I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Ciji Thornton, better known as StarSlay3r, the gamer who took the world by storm and who some of you may remember from The Tester. She is originally from Michigan, but now lives in California. I decided to focus on what it was like for a female gamer in the industry and to learn a little more about her charity work.

So if I’m reading your website right, you’ve only been competitive gaming for four years. How did it feel to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time?

I actually started participating in tournaments in 1999, but didn’t take competitive gaming seriously until I started competing at a professional level late in 2006. I used to compete because it was fun, but in 2006 I competed because I wanted to compete alongside the best of the best and see how far my skills would take me. It was a LOT of hard work, but I’m very proud of everything I have accomplished.

Did you ever have to deal with people talking smack because you’re a female gamer? If so, did it bother you?

Yeah, I think every female gamer has had to deal with some sort of smack talk. Unfortunately, it’s something that is all-too common. Whether it’s a guy who thinks that I’m competing only for the attention, or another girl gamer who is jealous and wants to slander my name in order to get the spotlight on her, I’ve dealt with negativity from both males and females, gamers and non-gamers alike.

It used to bother me, but then I look at everything I’ve accomplished and at the fact that I’m actually able to say I’m doing something I love, and that’s not something everyone can say…so it makes everything else seem irrelevant.

I just brush off the smack talkers these days. They’re not worth my time. I’m too busy accomplishing big things to let anything like that get me down.

Now that you have “proven yourself,” in a way, and shown everyone that you’re an amazing GAMER, not just a great girl gamer, do you ever still find that being a woman in the industry is hard?

Being a girl gamer is hard at times, but I’m personally finding that it gets easier once you prove yourself to both the gaming community and the industry, as people are more willing to take you seriously. I think being taken seriously is always the most frustrating part of being a women in the gaming industry, and it used to be one of my biggest issues.

Any positives?

Women are starting to get more recognition for their hard work and dedication as time goes on, so while it’s a disappointment at how some people treat women in the industry, things are definitely getting better.

Are you happy about the state of the gaming world for women gamers right now?

Not really. It’s getting better, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement. I wish that more people would actually act upon what they say. People will say “female gamers should be treated the same way as male gamers,” but then the instant a female gets added to a professional gaming team, that’s when people show their true colors with the negative comments, and that’s just sad.

Unfortunately, female gamers don’t get as much respect as they deserve, but I hope to see that keep changing as time goes on and more female gamers keep placing well in tournaments.

I see you have done a lot of great charity work. What inspired you to get so involved in charity?

I’ve always been the type to give back whenever I can. I used to volunteer at animal shelters and make donations to various charities whenever possible. Once I started to make a name for myself, I was able to team up with companies to help raise even more money for the charities I was already working with, which was great!

I look at it like this: I am thankful for everything that I have, and I know there are those who are not so lucky…so I want to do everything I can to help give back to those in need.

Any words of advice for my readers?

Well, I’ll say what I always say, which is this…for those gamers out there looking to accomplish big things, never give up! Nothing will happen overnight, so dream big and keep working your butt off to achieve those goals. Anything can happen if you work hard enough for it. Whether you’re a male or a female gamer, never let anyone say that you can’t accomplish something, and never let anyone try to tear you down.

Visit StarSlay3r’s website for more info on her upcoming events and her charity work!