To clarify: The Frag Dolls bring to mind the age old question "Does Lara Croft empower women or exploit them?"

"Do you feel the Frag Dolls' existence perpetuates female gamer stereotypes simply by existing as a special group bound not just by gaming but by physical sex?"

This is what I would have liked her answer to as well, because it seems like this is the ONLY reason the "Frag Dolls" exist.

It's easy to get instantly defensive when you do something non-standard for a living. I primarily write, and consider my job at an office my secondary profession. A lot of people hear this and go "..oh," as if thinking that I'm just a big slacker because I spend most of my day at home on the computer.

She spends most of her days at home on the computer or at a gaming console, so she likely gets that "..oh" response as well. It's okay for a man to bounce a ball for a living, but it's not okay for someone to pwn noobs for a living. It's very frustrating when, despite needing no validation from the public at large, you get none at all.

Also, I had my experience as a girl at Blizzcon. Just about everyone I met there - even the other girls - would first assume that I was there on someone's arm, and not the actual gamer myself. If I hop on a new vent channel, there's usually a "gah, a girl," moment.

So, when she's answering yet another interview for yet another gaming site that asks the same freaking questions everyone else asks, I imagine that she's going to be a bit on edge. Gamers are not known for being polite and thoughtful in their comments to interviews, so everything has to be very scripted and definite.

I'm sure they're good at gaming but why do I get the feeling that there might be much better female gamers out there who wouldn't make the cut because they aren't as attractive as these girls?

It's probably an effective marketing tool for Ubisoft? I don't know, it has the opposite effect on me but I'm relatively old and married. But if they want me to take them seriously as a gaming group they frankly need to recruit their members on the same requirements a male gaming group would.

"It's easy to get instantly defensive when you do something non-standard for a living."

I can totally understand that, especially when that something isn't only "non-standard" as an occupation but as an occupation for a female.

What I meant, though, was she seemed not only defensive about the legitimacy of her job, but on edge over doing the interview at all. I got the impression she really didn't want to talk about WoW or even talk to a representative of this site. She mentioned she's currently training for MW2, so I imagine she didn't want to discuss a game that "has a tendency to take over [her] life."

"I'm sure they're good at gaming but why do I get the feeling that there might be much better female gamers out there who wouldn't make the cut because they aren't as attractive as these girls?"

This makes me really sad. Not only do women have to be better than men, we have to do it while being easy on the eyes.

This brings to mind something I heard the other day- that some orchestras conduct their auditions blind, which is to say that they listen to someone's music before they see their face. Because of this, employment of women in orchestras has risen pretty dramatically- because they weren't being judged as poor performers because they were women. I wish that this could go for everything in life- blind tests first based only on ability.

Sadly there are a number of jobs that actually require gender and physical appearance.

@Oddshrub I agree, you're probably right. It's why I was annoyed by the question "aren't you getting a little long in the tooth?" I'm pretty bad at judging age but from her pic I would place her maybe in her mid thirties at a guess. But the question implies that she's not some "nubile young thing" so surely her appeal as a marketing tool for attracting male gamers is diminished. Maybe that's not what Lisa meant, but the implication is there nonetheless.

@Kajira "So, when she's answering yet another interview for yet another gaming site that asks the same..." I would have to disagree a little bit. Possibly you would feel a bit on edge answering the same questions over and over, and certainly I would feel more than just on edge doing it, we need to remember that she's not just an average gamer being interviewed. A large part of her occupation is public relations and being a marketing tool. It's her _job_ to answer the same questions again and again and to do so while maintaining a pleasing demeanor.

Finally @MasterAsh I dfinitely understand your point that answering questions for a site devoted to a game that she has to quit cold turkey in order to focus on the new competition game could cause her to be a bit on edge. I didn't really perceive an edginess in her responses, but the body language in her photo tells a different story. Perhaps it's a look that goes with her persona as a hard-core gamer, but if she was glaring at me like that, I'd be a little worried that I was about to get my ass kicked by a girl.