This has only happened to me in the US servers for some reason, even though I mostly play on EU servers. I’ve just had several cases in which I was yelled at because I was a female Mercy player. I don’t really understand it, since people don’t typically like to play Mercy though they do like a Mercy on their team. I’m not a bad Mercy, I have around 400 hours of her now and I haven’t done anything wrong. In one game of comp, I was playing Mercy (since they asked me to) and one guy left the group and instead tried to fight a Mccree and Reaper himself. I asked him in Voice chat to stay with the team so that I could heal him next time, but he yelled at me and replied “of course you’re a girl, a mercy main with a silver border… sl-t” . This is not the first time it has happened. In fact , there have been at least three other cases in which I was yelled at for being “a female playing mercy” (yes, they all said it like that.)
Im really wondering why. Is it because people generally think females main Mercy? I was a Hanzo main at first and only switched to playing Mercy because no one ever wanted to heal. I love playing Dva, Hanzo, and Reaper too, I only play Mercy - especially with all these nerfs - only to help others out when no one else wants to heal. So why is it that some people automatically get angry at female Mercy mains?
The toxicity of some people really upset me, and this is the main reason why I switched over to play on EU servers more often. Has anyone else had this problem?
People had no problem indirectly calling Mercy AND her players “b!itches” when she received her nerfs in late January. :/ As if we asked for this garbage rework, as if we enjoy our once-fun-and-balanced hero now being an OP must-pick, with no soul or engagement at all.
I wish they could understand that. We hate this situation more than they ever could.
Becuase mysoginism and sexism, in the same way as racism, is still very much present within our societies, and the protection provided by anonymity brings it out on people.
They look up to them and when they show poor behavior they think it’s okay. While they may think it’s funny, they don’t realize we hear it every game. You stop thinking about people that make comments like that as individuals at one point, so the anger and resentment to people who say patronizing comments carries over, even if the intent isn’t malicious to all of them.
People are particularly rude to any woman in an ostensibly subservient role. My girlfriend uses a gender neutral name, “Sam” when she answers client emails because they treat her differently when they find she’s a woman.
Probably the same reason men often interrupt a woman speaking within a few seconds in any context. Plenty of research on the topic. Google “how often do men interrupt women?”
It is also a fact that men process female voices differently, in that their brain kind of relegates it to the background if there are other voices or things going on. Often I find myself calling a flank or a hero switch on the enemy team, only to have it go like this:
Me: Hanzo behind.
Me: Hanzo behind.
Me: HANZO BEHIND!
-I die
Lucio: Hey Hanzo’s behind us guys.
Me: …
-I hit tab
Me: They have a Widow now.
-I get headshot
Me: Watch out for that Widow
-Lucio gets headshot
Lucio: Hey when did they get that Widow?
Me: …
This happens ALL THE TIME. And my mic isn’t quiet, either.
Well, if someone called u a “sl-t” just for being female u can really understand that he a helpless case. Mute report and move on.
Trust me when I say that person is as toxic to male players in the same level as females.
Don’t argue with toxic players or let them get into your head. You just give them what you want.
That is profoundly sad because what you described means that this is an issue DEEPLY woven into the psyche of men, which means there’s no simple solution.
Just try to be aware, guys. We all have minor prejudices that we exhibit subconsciously.
I know for sure that it happens to male Mercy mains too. I know it happens to Mercy players in general, which really sucks because people playing Mercy don’t really get much out of it. They don’t do anything as obviously impactful as, say, a Genji getting a quad kill or something like that. I mean all healers are doing this solely to keep their team safe. Rarely do you see a support play of the game, and most of the time people praise the DPS or Tanks. Of course I’m not saying that its bad that they get praised; they do well too, and deserve it! I just hate the fact that the support mains - particularly Mercy mains - are treated so badly.
Again, I know this happens to males too, but one time I was playing a comp game and I hadn’t even used a mic. Someone just assumed I was a female based off the hours I have on Mercy , my low rank, and high level. They then proceeded to say I was a “useless bit-h female mercy main looking for compliments” . Again, I hadn’t even used my mic. I’m just really really amazed at how toxic some people could be to a person who is only trying to heal and nothing else
I actually believe it’s an evolutionary leftover from our days as hunter-gatherers and tribal people. By relegating the voices of women and children (as children also have higher-pitched and softer voices) to the background, men were able to be more alert for the sounds of attack, be it by predator or enemy man. I imagine it was of particular use for nomadic peoples, as men, women, and children would all be traveling together and particularly vulnerable.
Of course we don’t need this little… perk anymore, but evolution is slow.
PS/Edit: By contrast, women are hard-wired to respond to the sounds of crying babies or children in distress, even if the children are not their own. We literally cannot help ourselves from reacting to it. Ignoring it is nearly impossible, whether it’s to go to the child or be extremely annoyed by the sound.
I feel like it’s a bit dismissive to say it’s evolutionary. I know you’re not intending it that way, but men and women have control of their actions. Evolutionary or not, men ignoring women is wrong, and they can definitely change it if they really wanted to.
Also, I feel like everybody reacts to a screaming child, not just women.
