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JeremyBanks · on July 25, 2011

Men are not a majority in the United States.

No, but men are a supermajority among gamers, or in the tech community. That's what he was referring to.

sp332 · on July 25, 2011

In FPS games, maybe. But overall, there are more adult women playing games than boys under 18, and women make up about 42% of all gamers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games#Demographics

diolpah · on July 25, 2011

Fair point. Parent post removed.

cosgroveb · on July 25, 2011

Did I say women were a minority in Texas or the United States?

We are talking about tech and gaming here. Are you seriously suggesting women are not minorities in either of those communities?

ceejayoz · on July 25, 2011

Minority status can indicate a power imbalance, not simply a numeric one.

noahc · on July 25, 2011

Minority status is one in which a feeling of 'lesserness' occurs. That lesserness is caused by a power imbalance, perceived or real.

A non-human example of this is between humans and insects. If it was about non-power (numerical) then humans would be considered a minority on planet earth, but because humans have ways to take control over insects (urban fogging, bug spray, bug zappers) they are considered a 'minority' interest.

It isn't all about numbers, it's about power. A perhaps more real world example would be women on college campuses, still considered a minority, but typically have a 5 point advantage on men!

sesqu · on July 25, 2011

No, it cannot.