Identity Negotiations amongst Female and Minority Gamers

The final speaker in this AoIR 2015 session is Gabriela Richard, whose interest is in female gaming clans. She conducted an ethnographic study of the PMS Clan as well as interviews with gamers.

Overall, there are three waves of female gaming. The first wave identified gender difference in desire, interests, and playing styles; the second expanded the market to develop more female-oriented games; and the third explores more intersectionality between female and other identities (culture, race, sexuality, ...).

There has been a shift in the visibility of such issues, as female gamers have become a more visible group, but as harassment of such gamers has also increased. There have been attempts to section off female gamers as playing different games from men, or (male-driven) campaigns to define a "real" female gamer.

Game culture is part of a culture that presents certain norms. How these are presented also has an effect on who participates. Such norms and ideologies are created especially in the absence of real-world examples, but as such examples have emerged there has been a backlash from male gamers as an attempt to ensure the preservation of their existing dominance.

Such issues intersect across gender, race and culture to some extent. Harassment becomes a form of in-group gatekeeping: this takes place through linguistic profiling, but also through avatar or in-person stalking. This tends to target the most salient indicator of difference (skin colour, ethnic names, etc.).

Identity is thus negotiated through a narrow view of gender, race, and sexuality: there are certain stereotypical positions which are expected to be adopted by gamers, and female gamers thus negotiate their own identities as gamers through such narrow perspectives. This becomes especially problematic as it intersects with sexual orientation.

Harassment is a gatekeeping process that leads to silencing or marginalisation, then, and keeps gamers from playing in the way that they would want to – many end up avoiding and discontinuing play. Both female and ethnic minority gamers are more likely to experience stereotype threats, and to end up leaving because such experiences affect their sense of self as gamers. Female gaming clans serve as a buffer to this, by providing positive identity affirmation and support.

Games culture is thus policed through such heterosexual norms, but gaming communities can serve as a buffer to address this.