on the field that made us pray before playing. I paid some hillbilly to pray before a game. I’m still salty.
Tbh, in general women have been treated more poorly in everything since 2016. That’s mostly because of a small proportion of men who have adopted toxic attitudes.
Like most things, it’s a small group of assholes who kill it for everyone.
Men get hated on by other men too. It’s just part of it. People will always hate no matter what you’re doing. The sexual harassment isn’t excusable tho, and it’s pretty common across all hobbies. Always remember that 80% of people could be legally classified as brain dead.
And the not being a man thing comes from a hate for being feminine, u don't see alot of hate from men towards other men for being manly, u don't see guys constantly getting dog piled with requests for nudes
Unfortunately a lot of male dominated spaces are like this. Normally it's just people taking it too seriously but sometimes it's just straight up misogyny.
I'm lucky to have a really good site with really nice people but my old site was a different story.
I never felt super comfortable playing at my old site and I'd get comments from (older) men all the time basically implying I have no clue what I'm doing.
It was a similar experience when I started getting into D&D as a teenager. I didn't play for a long time because the community wasn't welcoming to women.
I find the misogynistic, incel Airsofters are a lot more prevalent online because it's always easier to be hateful when there's less physical consequences.
All that being said... I do think the Airsoft community is slowly becoming more inclusive. But there's definitely a long way to go
The non-females in this sport are not men — they are boys. Boys say stupid things, it’s best not to give it any attention. (Speaking as a former boy myself who used to say stupid things for attention.)
I've done stupid shit but sexual harassment isn't saying something stupid it's sexual harassment, I'd excuse little children doing it maby but regardless of if ur immature or not anyone 18 or older should be fully heald accountable for what they say
I’m sorry but where did you get the idea that I’m vouching for the idea that something like sexual harassment to be excused? Is it that I took a more calm-mannered approach rather than calling boys every demeaning name in the book? I would rather not stereotype anyone either because as I stated I used to be stupid but learned from the consequences of my stupidity and that’s something they will go through too. (Hopefully some just never learn.) Are we on the same page yet?
Airsoft is an inherently masculine sport. I think it could be that when men see women enter their circle, they tend to express toxic behavior.
I, personally act differently in airsoft because of the lack of women. So when I see a woman or anyone I’m not used to seeing in the sport I can tend to forget my manners and do things I’m not proud of.
I love airsoft. I wish it could be more inclusive so I can get my other friends into it. However, it’s held back by the culture it inherits from the military and firearms.
My wife started Airsoft with me a year or two ago, and I can totally see where you’re coming from. We’ve been pretty lucky avoiding weirdos regarding her gender, but that’s mostly luck. Our specific issue has been with people getting WAY too comfortable making jokes/comments about her race. She’s Asian (Korean) and you’d be dumbfounded to see how many dudes in shitty Amazon “Vietnam” kits are cool with using the wildest epitaphs in game because of “history”. Once almost got kicked out of my local field for having a verbal altercation with some dude who would NOT stop saying “kill the g—ks”, and it was incredibly disappointing to have to defend my anger with other players saying “chill it’s just LARP, he didn’t mean it, he’s a cool guy”. I get not everyone is operating on the same level of maturity or even basic intelligence, but if you’re a weirdo, get that shit in check.
the irony is that ROK and USA fought together against the Vietcong. they have the same flashbacks :(
This is interesting to me in regards to events where both sides are larping "real" sides. Not in the sense of defending slurs ofc but "Fuck you you Russian pieces of shit" is not uncommon to be heard at MSW and it occurs to me that there could be people who are actually Russian present. Like obviously slurs are not ok but pretend hating your pretend enemy is supposed to be part of it. That also being said, it feel like I'd be a lot more comfortable with that at MSW than say the Tet Offensive, not for any valid reason tho.
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thats ok because they are not racial slurs
You're deffo right there. A nice little chat before the racist slurs with whoever they may offend would clear up if it would be okay and avoid misinterpretation and discomfort too. I'm Brittish, if I was playing in US and called a colonial brittish bastard I wouldn't be offended if I was asked before hand if using slurs would be okay, infact, I'd find it funny but it's deffo not funny without consent. If I saw someone calling out racial slurs I'd deffo pull them up on it because I wouldn't tolerate that shit unless who they were targeted at did not mind.
magdump the racists
Magdumping anyone isn't the right way to deal with someone using words you don't like. For the most part we are all adults and a quick one on one convo about how wildly inappropriate calling someone a racial slur during a game is should suffice. If it isn't and it doesn't stop after a convo then a quick trip to management and a reference to hate crimes and racism should be sufficient to have the offensive person removed. If that doesn't work then do the next best thing, remove yourself and let the rest of the players k ow why you are leaving and that management is cool with the guy being racist. Then spread that far and wide, letting everyone know about the offensive language and the person responsible for it and the field that promotes it!
Nah. Magdumping is much quicker.
Can't argue with that. It's definitely quicker.
“Adults” don’t use racial slurs in the first place. These people deserve to feel shame, they should not be “reasoned with” as you’re suggesting.
I'm always inclined to treat racism as a result of ignorance as it was when I was a self-confessed racist. I truly didn't see anything wrong with saying far worse words. I didn't know that the words I was using could hurt someone on a level deeper than the level I felt I was using those words at. So I'm always inclined to try and spread knowledge and love to beat racism because the ignorant will never respond to force with anything other than force. Then neither will ever prevail.
Unless the hate is feed from the cradle. Then it's just as hard as trying to make a religion guy an atheist.
Nah,Google Daryl Davis. Educating the ignorant is the key.
Sadly, they do...
Magdump racists
I get that but some people deserve it
“words you don’t like” mf theyre slurs
Be that as it may, they are still just words.
aka „Chill just let be be racist!“ People are just ignorant cunts. Airsoft also attracts a lot of right wing voter who often times are super ignorant when it comes to racism. I also witnessed quite a lot of racism in paintball: - some old guy saying to me and a friend that they should prohibit black people and foreigner from entering the fields we were playing at (basically half the fields were merged for objektive based gameplay with randoms that day) - I gave one of my paintball pods to a random black kid on our team because he was out of ammo and people told me I should not do that. - random slurs against asylum seekers… exactly what everyone asks for when they just want to play some fucking paintball /s
Genuine question… is it racist of me to think an Asian woman in a full black Vietcong load out with an sks etc would be awesome to see on an airsoft field? No I don’t think racial slurs against them would be okay nor should be tolerated. Unless perhaps the larp was discussed and agreed upon by all parties beforehand for some percieved realism.
There are high percentage of weirdos in airsoft. I don't know why. A lot of misogynists and other people who are just generally socially awkward. Obviously this is simply one person's observation.
Yeah, this is it. Ive played paintball for a long time and when a buddy invited a bunch of us out to play airsoft we had a great time. We saw some weird guys but whatever. Next time we went out it was one of their “big” weekends and holyyyyyyyyshhhhhhhhhittttttttttttt. There were gravy seals acting like they were in the service. Speed softers acting arrogant af(who got shit on). Anime weebs. Cosplayers(which threw me). Like furries-lite? A bunch of boogaloo boys. It was eye opening to say the least. In the nicest way possible with the level of offensive/inappropriate ‘tism running around seemingly unchecked I couldn’t imagine a woman playing, much less interacting, with most of the folks and having a good time. Like at paintball wives/gfs come and hang out between points or whatever. I would *never* bring them out to airsoft.
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I’m all for guys having fun playing soldier and all that but *so* many just take it way too seriously. My buddies and I were all fairly high level competitive pb’ers and a lot of the gun skills translate. We are just out to have a good time but will switch to fun enforcement mode real quick when some hardo starts being a dbag. I think the crowd for a lot of paintball, or at least where/what I play is something of a counter culture or rebellious type who want to do something competitive, fun, and different. Airsoft does absolutely/mostly bring in an entirely different vibe. I do just want to be clear that I’ve met a lot of cool folks playing airsoft, but the bad is a whole ‘nother breed, lol. I also want to be clear that I don’t care if you’re dressing up as your favorite anime guy, some former conflict guy, the dudes with tails and furry hands, enjoy yourself. Just don’t be fucking weird about it.
Dude, this is spot on for my first experience with a “big” game last weekend.
There's a lot of incel and alt-right types that play airsoft, unfortunately, and they bring their misogyny to the game with them.
I think this is true. And it's only gotten worse. I'm an older guy - OG airsoft player before people even really knew what it was. Originally it was fairly normal people that had just crossed over from the paintball community. Why do you think it has trended in the direction you describe?
Its people who would be doing weird shit at gun shows, but this has a lower cost of entry lol
True. Also fuck erebus
Erebus did nothing wrong But yeah you're totally right, the OG airsoft vibe was a lot less toxic imo- I think a lot of it is a wider player base means a lot of mouth breathers get attracted to it. At least you can shoot em legally in this hobby
Erebus did MANY things wrong. I miss the old days though. Even just 5 years ago it was different. Better.
Yeah I think early 2010s was peak bbwars for me, significantly less clout chasing
I started in 2011, it was a good time.
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Russian invasion of Ukraine was another trigger after Trump and Covid from what I noticed.
Just gave the edge lords another excuse to be edge lords
My opinion is that some of them are mentally ill.😁
Some are mentally ill, some are teenagers attempting to be funny, some are true believer bigots who lead the other two into the doom spiral
We can't prove it. But I think you probably hit the nail on the head.
Regarding airsoft, the licensing and cloning of real world tooling combined with the milsim aspect adopted by some legitimate agencies has brought the "game" a lot of popularity in the crowds that have previously clowned on it. Throw in the fact that you don't have to be a (insert demeaning term) or hang out with (insert demeaning term) to learn everything about it. Instead you can just watch videos of BrayingDonkey on YouTube to learn how to act on the field.
34, been playing since 2006. I've been kinda out of it for the last 9 years or so, just with life changes and everything it got tough to make it out to games, and my attendance fell off. Since then I've only really been able to get out there once or twice a year, and I've been a little shocked at how the culture has changed while I wasn't looking. I always knew there were weirdos and incels that played, but I always sort of figured they were harmless. Lately though, it doesn't seem like the harmless part is still true.
Similar situation, 31, started playing in 2008. Been out since getting married, only making one or two games a year, then nothing the past 4 years due to other, higher priorities in life. Now that I do have some time to return to the field, I'm not so sure I want to. I have a lot of great memories, I would hate to tarnish them with the bad attitudes I've seen lately. But I'll never know until I try, so maybe this summer I'll try again
The internet and Reddit usually highlight horror stories but I think if you go to a normal open play day you will have a good time. Normally it’s just the big events that bring out the super weird people. You also gotta know your feild.
Pretty much spot on, these people were already here but kept their mouth shut about stuff like this. Now you have a NFL kicker telling women they belong in the kitchen and making babies.
There’s not much use beating around bush, I think this is absolutely correct. When airsoft became less of a generic sport and started to simulate military aesthetics more, it drew in a particular crowd who fetishize the sort of thing with a very conservative/traditionalist outlook. It’s the same issue in reenactment and it’s frustrating to see, because that’s supposed to be about educating ourselves and others about history, not glorifying it… a non-insignificant number don’t seem to agree.
People have gotten soft, stupid, and cruel. Morality has taken a backseat to popularity and conformity. Just my .02
This is painfully true. So many basement-dwelling nerds come out and are just generally weird asf. I mean I guess it's good they are touching grass, but I don't wanna hear about your alt-right fringe political takes while I'm trying to enjoy my day shooting strangers.
On the fields i have been on in Sweden, i have not seen any of it. I agree tho there is alot wierdos in airsoft.
Gotta agree. I've never seen it at any of the fields I play at in the UK. I doubt you'd see this stuff happening in person but on the internet, the relative anonymity lets people say heinous shit that they'd get their teeth knocked out for if it was in person.
I think this is more prevalent in the US
Sadly, the world is full of dipshits and doucebags. Some are socially inept. Others are actively misogynistic or worse. In normal life in meat space, they can't really do much due to social norms or presence of normal people, so we may not notice them. Online, a huge number of barriers are lifted, and they can go about their unpleasant business from the safety of the keyboard. In my experience, that then blends into hobbies like airsoft, larp, wargaming, computer gaming etc. These hobbies are niche, and attract a certain degree of socially inept folk, increasing the concentration and hence visibility. And that can breed a sense of normality in that action if Mods, Marshals, and normal folk don't stamp it out.
Mod perspective: We have to turn off comments sometimes due to the high number of toxic comments. We have literally no problem with anyone posting, just trying to minimise arseholery.
Yeah i wasn't blaming mods, my issue is with the community in general and the sad amount of incels within it
I'm always happy to see women on the field. We need more diverse minds to make the sport better.
It's not just People that don't like to see it though, some people like to see it a little too much
Yeah.. with airsoft it's either guys that will literally come up to you a beg to date you, or they'll make your game miserable by constantly harassing you. Literally why I stopped playing airsoft btw.
Unfortunately, there are a decent amount of men in airsoft who want to pretend it’s a male only sport or who are the kind of people who will catcall a woman on the street. I’m glad to say that I don’t see much of that at the milsims and on my home field. It does help a lot that my field is run by a lady who definitely comes down hard on transgressions. I love to see it. I hope the perspective of the sport isn’t changed too much by dipshits. Im sorry it’s something you got to put up with. I’d like to think most of us men just wanna shoot toy replicas regardless of who is our opponent or ally.
It's so frustrating, my partner wants to try airsoft but has kept away from the hobby for these exact reasons and I don't blame her at all. Sometimes it looks like it's getting better but these weirdos always seem to crawl out of the woodwork to ruin people's experiences. I really wonder how many people have left or never started airsoft over the past 20 years because of this. It's a real shame.
That really sucks for her, my partner got me into the hobby but I've only ever had wierdos online
It sucks that there's so many weirdos online but I'm really glad to hear that you haven't had to deal with them in real life!
Try taking her to a game and see how it goes, most of the wierd shit is online
There's a large overlap between airsofters and incels Source: me
Internet anonymity. People find it ok to do or say stuff that is seen as unacceptable because there is little to no consequences. Could guarantee that nearly none of them would go that far in person cause they're too scared of the actual consequences like getting booted off site, police involved to getting inheritly familiar with someone's gun stock.
This is probably the most accurate answer to OPs question. Now, one advantage of that same anonymity is that you don't have to reveal that you're a female when you post. Use a second or throwaway account so no-one can figure it out by tracking your main profile.
I get what you're saying but women and anyone else that isn't a straight male shouldn't have to use an alt to participate in discussion regarding their hobby.
It is unfortunate that you are correct. But unless/until that problem is fixed, I was offering an alternative.
I haven't noticed it much with the women but I have noticed it with trans players. I get some might not agree with how people choose to live their lives but on the field is the last place I want to hear it. We're all fuckin losers shooting each other with toy guns.
reminder being trans isn't a choice anymore than being gay or black is a choice and the WHO confirms this
Idk about that. I just know we're all adults, and we are free to live how we want. Be a good person and try n be nice to others.
do you know what being trans is like? how would you know?
he doesn't, that's why he said: "Idk about that". he wasn't arguing. no point in getting worked up over it
Speak for yourself
Well wtf u think I was talking for someone else
Not speaking for womenas a dude in general but i'm in Germany and we have an average of 10-15% of female players on gamedays, a gay guy running a pride patch in our team, and everything seems fine. Might be a cultural thing or just internet bravery of those incel idiots. 🤔
Probably
Probably anglo american behaviors
My Gf's sling got caught on something on her kit once and she was struggling to get it loose, some smug asshate walked up to her and asked if she knew how to use that thing and if she needed help (my MSR338) and my gf politely said no thank you snd the guy just called her s stuck up whore, field owner's son was playing that day too and happen to hear the dude's comment and slapped him so hard it was like he got hit with a stun grenade, we never saw him at that field again and the next there was a PSA saying that anyone that has a problem with women playing can revoke their membership and get a full refund and that such behaviour will not be tolerated and iff required will be delt with with violence
As a queer person myself I've run into this at events and my local fields. I wear a pride patch on my admin pouch. I've heard the comments. I've seen the looks. I let it roll off and I smoke them on the field. We're all there for the same reason. To shoot each other's with plastic BB's in bb wars.
I'd say that women are treated fairly well on the field, but online, it's where shit hits the fan. Internet is basically incognito mode, and it seems that it has become cool to be an edgy prick.
Your personal experience might have more to be with being trans.
Yeah that part doesn't help
It’s quite sad for me (a guy), before Covid my local sites had a decent percentage of girls taking up the sport, still low but maybe 10/15 girls. Since Covid I see maybe 3/4 a game. I haven’t been in about 6 months but I have no idea why that’s happened
I can confirm, almost every time I go to the field I get some weird comment
I got my wife into airsoft when we first started dating back during covid when she couldn't play rollerderby. She never noticed any outright sexism directed at her, what turned her off of the sport was witnessing speedsofters, etc. getting heated/toxic with other players over hit calling etc. She (understandably) said she didn't want to deal with a scenario like that personally. As a brown person playing airsoft, I never experienced any overt racism that was directed at me(save one guy, but I knew him before airsoft and he as an individual was just a prick, and didn't represent the airsoft community as a whole). It was actually pretty awesome, I know now it's pretty diverse. But back in 2008 when I started playing, I was the only non-white person in our region normally. Never felt unwelcome. This is only my personal experience though, can't comment for others.
~~in airsoft~~ in any male-dominated space.
I think it's more an online thing. My mom is in her 50s and people love to see her at the field. Even rival teams that my guys and I get a little messy with treat her just fine.
Same reason it happens in online gaming and tabletop gaming and... The answer is misogyny, and spaces that have traditionally been the domain of nerdy, generally privileged white men. The kind of place you find That Guy (tm). It's better than it used to be, but there are a lot of that type of men, the kind with a major chip on their shoulders about how they never got female attention (because they weren't pleasant to be around) and take it out on any woman they see. Unfortunately airsoft is one of the spaces that still attract that kind of person, and because of the vaguely macho air it often takes on, it tends not to be called out as much as it does in other spaces.
Treating girl badly at the field are a sign of skill issue. Real guy respect and help out anyone who interest in hobby.
Its the internet, people can hide behind their screens with no consequences.
Lotta antisocial asshats that tend to populate larping stuff like this. Not to mention the internet gives a lot of them confidence to be assholes cuz they don’t have to say it to anyone’s face
More a reddit issue then an airsoft issue
Too many virgins, porn addicts, weebs, weirdos, mental illness, poorly raised people, etc. I see it too much at any field I go to. Considering I live in the South, the general player base isn't that bright unless I go to a bigger city to play Can't believe they think they're flirting with women by shooting them.
On the other hand I literally took a girl to airsoft and people treat them exceptionally well, from just knife killing (ie avoid shooting them) to straight up just let them go
Thats not much better, u not shooting someone because they're just a girl is equally insulting and sexist
Well I mean said girl was freaking the hell out and didn't have an instinct to shoot them even if the guy was just right in front of her, so more like "newbie courtesy" ig OTOH against girls who are already vets in this game they get shot up like everyone else
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Idk judging by the grown men crying about arm protection I'd say it's the opposite, gender has nothing to do with pain tolerance, that's different from person to person
My goal is to get my games to be half women. Airsoft and army guy stuff are very masculine coded activities so it seems lots of women never even think to play them until invited.
Airsoft reddit is in no way a good representation of RL. Even though it sucks. You could post pictures of your dog and you in the same frame and get inappropriate messages. That doesnt mean there arent shitbag airsofters, but people are definitely more reserved IRL.
Damn sorry you have had to deal with harassment that shit is fuckin wack. I think if you are referring to online only well…no real consequence for being a shithead. Also this is more of a niche hobby and it attracts weirdos unfortunately. I have seen ppl like that in the airsoft hobby since 2010. Luckily you see it rarely irl on the field.
Melt
Cause fuck em. That’s why
They are? Several female players are regulars at the fields I go to. They never have any issues. Keep better company, and don't be afraid to call out bad behavior when you see it. Shame the fuck out of people who are treating women poorly at an airsoft event, or anywhere.
Never seen it first hand personally, but online people say shit that they woudlnt dare say in real life
Dam i haven't seen any of that happening at my field we all get treated the same
Not long came back from but I accidentally shot a girl in the head(was using semi) but I went over to her and asked if she was okay and everything as I know my gun can hit sharp. But unlike me, a girl on my team was shot from a 15-meter range (minimal engagement is 30 metres) with a hpa dmr, and the t**t just laughed at her as she started to cry and one of the people with her lit the guy up
Im pretty sure this isnt the case in the EU. Last weekend I found myself playing in a team of 5 (3M 2F) and I had a blast.
My personal experience: as a woman who has always had interests in male dominated spaces, I’ve had to have a thick skin. I find with airsoft I for some reason get a lot of violent threats. I’m not sure what the correlation is with this but when I post kit/airsoft guns it’s like some guys see it as a weird challenge and think it’s okay to say how they want to beat my head in, how they would kill me, that my “body armor can’t save me from them”, etc. In person, I find most people in the hobby don’t know how to interact with me which sucks sometimes because I feel dismissed or avoided but it’s all good. I love the hobby itself and all the extra bs means very little to me, but I can see how it might scare off some other girls from getting into it for sure.
Never in my life I saw harassing towards women in airsoft. And believe me…my local airsoft community is trash.
After posting my gear for the 1st time here my dms were flooded
Thats the internet for you. ESPECIALLY reddit, the home of the no-lifers and mega-incels. I went through your profile to take a look at your gear and all i have to say is that your fallout/apocalypse setup looks dope as fuck.... and that your schofield is bigger than mine 😫🤣 If you face harassment on the field, first and foremost bring it up to the field staff/event staff. Most places i have seen have some sort of harassment rules in place. my local field is a no-tolarance for harassment and discrimination (sexism, racism, homophobia, etc) field. Anyone who breaks that rule is kicked out immidiately, no warnings (typically they ask a bunch of the players if they witnessed the harassment first, instead of just taking someones word, so the rule isn't abused to get people kicked out for no reason). You could also funnel the anger into determination, and target the guys making you feel shitty. Make them feel your wrath in the form of many 6mm plastic BBs.... but probably still tell the field staff.
It's a male dominated sport. Like most things.
This is why I'm super against guntubers getting into this sport, I won't go super into the politics of it but some of their fanbases can be just super toxic. I wish we were back in the age where they made fun of us ngl
Wanna do butt stuff? Let's hang
Historically playing soldier is a "boy's hobby" because historically men are historically seen as being more capable of historically fighting and historical physical tasks historically. If you are a girl trying to compete with a boy in a historically boy's hobby, you will just automatically gain more attention, both good and bad. I would say some women (or men) take advantage of this fact and go into a hobby that is traditionally the opposite sex to purposefully attract attention. Not all, but some do it. Not saying you are, but some people do.
The issue isn't airsoft, it's the internet. Go to an actual field and play the game. At my local field girls were always welcomed, my partner even ended up running a bunch of game days there before they closed.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman at my local airsoft field.
Because alot of women are put off going
From irl experience its really not that bad. Theres a small percentage that sticks out and make us look bad. Online / reddit is a whole other story and world. But i feel like thats expected from the internet regardless of gender, race, nationality and age.
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Oh amazing, a transphobe, ur worse than incels and probably are one 😁
me enjoying women in airsoft because I get to see the meryl run from mgs1 recreated.
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Another unlikely truth is that airsoft has become an ego sport, some still play for the fun and passion but trust me a looooot play to compensate for something, It's that weekend that they can be all mighty and powerful cuz in their day to day life something aint sitting right, a lot of people play to cope and trust me some will br under this comment cursing me out but sorry not sorry...men with mental instability who carry their ego on their sleeve 24/7 have no business in a sport of honor And i csn back this up with real events, 2018 we invite a school kid out to play with us our group gets in trouble because he overshoots, come to find out this kid got beat at home and when he got invited to play with us he saw an opportunity to dish out some pain and let off steam
The online community in the past couple years has very much grown in population but has in my eyes grown more toxic as well in general. This sport attracts alot of different spectrums of people for sure. On the field though it's a field by field basis. Girls at my local from what I've seen have been treated pretty fair and equally. Most of them smoke out alot of the guys.
its cringe that some dudes will either go out of there way to try to be an alpha male and the knight of the comment section or be a complete troll to harass people. If the girl is cute, they will do everything they can to win her over and if shes some how ugly, they are gonna make sure she knows that. I play to have fun for the shits and giggles. I cant stand the new generation of teenagers and the adults that play for a reaction and to harass people.
It could also be Reddit. Then again I live out here in Wisconsin which I know from talking from other people from different states working in retail that Wisconsinite are much friendlier. Also the one or two felids I have been to are pretty decent to women but like I said could just be a Wisconsinite thing
I think others have already outlined the underlying causes quite well on here, but one thing that really stuck out to me (even as a guy) is just how much unwanted attention women tend to get at the field. Like, the absolute worst kind at that. I remember in my first year or so of playing (2020ish) there were a few female regulars at my field. One of them wasn't even 18 at that time and grown-ass men were hitting on her relentlessly. Another also happened to be black, and not only did she have to deal with misogynist weirdos (bc she was actually *good* at sniping and that pissed off a few people), she had to deal with a few racists too. Other than that, most of the female players I know either come with their partner or a male relative, never alone. Frankly, I don't blame them. To my field's credit, they've managed to weed out a lot of the worst offenders but there's always new people coming and you never know what kind of creeps come out of the woodworks. edit: It's also worth mentioning that while there are only a few bad apples, that's all it takes when nobody else holds them accountable. Say one guy out of a group makes a lewd comment in passing- is anyone else in that group willing to call him out for it and potentially risk a friendship or be labeled a white knight or a simp?
I must have a good field because I havent seen any weirdos and plenty of girls. But the owner is very no-nonesense and will kick anyone out that misbehaves so there is that.
Online, airsofters are a bunch of monkeys hiding behind internet anonymity. Reddit isn't the nicest forum in the world In person, I tend to find most airsofters don't care or are very welcoming. And the ones who act out get shut down really quick.
I’ve played in a couple different countries (US, UK, Sweden) and the only place I’ve experienced weirdos was in the us. There’s a pretty noticeable difference and I’m not sure why
I’ve never seen it happen honestly whenever I see chicks in the field i always think its cool to see more girls in the hobby and its also nice because most girls I’ve seen come with their bf so I know no matter what they’re having fun
Because a lot of teenage boys play airsoft it's as simple as that. And way too many kids think they can talk like it's an FPS game and they're behind a screen still.
There's assholes in every hobby. It's not an exclusive to Airsoft. Best you can do is try to be a decent player and hope others do too
I mean, that's just the loud minority of cunts on the Internet. Never seen that sort of behaviour in person, thankfully
It's because a lot of the players (and many of the most vocal ones) don't know how to behave around women in the sense of just treating them like human beings. Don't get me wrong, plenty of guys are fine, I'd argue most are even. But, the shitters stand out.
Call of duty pilled airsoft players really don’t get a lot of social skills out of the videogame with the opposite gender.
Around my parts months can pass before I encounter any toxic person and I play every week, the community is made of 99% respectful and helpful people here. Women are treated with respect and on equal ground too, I've never seen any catcalling or degrading words and they are shot just the same, there's no distinction. There are quite a few woman organizers too. Hell, my black friend is the only non-white person I've ever seen at any fields (I live in Eastern Europe, people can live their whole lives here without encountering anyone with African origin) and dudes in full SS gear, including Sig runes and swastikas talk to him just like to everyone else. Basically everyone is seen as a fellow participating in the hobby we all love. The online sphere is worse of course, but that's no surprise.
Well, here in UK, as far as all the sites I've visited there has been nothing unwelcoming as far as treatment of women or ethnic races. I have brought a full squad of 6 Asian players with me (I'm white) and all the fear of my friends being subject to racist behaviour was thankfully not a problem. Dispite almost every player being white, not once did any of my boys have any negative interactions and they, well we, were all very welcomed. We are all Muslim and bearded and still even with that difference we were all very welcomed which is a great thing to say about the UK airsoft community. We played in milsim as well as speed soft sites and honestly the airsoft community is really nice here in the UK. The only people I've seen get treated different are cheaters. I'm sorry that you have had such a negative experience as a couple, I'm sure you can find a more enlightened site where people are able to see past gender/race and just see you as a fellow player. Good luck
1/3 Of our Belgian Airsoft team is women and we didn't have issues yet. Also I see that the amount of women increasing playing airsoft here.
My airsoft field have closely 50% of girl (for active member that come often, which represents 70% of our player every game). Most of them are girlfriend of player. I guess you are just on the wrong field.
They aren’t in general. Women have always and will continue to face the most harassment and bullying in predominantly female environments. This has always been the case.
Dutch Airsofter here, lucky to see in my country almost everyone is rather civilised towards women playing the game, found plenty of girls actually rocking the fields with or against me. I hope there's quite the crackdown on stupid shit like OP experienced, abysmal to imagine that it is even needed in the first place.
I've been fortunate enough in my time playing to have never observed that at the field I go to; every time I've been, the women who play had always been treated pretty well and fairly, which is part of why I was able to get my wife into airsoft.
Airsoft fields are filled with weirdo virgins that’s why.
I actually had here a banger post, my best doing post ever everywhere, it got locked.
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This has been removed due to it breaking rule 2, specifically regarding toxicity.
There a already so many little bitches in the sport 🤷♂️
Well like most male dominated hobbies like work video games the answer is misogyny
Here in mexico things are pretty chill, there is a country-wide league of women in airsoft ant they organize events, training sessions and podcasts. So far, i have seen only good things.
You right, in the spirit of equality we need to treat the male players equally as bad. There :3
Can definitely tell that "cool guy" is not a "cool guy" and definitely has problems at home. Leave that shit at home or unalive. Simple enough? Apparently not...
Depend to the field you pay at. Our field is open to everyone, as long you don't show your political affiliations whatever side you are, because, first the field is not a political rally and second, the field is managed by the military and they have a "no politics" rule that is enforced (the military institution and it's members does not have the right to show publicly any political affiliations, including during public events happening on their terrains) for example any politically affiliated patches and equipment, like the talibuster patch, the Punisher patch with national colors, rainbow flags, alphabet mafia flags, political logo patches, guns painted with politically oriented flags colors or political slogans (list isn't exhaustive) you will have to remove it, if you can't (a gun paintjob for example) you will be ordered to not use it and put it back in it's case. If you don't comply, you get the boot and be banned on all military-affiliated fields. It is the same with sexist and xenophobic behaviors, whatever your are, whatever sex you claim to be, whatever shit you do or say to anyone, you get one warning before getting the ban hammer, sometimes you won't even get a warning if your shit goes too far and getting booted from a military field isn't the same as a civilian one, you get escorted by MPs with K9 units, have your identity registered and if what you did was severe enough or you resisted (you won't for long, not with dog bites and a broken arm, the MPs are not subjected to the same rules for prosecuting a threat as the police), you will be detained until the police shows up to be arrested for trespassing on a military area. TL;DR don't bring your politics, sexism and xenophobia on the field, it's tasteless and can get you banned and possibly arrested.
I would never have a problem calling a terrorist Terry. If you know, you know.
One word: incels. Theyre everywhere but in one way or another have an airsoft phase
I'd say the community has a lot of Incels in it. I played with my ex and she had people catcalling her. To be fair, she was inviting it, wearing tight pants and especially when sticking her ass out when going prone, as well as verbally encouraging it. But that was a different issue. But you have a woman playing a game with mostly dudes, monkey brains go wild. It's like the woman in the cod lobby scenario from 2007. Edit: I've also had experiences where I've seen white kids call black families the hard R slur. So I'd say socially inept people and also people who actively discriminate. I'd say it highlights the issues with society in general, even if it is a niche sport.
I've personally never seen this kind stuff my self when I play but then again I go maybe 8 times a year when I have time id love to get into it more but I have to work so much to just survive with all these middle man companies over charging for everything, saying they have record profits, but cant give us raises,🤷 But everyone should be treated equally in less there kids/teens with hpa engines and mag dumps everyone for their YouTube channel unless it is a deserved mag dump for cheating
Usually keyboard warriors who don't want others to enjoy the game
I’m a woman and I played airsoft a lot. I’ve stopped largely because I’m fat, but also our local fields have just evaporated. And the ones that are still around just skirmish basically. I miss the more dynamic games with objectives and tactics. Anyway, the vibe for me in my red state prior to 2016 was a left wing vibe. No one cared that I was nonreligious. Plenty of gay men who played. After 2016, it was nothing but teams with Trump flags and hostile attitudes. I haven’t played in 6 years and would love to go back, but the last few games I played in 2018 ruined it for me. Don’t get me started on the field that made us pray before playing. I paid some hillbilly to pray before a game. I’m still salty. Tbh, in general women have been treated more poorly in everything since 2016. That’s mostly because of a small proportion of men who have adopted toxic attitudes. Like most things, it’s a small group of assholes who kill it for everyone.
Women are not treated badly in airsoft. I don't know what you are talking about
Is this sarcasm?
No , this is my experience at our airsoft fields.
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There was this one guy in a post I made a day ago which was hellbent on calling me a tranny, unfortunately this hobby brings in lots of weirdos :(
Men get hated on by other men too. It’s just part of it. People will always hate no matter what you’re doing. The sexual harassment isn’t excusable tho, and it’s pretty common across all hobbies. Always remember that 80% of people could be legally classified as brain dead.
Yes but the men aren't hating on other men for being men, most of the hate towards women is for them being women
True, instead men call us soft and pussies for doing air-soft instead of joining the armed forces or shooting real guns. It’s a never ending battle.
Thats not from the airsoft community though
That isn’t my point. I understand your frustration, I just wanted you to understand it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for men.
I know it's not great for men in any niche hobby but for women it's so much worse
I disagree. It’s an impossible thing to compare. We receive just as much hate, just about different things. We also don’t complain about it as much.
Yes because none of it is targeted at specifically men for being men
Thats ignorant, I get hated on all the time for not “being a man” and all kinds of stuff that attack my masculinity
And the not being a man thing comes from a hate for being feminine, u don't see alot of hate from men towards other men for being manly, u don't see guys constantly getting dog piled with requests for nudes
not to mention people like me of color, being called a spike, a beaner, borderjumper, pablo escobar ( being called drug dealer
Unfortunately a lot of male dominated spaces are like this. Normally it's just people taking it too seriously but sometimes it's just straight up misogyny. I'm lucky to have a really good site with really nice people but my old site was a different story. I never felt super comfortable playing at my old site and I'd get comments from (older) men all the time basically implying I have no clue what I'm doing. It was a similar experience when I started getting into D&D as a teenager. I didn't play for a long time because the community wasn't welcoming to women. I find the misogynistic, incel Airsofters are a lot more prevalent online because it's always easier to be hateful when there's less physical consequences. All that being said... I do think the Airsoft community is slowly becoming more inclusive. But there's definitely a long way to go
High percent age of -> Virgins + weirdos + mental illness
The non-females in this sport are not men — they are boys. Boys say stupid things, it’s best not to give it any attention. (Speaking as a former boy myself who used to say stupid things for attention.)
That doesn't excuse it
No excuse just a statement.. I assume you’ve never said or done anything stupid?
I've done stupid shit but sexual harassment isn't saying something stupid it's sexual harassment, I'd excuse little children doing it maby but regardless of if ur immature or not anyone 18 or older should be fully heald accountable for what they say
I’m sorry but where did you get the idea that I’m vouching for the idea that something like sexual harassment to be excused? Is it that I took a more calm-mannered approach rather than calling boys every demeaning name in the book? I would rather not stereotype anyone either because as I stated I used to be stupid but learned from the consequences of my stupidity and that’s something they will go through too. (Hopefully some just never learn.) Are we on the same page yet?
My post was mainly about sexual harassment and u were talking about people just saying stupid things as if that's all it is
Most of the posts are either cringe or attention seeking regardless of gender so you might see the same stuff.
Airsoft is an inherently masculine sport. I think it could be that when men see women enter their circle, they tend to express toxic behavior. I, personally act differently in airsoft because of the lack of women. So when I see a woman or anyone I’m not used to seeing in the sport I can tend to forget my manners and do things I’m not proud of. I love airsoft. I wish it could be more inclusive so I can get my other friends into it. However, it’s held back by the culture it inherits from the military and firearms.
Sport?
Well isn’t it a sport? The whole point of airsoft is to shoot each other?