Paintball Myths

There's a thread in the WCA (Asia) forum at the Nation about girls in paintball. Specifically about girls playing at World Cup Asia but as such posts always do it quickly devolved into the usual irrational nonsense--except for one sensible girl, IceBox. (You go girl!) Let me see if I have this right: Girls are every bit the equal of guys, Grrl Power, girls are tough, capable and can do anything a guy can do. Except, apparently, on a paintball field where if the girls aren't treated with the utmost care like little porcelain dolls they'll run away and never come back again. So when there aren't enough girls playing paintball it's all the guys' fault. Newsflash: I hate to break it to you but that's a cognitive disconnect, kids. Pick one. You can't have both.
How many girls play Airsoft?

On the flipside there's the common claim (almost invariably offered up by young males) that competitive paintball (and depending on the conversation pretty much all other forms of paintball) demands aggressive hardcore play--and as a hyper aggressive game it's not for everybody who isn't drenched head-to-toe in testosterone. Every time I read one of those kind of posts it makes me smile. It's the (unintended) gift that just keeps on giving. Especially the ones in which the writer really seems to believe it. One of the unwritten truths of paintball is that most of the (younger in particular) participants have little to no sports backgrounds. (And for purposes of this post and the point being made baseball doesn't count unless you use your Louisville Slugger for a Saturday night rumble with the Jets or the Sharks.) If they did they'd know how silly their claims are. And then there's what you see on most fields the world over. I'm sorry but hiding behind your primary spraying away at 12 bps pod after pod is not raw untempered aggression. And that heart-pumping adrenaline dump that makes 5 minutes seem like an eternity? That's not berserker aggression, it's called fear. But whatever you do keep writing those posts, kids. I can always use the laugh.