The Fighting Game Community, or FGC as it's more commonly known, is large and diverse. The core idea is that everyone has come to test their skills in iconic fighting games like Mortal Kombat or any of SNK's many titles. Players come to make new friends, level up, and test their own limits as their games evolve. However, no group as large as this has ever been perfect, and the FGC is no different, as one can tell from how women continue to get treated within the community.

Women in the fighting game community often find themselves the targets of bullying and crude remarks; sometimes they're outright shunned. Talking to different women across the FGC, one will inevitably find stories of being told they don't belong, or awkward encounters at tournaments because someone thought it was OK to corner them, launch personal attacks or stalk them. Even online isn't a totally safe place; those same offenders will come to women's streams or videos to behave the same way. Some have decided the community is their own space and that women need to adapt to being in that male space if they want to remain.

RELATED: Arc System Works: The Story Behind the Developers of the Best Fighting Games You're Not Playing

The problems go back a long time, attracting headlines in 2012 when a prominent Street Fighter X Tekken player made jokes about a fellow gamer's bra size, among other inappropriate remarks. The target of the comments dropped out of the tournament, while the prominent player said in an interview the FGC wouldn't be the FGC if sexual harassment were removed; he later apologized for his remarks. That sort of behavior hasn't stopped, however, with many who still hold those views entering women's' streams and other comment sections to make disparaging remarks, or assert they only get sponsorship because of their physical appearance. The idea that this kind of behavior is acceptable is pervasive, online and off, with female competitors even scoffed at in tournaments, where some observers focus on their gender rather than their skill.

The idea that women don't belong has become prevalent in many parts of the community despite being patently untrue. Even now, women are regularly harassed on social media by men who will tell them that gaming is a male hobby. There's even an opposite end of that spectrum, where men will assert that women gain success simply because they are women, with nothing said for their skills or personality. The FGC has a big problem where many can't see women as fellow players, and are solely focused on their gender and what that does or doesn't do for them.

RELATED: How Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Changed Up the Fighting Game Formula

Women in the community have started to create ways to bolster each other and avoid this sort of thing in recent times. Women-only tournaments have sprung up to give these players a chance to show off their skills while removing male harassment from the scene.  These tournaments have garnered significant support, leading to big names like Queen of the Hill or groups like Babeality, who host tournaments for women. It's only one way of combating the constant harassment women receive, but it's a big one.

The FGC may be a large space where everyone comes together to play games, but it's also obvious that problems still remain there to be solved. Women continue to face harassment even today, and until the FGC learns to respect all of the people who help make it up, women will continue to find alternate ways to thrive and show their skills. Still, it's clear that there's still a long way to go in making sure the FGC fully respects women.

KEEP READING: Guilty Gear Strive's Game Modes, Explained