ETEC 544: Intellectual Production #5: Hegemonic Play: Gatekeeping Game Culture
Games are territorial activities, welcoming for some but inaccessible to others, and especially women, the boundaries of video game making and play are policed in myriad, more and less obvious, ways. Based on the readings, and your own investigative powers where you find your own two other supplementary sources (video/blog/game, etc.), create a response to the readings that demonstrates what you’ve learned about the harassment women face who play and make games, and hegemony of game culture specifically, including some of the ways its boundaries are created, sustained and (possibly) changed. You can make a podcast, create a poster or powerpoint, make/mod a game, construct a poem, write a short story—however you can show us what you learned about access and equity in game culture/s. Multi-sensoriality is strongly encouraged for this assignment.
“the lack of opportunity for women to engage in this industry is not only a concern for gender equality in gaming but also of economic opportunity. ”
As an avid gamer, an educator, and the father of two boys, I am keenly aware of my role in the conversations surrounding harassment and inclusivity in gaming. I can personally ensure the underrepresented folks I am playing with feel welcomed and valued. I can provide teachable moments and materials to help guide students on how to ensure they remember that the people on the other side of the screen are humans as well. I can also ensure that as I am talking about games with other educators I spotlight the amazing work being done in the lesser-known spaces of gaming that provide fun experiences for LGBTQ+ and women. I can also raise my boys to be men of character who welcome anyone in the spirit of play.
There are, in my mind, three key arenas where this battle is being fought, and frankly, mostly lost: the professional esports space, the streaming and content creation space, and the K-12 education space. All three spaces have distant challenges and opportunities to review.
Professional Esports
Content creation consultant Devin Nash discusses the challenges and opportunities related to women in esports in this well-researched, well-cited video.
The charges of harassment, cheating, and minimalization of women of equivalent skill are well documented at this point in the professional gaming space. In fact, if you were to Google the term “women in esports” in the hopes of finding some positive stories of women competitors, you would not find many. The topic is dominated by sites discussing the many challenges women face in being a competitive gamer. There is an overwhelming belief, contrary to study after study, that all other things being equal a man will perform better than a woman in professional gaming. The hard reality though is that to even confound these beliefs, women in gaming have to overcome countless obstacles and many simply give up trying before getting the opportunity to play. Opportunities for women to participate in competitive gaming are growing. Most of which are in the form of “women-only” leagues. While I think this is not the ideal scenario - there is no reason women shouldn’t be able to compete in the men’s leagues, this initial system will hopefully usher in an influx of female and trans gamers who can play, train, and compete in a safe, inclusive space. There will remain inequality in professional gaming for quite a while longer. Changes don’t happen overnight, but supporting professional women playing competitively with your time and attention will slowly move the needle towards acceptance and recognition.
Streaming
If there was any space in gaming MORE toxic and hateful towards women than in professional competition, it’s in streaming and multiplayer environments. The video below is incredibly hard to watch. It’s also incredibly normal. This is a critical space where marginalized gamers end up getting pushed out of the space. The behavior is so hateful and toxic that the abused simply give up the desire to play multiplayer games and the cycle continues. This is also the space where the average person can have a significant impact. In speaking with my wife while preparing this write-up, I couldn’t help but think of my 13 yr old son, who he is playing with, and how he was treating those people. Bringing awareness to this behaviour in all its ugliness is critical. Additionally, pressure needs to be applied to platforms such as Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube and to popular game publishers to better protect female and LGBTQ+ creators from harassment and abuse.
K-12 Education
There is a massive gender gap in STEM education. While there are a few special programs working hard to empower girls such as Girls who Game, and Girls who Code, the hard reality remains that when you think of STEM education, you think of boys. When you think of an engineer, you think of a boy. When asked to draw a mathematician or scientist, girls were twice as likely to draw a boy, and boys almost universally drew boys (Edutopia, 2019) Creating safe, inclusive, rewarding, fun learning experiences in STEM for girls and LGBTQ+ people is the job of EVERY educator. Not only this, but teachers can be on the front lines of the behavioural battles as well. Teachers who model inclusivity in the classroom, will see students who demonstrate inclusivity in gaming.
References
Yeomi Choi, Janine S. Slaker & Nida Ahmad (2020) Deep strike: playing gender in the world of Overwatch and the case of Geguri, Feminist Media Studies, 20:8, 1128-1143, DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2019.1643388
Nash, D. (2021, December 31). The truth about women in esports. YouTube. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ77cDiFhMk
Radoff, J. (2022, January 6). Building the metaverse with Jon Radoff: Live Streaming, twitch and online toxicity with SWEBLISS and Jon Radoff on Apple Podcasts. Apple Podcasts. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/live-streaming-twitch-and-online-toxicity-with/id1586368106?i=1000547137688
Spawntaneous. (2018, April 18). What girl gamers really have to deal with | OMG a girl series [1]. YouTube. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL0aVqVslSE
Berwick, C. (2019, March 12). Keeping girls in STEM: 3 barriers, 3 solutions. Edutopia. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/keeping-girls-stem-3-barriers-3-solutions