Tomb Raider. Mortal Kombat. Even the Jak and Daxter games. And yes, even Super Mario Bros. These games, however different they may be, all have a very crucial element in common.

Girls are stereotyped.

For years, the world of gaming has been a man's world. With games like Tomb Raider portraying the literally hourglass-shaped Lara Croft to titillate the masses and Super Mario Bros. to always have the Princess be the one in danger, games that appeal to girls are simply few and far between.

That isn't to say we don't play any of these mostly male-oriented games. And not all boys, of course, are stereotyped like this towards girls. Nor am I saying there aren't any games at all that girls can appreciate. After all, there are such titles as Prince of Persia, as well as more Final Fantasies than you can shake a stick at (and while many male gamers will say we're in it for the gorgeous guys, how many of you are really playing Tomb Raider for the gameplay?). In the end, however, the general overall stereotype is this: girls can't game.

As a girl who grew up with a brother five years my senior, I was a tomboy in the ways of childhood entertainment who preferred playing with G.I. Joes to My Little Ponies, and Transformers to Barbies. My big bro was blessed with a Nintendo, and it was from these humble beginnings I was introduced to gaming greats like "Legend of Zelda," "Super Mario Bros," and my personal all-time favorite, "Megaman."

Sitting astride the gender barrier, I found myself a little more apt to notice the not-so-subtle gap between male gamers and female gamers.

There seems to be a general belief towards female gamers, and that is we are all silly little estrogen-driven creatures that must be led by the hand through the game store or hobby shop to avoid being "overwhelmed" by their awesome selection.

The fact of the matter is, many of us know what we're doing. We know what we want, and we're not afraid to find it ourselves.

I myself am a fan of first-person shooters and platformers, and the occasional puzzle game. Sometimes I'll play an RPG or two, but those aren't my cup of tea all the time. Against yet another stereotype, which is girls only play RPGs. And hey, just because I like Katamari Damacy doesn't mean I'm a wussy gamer! Everybody needs some time-wasters here and there. Some of us like games like Halo and Mech Warrior, and I've always liked Area 51 (and not just because I have good aim with real guns and like showing up boys in arcades, either).

Many-a-time, I have walked into a gaming store to have three or four of the male employees flock to my side like moths to a flame, absolutely convinced that I won't know a cartridge from a console. It tends to surprise them when I actually know what I'm doing! Either way, however, this gets annoying. We girls aren't hot commodities. We're gamers just like you, looking for a game with good replay value to best spend our hard-earned cash.

So girls, don't be afraid to go into a game store, and certainly don't be afraid to say no to pushy salesmen. Just because you produce more estrogen doesn't mean you can't run with the big dogs.

And boys, cut us some slack! We're smaller in stature, but we've got just as much gumption. Just because we don't do gaming competitions doesn't mean we lack the skill to do it.

Keep that in mind when the next person to frag you in online gameplay is a girl!