Response to 3 Readings on Gender&Games (Micaela)

I found myself extremely interested in each of the readings for today! Lara explained the phenomenon of Tomb Raider and its protagonist Lara Croft (as well of the tragedy of the game’s creator, leaving before profiting), From Quake Grrls to Desperate Housewives discussed the factors of the Girl Games Movement and its impact or lack of impact in certain areas (including the videogame industry), and Locker Room Utopia went into depth about the alienation of girls/women in videogames and videogame environments, as well as the representation of women in games.

Both Yee and Jenkins & Cassell brought up points that I’d noticed myself when playing videogames. They mainly discussed MMORPGs, which I have never personally played, but I’ve watched my brother filter through and play intensively for years as we grew up. I can’t count all the times his friends (the online ones, at least) would inquire about the female voice in the background and he would immediately explain “It’s just my little sister” and probably cue me to get out of his room. It was the same when his friends (all male) would come over to play whatever on the Xbox and immediately shoo me out of the room and close the door. He grew out of that and we eventually played countless games together, but I’ve seen firsthand how male dominated games can be.

The point Jenkins & Cassell made about game-spaces now being described as predatory to girls/women is also something that I’d never really thought about but found to be very true. When I was 10-12, playing Little Big Planet, I would often notice my mom hovering around, watching the chat, asking me what I’m talking about with the people online. God forbid I used a mic around her (I just did that when she wasn’t home). She hated the idea of me playing games online but couldn’t stop me on the principle that my brother had done it before me and she hadn’t said a thing. It’s just different. That’s the reason parents give. It’s always different when it’s the daughter.

Which kind of sucks.

 

**This wasn’t supposed to be a vent, I was just relating.

Posted on by Micaela Willoughby
Categories: Uncategorized

4 Responses

  1. Alexander Clinton says:
    October 3, 2018 at 12:03 pm

    I think that your experiences that you talked about are very similar to the articles and issues presented in the articles. In “The Locker Room Utopia” where it discuses the challenges of women trying to play or even just purchase games. I think it is similar to the story about your brother and his friends. Unfortunately the connotation that video games are just for guys has not been overcome yet, but I think Tomb Raider proved that there is a chance to make a great leap forward in the coming future.

  2. Jaclyn Kemly says:
    October 3, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    Growing up with two older brothers, I haven’t had quite the experiences that you’ve had with your brother playing games. My brothers actually welcomed me into the room more often than not while they would play video games and often wanted me to join them, but I realize that this may have been a special case. One thing I have experienced when playing games with my guy friends is that they automatically assume I will be worse than them at video games, specifically the sports related games, like NHL or 2K. I’m actually pretty good at NHL, but when I would score a goal or basket against my friend, he would get made fun of for “losing to a girl.” Girls are definitely not actively accepted into the video game industry, and it can definitely be frustrating!

  3. Wogan Snyder says:
    October 3, 2018 at 1:27 pm

    Just as you identified from your own experience and the articles, I’ve noticed a profound bias against women in online gaming. For example, when I was in middle school, one of my best friends, a girl, and I used to play COD: Black Ops II online together and she would refuse to join public chats. Having some inclination of why, I understood and stayed in private ones with our other friends. These articles reminded me of this and provided additional context.

  4. Alexandra Smith says:
    October 3, 2018 at 1:42 pm

    I relate to the part about the different standards for both you and your brother because I experience the same thing. My mom always told me that I could do/be anything I wanted but was noticeably more concerned about my online activity than his, but could say little-to-nothing without undermining herself. While most of the games I played did not include online chat features, my brother would put down my ability, usually not letting me play at all, and would constantly try to take the mouse out of my hand with the words “Just let me do it”. Part of that came from that fact that I was younger but he reinforced the idea that boys were better at video games, whether he recognized it or not.