The market between symbolic violence and emancipation: The case of female hardcore gamers

Abstract

This article seeks to understand the process of market-based identity-building by looking at the life stories of female hardcore gamers. A dual theoretical framework is used: identity-building through consumption and gender via symbolic violence. Analysis of the meaning attributed to the underlying consumption practices and identity mindsets in the face of a masculine market norm reveals the following: (1) the relationship between female hardcore gamers and the gendered norm of the gaming market for hyper-players; (2) the ways in which this norm is appropriated and (3) the typical path of the female gamers concerned. The findings enable a discussion about the notion of symbolic violence driven by the market, where gender becomes an identity resource that can be manipulated through consumption practices that can lead to a certain emancipation, primarily linked to the possession of capital.