Finding the Invisible Player and Understanding Women’s Experiences in Online Multiplayer Video Game Environments

Catherine Lukianov May 30, 2014MA Media Studies Thesis Syracuse University

Purpose

Gender plays a role in women’s gaming experiences

Feminist Standpoint Epistemology

Women’s lived experiences in potentially hostile gaming environments

Battle games

Team based, cooperative and competitive

Online multiplayer modes

Playing with or against strangers

Call of Duty, Halo, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead, League of Legends

Research Questions

RQ1: How does a woman’s gender impact her gaming experiences?

RQ2: How do women video game players navigate their real world gender in battle games?

RQ3: How do women video game players negotiate their gameplay experience in a potentially hostile gaming environment?

Literature Review

Gaming culture masculinity: “Real” games and “real” gamers

(Dovey & Kennedy, 2006)

Hypermasculine discourse

(Taylor, 2012)

Anomalies who challenge gender norms

(Taylor, 2003; Taylor, 2006; Royse et al., 2007)

Literature Review

Gender identity

(Foss, Domenico & Foss, 2013)

Performativity

(Butler, 1990)

Other masculine environments

How do women perform gender within battle games?

Method

Qualitative in-depth interviews

Textual analysis of journals

Optional journal prompts

Follow-up interviews

Participants: 16 women, ages 19 – 40

13 wrote journals, 12 follow-up interviews

Analyzed using Dedoose

FINDINGS

Denying Female Gender Performances

The “Girl Gamer” Stereotype

Findings: Denying Gender Performances

Male generic language

“Well done, boys.” - Jean, journal

“You mad, bro?” - Charlotte, journal

“(At times like those there is a small little part of me that wants to shout I’M NOT A BOY but thankfully it is tied up and held down by my common sense)” - Jean, journal

Pronoun use – Friends participate in gender performances

“Just like, even if my boyfriend were to out, like oh... she. Or she, if he uses ‘she’ or ‘her’ or any kind of those uh pronouns and people catch onto that, they’ll start making like sexual jokes or whatnot about me.” - Cass, interview

Findings: Denying Gender Performances

Denial of skill

Rejection of gender performance

“And yeah, I think most guys just don’t, you know, believe that girls can be as just as good (laughs), or better than them, so. I was kind of, it was just kind of funny to see the reaction, like complete denial.” - Laquita, follow-up

“I’m just ‘a hacking bitch.’ I’m just some stupid bitch making my boyfriend play with me while I talk and I should be in the kitchen making him a fucking sandwich.” – Gwen, interview

Findings: Denying Gender Performances

Male assumption

High pitched voice assumed to be a child

“So um, obviously on Xbox, you know, it was inevitable sometimes. You know, you talk and they’ll be like, ‘Oh are you a little boy?’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m a chick. Please.’” - Rain, interview

Findings: Denying Gender Performances

Findings: The “Girl Gamer” Stereotype

Concealing one’s gender becomes normalized

Agency in gender performances

“Girl gamer” stereotype

Lack of skill

Attention seeking

“Like uh they would say a woman who has, or a girl who has her picture, or a feminine nickname, or uses the microphone and she’s asking for negative attention. She’s asking for the sexist comments, right. Obviously she is not, that is victim blaming.” - Zoey, follow-up

Findings: The “Girl Gamer” Stereotype

Assuming a male identity

Challenging the stereotype

“I would trade all that in an instant just to um be like a normal person. Just to be on par with the regular people, regular dudes who just play. And like they receive no special treatment but they also receive no special hatred.” - Allison, interview

When you’re a girl on the internet, “Eh everyone hates you. Like you’re not allowed to do anything and you’re either, you know, what is it, fat, ugly, or slutty, so. Like as long as you’re, but like if you’re anonymous you’re read as male and then it’s okay, and then you’re just everyone else.” - Emily, interview

Findings: The “Girl Gamer” Stereotype

Distancing from the stereotype

A troubling lack of agency

“... it’s kind of sad that girls are in a position where, you know, pretty much every girl who ever speaks on microphone is representing like all female gamers just in general cause the number of us who choose to speak is so little, so few.” - Sis, interview

Conclusion

Rendering women invisible

Lack of female gender performances

Assuming a male identity

Monitoring and adapting gender performances

Reinforcing gaming culture expectations & women’s exclusion

Finding the Invisible Player and Understanding Women’s Experiences in Online Multiplayer Video Game Environments

Catherine Lukianov May 30, 2014MA Media Studies Thesis Syracuse University