Kerr
Aphra Kerr
School of Communications,
Dublin City University
aphra.kerr@dcu.ie
Woman Just Want to Have Fun
A Study of Adult Female Players of Digital Games.
Abstract:
In the past twenty five years, the production of digital games has become a global media industry stretching from Japan, to the UK, France and the US. Despite the rapid growth of the industry playing digital games, particularly computer games, is still seen by many as a boy's pastime and part of boy's bedroom culture. Analyses of game content and gaming magazines point to the frequent use of male and female stereotypes and masculine themes of aggression and sexual violence. Notwithstanding the development of some 'girl games', and the results of a number of surveys which show that increasing numbers of girls and women are playing digital games, the prevailing perception is that playing games is a male dominated leisure activity which is highly masculine and demands good technological skills.
While certainly these perceptions may serve to exclude certain audiences, this paper set out to explore how for some women these perceptions were not sufficient to deter them from playing digital games. It also wanted to explore the experience and kinds of pleasures some women get from playing hermaphrodite characters, masculine heroes and highly sexualised female characters. Much of the player research to date has involved participant observation of online game playing or explored the psychological and behavioural effects of game playing on children. These approaches tend to ignore the 'real life' individual as well as the contextual dimension of game playing. Adult players also tend to be ignored. This paper explores how a small group of Irish women became digital game players; it charts their gaming biographies from children to young adults and it explores how this leisure activity is incorporated into their adult everyday life. It goes on to discuss their views about the gendered nature of game culture, public game spaces and game content; and how these influence their enjoyment of game playing and their views of themselves as women.
This paper addresses the topic of games as a cultural phenomenon. The research findings are based on in-depth face-to-face interviews with ten Irish women over 18 and follow-up participant observation during play sessions in the domestic setting. This research is part of a larger three-year post-doctoral research project which is examining both the production and consumption of digital games.
|
Sitemap 