Video games are something that I have always been drawn to. As a child I would pop in a game, grab the controller, and press start. After start, it was just me and the game. However, as I grew older my world expanded—first to a few friends who played games, then to a community of gamers, and eventually to the global network of online gamers. New doors were opened and with the opening of doors came a fact that has shaped a lot of interactions. The realization that I was a girl, and that being a girl involved in a community dominated by males meant I was different.

For some, being different is something to be proud of and some people thrive from being made aware of their differences. However, I myself do not enjoy the attention that being different based on my gender brings. I don’t mind when people notice differences in my skills or abilities, that is something we all face. What makes me uncomfortable is when the difference is based on an unchangeable reality, in this instance that is my gender.

For years I have been a part of the Smash community, although for several of those years I never competed. I loved watching tournaments and learning tech, but I disliked the idea of the attention that was associated being different, or a girl, so much that I did not compete. It was not until I began working on an article being published about the Smash community that I gained enough confidence to enter a tournament for the first time.

I fortunately interviewed Smasher Tafokints for my article and at the end of the interview he asked me if I competed. I replied “no” and Tafokints asked why. I believe I muffled some lame excuses and Tafokints only answered with encouragement and positivity. That push led me to the first of many tournaments.

Actually entering tournaments is amazing compared to just spectating. The nerves, the excitement, the challenges faced are hard to describe without actually experiencing them yourself. Similarly, the feelings that a woman experiences in the Smash community are hard to describe without actually experiencing them. Experiences are part of what shapes our life, our thoughts, and our actions.

I have experienced the feeling of being different because I am a girl and the attention associated with that difference. At Smash tournaments I am constantly asked if I play Smash and people generally act surprised. Sometimes when I just play friendlies, I feel that unwarranted attention is given. Some people thrive on attention, I do not. Instead of losing myself in the game like I once did, I find myself focused on the crowd and their attention. Rather than thinking of inputs, I’m thinking of others outputs, reactions, and thoughts.

Attracting attention for being different is something that will never go away, but that same level of attention could dissipate if combatted in some way. At Genesis 3 the all women’s crew battle dubbed “Smash Sisters” debuted. Unfortunately, I was not aware of the crew battles until the day of, but I found myself with immediate mixed reactions. Having similar thoughts to those that Milktea professed in her personal blog discussing  women in the Smash community and Smash Sisters.

I wasn’t sure what to make of the idea of Smash Sisters. All I knew was that I feared the attention that a crew battle that was women centric would attract. I was afraid of somehow dividing women from men in the Smash community further, that being a woman would somehow attract more attention if women were now separated.

Upon reflection I realized these thoughts were irrational and that Smash Sisters was a positive move for women and girls involved in the Smash community. What helped put Smash Sisters in perspective for me was looking at other women’s movements in American and British History. Over the last two centuries, women have constantly formed groups to fight prejudice. Thinking back to the suffragettes of Britain and women’s voting leagues in America. Women have often banded together because of an enthusiasm for equality. Just because women formed labor organizations of their own does not mean they work in separate offices from men and women do not vote at different facilities than men in America.

That’s when I realized that a conversation I had with one of my history professors about women and video games was becoming a reality. My professor asked if there were any all female groups or leagues so that women had a place to socialize and discuss games, a place for women to feel and realize they weren’t alone in the gaming world. At the time there wasn’t, sure women would socialize and I’m sure there are some unofficial groups of women who discuss and relate to being a woman in Smash but they weren’t publicized.

However, I believe that Smash Sisters is a great start to a network for women by women.  Smash Sisters has the potential to revive the feeling I had when I used to push start and feel one with the game. Smash Sisters is a way for us to reset and start feeling more together with our community. After all the Smash community is ours, therefore it is what we as women and men make of it.

Over the next few months it will be interesting to see where Smash Sisters goes. Smash Sisters has already been announced at several tournaments including Beast 6 and Super Nebulous 4. It will be interesting to see how the community reacts and how far Smash Sisters will go. I would love to see women banding together over a game that we all love, and to embrace our differences making the fact that we are women a strength by developing a network. By working together, as women, we can reshape the perception of girls or women at Smash tournaments.