Yes, women play airsoft. And if you’ve been paying any attention at all, you know that we encourage and fully support the fairer sex participating in a previously male-dominated hobby.
We’re going to take a few minutes to introduce some of the hobby’s slaydies, from internationally-known “influencers” to our amazing local women players. And yes, I use “influencers” very tongue-in-cheek. 😀
“Influencers”
Leah “Unicorn”
Way back when I first learned about airsoft, the second airsofter I found on The YouTubes was Unicorn Leah in California. Her videos were upbeat and positive, unlike the first YouTuber I found, whose videos are pretty much nothing but chest-thumping toxicity, so I spent the bulk of my YouTube time catching up on Leah’s life, and by proxy, Jet Desert Fox.
One of the things that really struck me was the sheer amount of misogyny Leah received in every single one of her earlier videos. Males wouldn’t call their hits if they knew it was her who shot them, males talking shit about her, etc., knowing full damn well she was recording; it’s kinda hard to miss a small black box strapped to someone’s forehead – especially when it has blinking lights on it. This guy was a particular gem.
Things have gotten a little better over the years, especially now that there are a lot more women playing, but as Leah recently posted about, her cleavage posts still get way more likes than her airsoft posts. Early on, she coined the hashtag #boobsforlikes, which she still uses. I say, “like” for the cleavage, stay for the quality content.
After “getting to know” Leah, I actively sought out more women warriors. Yes, with my fly firmly zipped up; this is airsoft, not Tinder.
Kelly “Femme Fatale”
Kelly is a well-known British airsofter who seems to have had more overall acceptance as a woman airsofter in the UK airsoft community. A number of years ago, however, she’d created quite a row at one of the fields for “cheating”. When the internet got hold of that story, things really blew out of proportion.. my god, the things that woman was called, the things people were saying about her… I was thoroughly embarrassed for being male.
Kelly, however, “brought the receipts” and posted the gameplay video from the game and incident. She’d been pretty quiet throughout the tsunami of hate leveled at her, and posted the video to let people make up their own minds what really happened.
Spoiler: what really happened is Kelly absolutely owned an entire squad of men, because she played a whole lot smarter than they did. Brilliant.
Lisa “SkinnyBitch”
Moving over to Belgium, is Lisa, who is the very definition of “willowy”, being tall and slender. She had popped up on my IG for her “15k followers giveaway”, and that’s when I boarded the SkinnyBitch hype train, with absolutely no idea how quickly she would become so important to me.
Lisa is smart, funny, an amazing airsofter, and VERY open about her mental health; here in the States, we would say she’s “neurodivergent”, and Lisa is open and honest about her Aspergers, to include some behind-the-scenes photos and videos of some of her daily struggles. However, once you get her on an airsoft field, and tasked with a mission, you really don’t want to be on the other team.
Most importantly, especially for me, is you would be very hard-pressed to find anyone more *real* than Lisa. She truly appreciates every one of her friends and followers and that is something that she reinforces on a regular basis. There’s a reason Lisa has been awarded the Player Choice award for the past three years.
I am so very fortunate to have become friends with Lisa and her amazing husband Rob Verage Airsoft. And Delta. Mostly Delta.
Drew “GSG” (Ghille Suit Girl)
Drew is a British airsoft sniper who I’ve been following from her very beginning. I was follower number 19 for her, and I’ve watched her go from her halting first steps in airsoft to the absolute powerhouse of a player she is today.
Fun fact: Drew kinda collects US license plates. I sent her one off the Ranger that’s now retired by Grizzly Den.
While I’m sure she’s received her share of chest-thumping from the sausagefest, I’ve never seen her really post about it. She continuously shows airsoft in a very positive light and is very obviously having a lot of fun with it.
Kali “Nightshade”
Last on this list, but certainly not least, is Kali, a West Coast airsofter who is the epitome of “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog”. She’s posted a lot of really amazing gameplay videos that go far beyond clickbait and begging for views, and her videos always show the most positive realistic light of airsoft. Kali also puts a lot of her personality in the videos, and that makes them super fun to watch. Especially the purple hit markers. #fearthepurple
Funny story: when we first started chatting, she thought that Roger Rainbow and I were a happily partnered gay couple, based on our public interactions (like I could score a guy even as remotely hot as Roger).
Kalil’s positivity isn’t limited to airsoft. She exudes positivity everywhere she goes, and in everything she does. Her optimism and zen-like state of being is always a refreshing thing to see while I’m doomscrolling.
This is very obviously not an exhaustive list of more prominent “slaydies”. Thumper, Koalafied, Magpie, Bambi, Charleequinn, Kitsune, UK Kitty, Buttersnaps, Airsoft Kitty, Sisu Milsim, Callsign Karma, Airsoft Hasmeen, Little Pink Honeybadger, Tactical Transition, Buttersnaps, Munchkin, Bellababe, Squirrel, Pineapple, C.C. Grey Mom, Pyro Ginge, Ladiolein, MagdaFPS… this list could fill VOLUMES of amazing women warriors. I’ve probably forgotten some of my friends in here, and I apologize for doing so.
So what’s the point of showcasing all these women? Simple: women play airsoft too. A lot of women play.
All the above photos were taken from the respective lady’s Instagram.
SAASMaine Regulars
Tessa “Morsel”
My partner, and SAASMaine “field mom” is Tessa, who absolutely surprised me when she told me she’d like to play airsoft too. I think initially it was because it was an “excuse” to spend more time together, but after playing a zillion games here at SAASMaine, I think she’s honestly truly enjoying the hobby, even though she still gets “mad” at me for buying/building her more guns.
Tessa is a gamer girl, mostly staying in the confines of MMORPG and non-PVP games, which is one of the reasons I was surprised she’d enjoy airsoft so much, but she is actually quite terrifying on the field because she plays smart. Like really smart. She’s really quick at reading opponents, and has more patience than anyone I know. She also likes obnoxiously loud AEGs (just to be obnoxious), but the side effect of that is when she starts shooting, it gets pretty scary pretty quick.
After beating the brush all game, Tessa becomes the “grill sergeant” and cooks up food for the players. I even got her a patch that’s emblazoned with a spatula and says “I’ll feed all you fuckers”.
Bobbie “OneEye”
Another surprise player! Pretty certain “Field Aunt” Bobbie only really showed up because Tessa told her to in order to beef up the player numbers, but starting that one Open Farm Day, Bobbie was able to see all the equipment we’d laid out, put on some gear, and she hasn’t missed a game (or build day) since, except for health reasons (ie. She was literally in the hospital).
Without getting too far in violating HIPAA, Bobbie literally has one good eye, having lost the other to glaucoma. She also inherited a number of cardiac-related issues. Is she the fastest player on the field? Of course not. But like Tessa (and every woman on this list), she plays smart. Scary smart. And she will absolutely light your ass up.
Plus, she brings baked goods. So. Much. Win.
Crow “Monkey”
Crow is Tessa’s (okay, *our*) granddaughter. Like Lisa, Crow is “on the spectrum” but seems to have really found a home with airsoft. They’re not particular strategic or tactical, but they are having fun; and when they hide, you’ll never find them, because they are half the size of Kali.
Every game, however, Crow starts coming more into their own, and I promise you, if they stick with airsoft, they will be one of the more terrifying opponents you will ever face. Very seriously so. And they are by far one of the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet. I’m more and more proud of them and their growing abilities. Of course, with the field owners as their grandparents, Crow will never have to worry about being outfitted for gameday.
That is honestly the best feeling ever.
Alycia & her Girls
Brand new to airsoft last year, Alycia and her daughters have been pretty solid regulars to gameday. In fact, she got them a family season pass for 2023, so expect to see one, all, or any combination this coming season. At least two of them are terrifying. I’ll let you figure out which.
These women work hard, and they play even harder, and I secretly think that they are happy to see someone else’s sheep from time to time (they are also farmers).
It’s been been awesome to have more kids Crow’s age come play. That creates its own brand of chaos for the mods, but they’re not breaking rules, and they’re having fun, and really, isn’t that the whole purpose of airsoft?
Robin
Robin is another new player who keeps coming out and just doing her thing… and who is just a genuinely good person. I can see her becoming a major threat once she finds her groove.
Robin and her mom came to Open Farm Day ’22. I watched them park, and Robin headed straight for the canopy I’d set up for the field, that showed a number of replicas and kit and camo.
She immediately started asking intelligent questions, may have gotten a little “trigger time” on the range, and we gladly haven’t been able to get rid of her since!
Robin pretty much exclusively runs AKs, which was a very welcome change of pace. I’m looking forward to seeing her out here again this year.
A Little Farther Away…
Lela “Lax Indigo”
Lela is a hardcore LARPer who hand-crafts all matter of melee weapons and boffers. Needless to say, when the foam swords come out at the airsoft field, you don’t want to be opposite of her.
I met Lela at the first Wolfschlutt event I attended at Harris Airsoft. We fought together as part of the French Resistance and had an amazing amount of fun doing so. She is always the first person I seek out when I attend events at Harris because she really is just such an amazing person, and I truly enjoy her presence.
One of these days we’ll get her up to SAASMaine. And yes, her hair is more epic than yours.
Emily “Mrs. Tree”
Like all the other women in this article, Emily is an excessively intelligent and nerdy woman who has a penchant for some roleplay and video games. In addition to her day job, her side hustle is a small printing company that does outstanding work.
Emily is also the reason BearsoftTactical’s EMOLLE Sling (Enhanced MOLLE) exists. She sent the idea for this lightweight sling design, and now it’s a thing. A super comfortable thing, at that. We highly recommend one (not going to apologize for the shameless plug).
I think the absolute world of Emily (and her hubby Treebeardo) and am really looking forward to spending more time with them both this year… hopefully here at SAASMaine, as well as Harris and FGF.
Becky “Spaink”
Becky is the “cool aunt” and the “cool mom” all wrapped up in one person.
We met online via her amazing nephew and became fast friends. She almost immediately took an interest in airsoft, seeing all the fun I was having, and started putting together enough kit for herself and the sausagefest she lives with at home (hubby and two sons).
Becks is a US Army veteran and has an unnatural love for the M16 and M4A1 style guns. When you see her on the field, though, you see her pretty much invaraiably with her KWA QRF Mod.2 (the “italics” AEG). And purple. She was admittedly a little hesitant dipping her toes into the hobby, which is understandable; how many people are going to accept a bigger middle-aged woman at the field? Fortunately, her local field has amazing and supportive players who made her feel welcome.
She regularly plays at her local field, bringing various combinations of husband, kids, kids’ girlfriends, church friends, you name it. We definitely need more people like Becksteraroni in the hobby.
This is quite a span of Women Warriors, from “social media influencers” to local heroes. Every one of these women come from different backgrounds, different regions, different countries; teens to middle-aged, and they all share the love of airsoft.
Often, however, they are still subjected to misogyny and a whole lot of unwelcome attention. They are out there (and on social media) to play airsoft, not to find fuckboys. No, you’re not the exception. Treat all women with the same respect and courtesy you expect to be treated on the field. They pull on their boots and don their gear just like the rest of us and get out there and play their hearts out and love it, because airsoft is awesome, and there’s more than enough room for everyone in airsoft.
While I’ve touched on this in a few of the entries above, it’s been my experience that women are overall much better airsofters, even if they are less experienced. The simple reason for this is that women tend to think more on the field; they play super smart, and don’t just run headlong into incoming fire. Face it guys, we’re just wired that way. It’s okay, I promise. All the women who have played at SAASMaine have done nothing but improve every game they’ve been a part of, and they force the rest of us to adapt to smarter play.
I couldn’t be more proud of the slaydies featured in this article, as well as all the other women who are out there week after week, slugging it out and having an amazing time.
The “Pink Ladies” all-woman airsoft squad at MSW “Azeri Occupation” in April ’22. Girls just wanna have fun. And equal rights. And pockets. Photo is from Leah’s IG.
