“They see it as a guy's game”: The politics of gender in digital games

Abstract

This paper examines “gamers'” gendered experiences of digital game play. Specifically, the paper explores female gamers’ involvement as a gendered process with attention to their gendered experiences. It also focuses on players’ resistance to gender based constraints, such as the social act of females “taking up” space in a traditionally male‐dominated leisure activity. The findings indicate that gaming character representations, content, and the gaming environment influence the players’ gendered experiences of game play. While commonality in the discourse of male and female players existed, there was also significant divergence; female players experienced significant gender‐based discrimination. Female players’ resistance to traditional notions of femininity and the sexist and misogynistic content and experiences of game play figured prominently in the findings. The study highlights how the politics of gender are enacted through the gendered content and practice of digital game play and how gaming holds particular relevance to the politics of place.