Abstract
A significant proportion of trans and gender diverse (TGD) young people report membership of the gaming community and resultant benefits to wellbeing. To date their experiences and needs regarding a key feature of games, the avatar, are largely unexplored, despite increasing interest in the therapeutic role of avatars in the general population. The aim of this study was to better understand the role of the avatar in gaming, its impact on TGD young people’s mental health, and their unique needs regarding avatar design. N = 17 TGD young people aged 11–22 years (M = 16.3 years) participated in four focus groups. A general inductive approach was used to thematically analyze the transcribed data. TGD young people report considerable therapeutic benefits of using avatars with positive mental health implications. Importantly, TGD young people use avatars to explore, develop and rehearse their experienced gender identities, often as a precursor to coming out in the offline world. They also report negative experiences of feeling excluded due to the constraints of conventional notions of gender that are widely reflected in game design. Participants described simple design features to better reflect gender diversity, such as increased customization. Such changes would facilitate the positive gains reported by participants and better reflect the diversity of young people who use games. The findings have important implications for both recreational and serious or therapeutic game design.
Highlights
Individuals whose gender identity is incongruent with the sex assigned to them at birth identify as transgender or gender diverse (TGD)
Seventeen TGD young people participated ranging from 11–22 years (M = 16.3 years, SD = 2.76)
In this study we sought to better understand how TGD young people experience the avatar in gaming using a convenience sample, given the dearth of research in this field to date
Summary
Individuals whose gender identity is incongruent with the sex assigned to them at birth identify as transgender or gender diverse (TGD). The prevalence of gender diversity has increased steadily in recent decades, sitting at estimates of 1.2–2.7% for TGD adolescents in the general population [1,2,3]. The intersection of gender non-conformity with adolescence in a heteronormative world can exacerbate the common challenges of adolescence. TGD youth report a raft of additional challenges, including increased stigmatization, familial and peer rejection, mental health difficulties and barriers to accessing support services [1,6,7,8,9]. TGD young people are at high risk of developing mental health difficulties
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