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Keeping Quiet: Investigating the Maintenance and Policing of Male-dominated Gaming Space
- Date Issued:
- 2016
- Abstract/Description:
- Despite the near parity between the number of female and male gamers (Entertainment Software Association, 2014), studies on gender in videogames illustrate a culture that typically reflects hegemonic masculinity and excludes women on a multitude of levels. Because these interactions occur within real and virtual space (both online and within games), a holistic approach is warranted to analyze these mechanisms of oppression. This paper seeks to uncover the ways by which gaming culture is maintained and policed as a male-dominated space, through qualitative data collection. By using ethnographic, participant observation at a large, multi-genre convention the experiences of both male and female gamers were collected and analyzed. Their stories shed light on the means by which women are silenced, or (")kept quiet,(") by voice chat profiling, verbal abuse, and hostile Internet communities. They are subject to strict policing of gamer identity, relegation as casual gamers, and their calls for inclusiveness all too often fall on game developers' deaf ears.
Title: | Keeping Quiet: Investigating the Maintenance and Policing of Male-dominated Gaming Space. |
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28 downloads |
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Name(s): |
Charles, Christopher, Author Pritchard, Robert, Committee Chair Preston-Sidler, Leandra, Committee Member Grauerholz, Liz, Committee Member Corzine, Harold, Committee Member University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor |
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Type of Resource: | text | |
Date Issued: | 2016 | |
Publisher: | University of Central Florida | |
Language(s): | English | |
Abstract/Description: | Despite the near parity between the number of female and male gamers (Entertainment Software Association, 2014), studies on gender in videogames illustrate a culture that typically reflects hegemonic masculinity and excludes women on a multitude of levels. Because these interactions occur within real and virtual space (both online and within games), a holistic approach is warranted to analyze these mechanisms of oppression. This paper seeks to uncover the ways by which gaming culture is maintained and policed as a male-dominated space, through qualitative data collection. By using ethnographic, participant observation at a large, multi-genre convention the experiences of both male and female gamers were collected and analyzed. Their stories shed light on the means by which women are silenced, or (")kept quiet,(") by voice chat profiling, verbal abuse, and hostile Internet communities. They are subject to strict policing of gamer identity, relegation as casual gamers, and their calls for inclusiveness all too often fall on game developers' deaf ears. | |
Identifier: | CFE0006281 (IID), ucf:51605 (fedora) | |
Note(s): |
2016-08-01 M.A. Sciences, Sociology Masters This record was generated from author submitted information. |
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Subject(s): | Gender -- Technology -- Video Games -- Gaming -- Women -- Feminist Theory -- Inequality | |
Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006281 | |
Restrictions on Access: | public 2016-08-15 | |
Host Institution: | UCF |