Gender and Games | Games, Gamers, & Gaming, August 2011
Aug 15, 2011Forget the stereotype about males being the only gamers. Women and girls play, and we are doing so in steadily increasing numbers. We play online MMOs (massively multiplayer online games), co-op games off Steam, tabletop role-playing games (RPGs), and board games. We are young and old, and the so-called “grrl gamers” are becoming more visible and vocal.
That doesn’t mean game developers don’t make appallingly sexist assumptions and choices in some marketing and design decisions, or that a female player doesn’t risk exposure to egregiously misogynistic words, behavior, and situations when sitting down to play.
A library that sees this as an excuse to shy from fully embracing games instead of as an opportunity isn’t doing justice to the community it serves. Gaming in libraries offers a chance to make the situation better.
Context
To approach a discussion of gender and games is to walk into a continent-sized minefield covering a plethora of related topics. Most are beyond the scope of this brief column, but here are a few ideas to consider as library professionals who have a special interest in games.
Females and males largely play the same games, although not in equal numbers. Females and males neither necessarily play the same way nor with the same expectations. But beware of inclinations being misinterpreted as absolutes, or “common knowledge” being laughably inaccurate.
Complexity
Do rippling muscles on the game cover signify it’s just for guys? Pink unicorns and frilly princess dresses? Girl game. Companies play to stereotypes because they would be foolish to ignore existing marketing data. Yet I would venture to suggest that the majority of role-playing game books and adventure-based board games give box-cover real estate to depictions of both males and females.
Furthermore, adult women can find the muscled heroes attractive the same way the guys enjoy Lara Croft’s athleticism. In a recent discussion about gender in the LibGaming Google Group, one woman spoke of having a crush on Squall in Final Fantasy 8 and how she enjoyed playing him more than the girl characters…and ditto for her sister.
Many, if not most, electronic games offer the ability to select or create either male or female characters of equal ability. Men seem to play female characters with some degree of comfort; Nick Yee and Nic Ducheneaut at the Palo Alto Research Center found males were four times more likely to “gender bend” than females in World of Warcraft (2010). The female Commander Shepherd of the Mass Effect series is viewed with considerable affection in the fan community. This has, in turn, led producer BioWare to feature Collector’s Edition box art and a promotional trailer with the “femShep” character. As female players become more numerous and more vocal, the market will rise to meet their dollars. The industry as a whole is not indifferent or unaware. Still, much more can be done.
Yet while the game industry is still dominated by male designers, design houses are actively seeking female creators. Many organizers of the so-called “serious” games are guided by women.
What libraries can do
Some libraries already offer tech classes and programs teaching gamers how to mod their games (customize them to reflect their own creativity). It has been observed that the games typically considered “guy games” are more likely to make modding and level design possible than girl games. However, a game like Little Big Planet is largely gender-neutral, making it an excellent choice for customization.
Tabletop RPGs provide an exceptional venue for women to learn the conceptual tricks of game design and interactive storytelling fundamental to being a game master, in addition to encouraging their leadership skills, adaptability to fluid strategic conditions, and spacial visualization. Libraries that do more games programming like this will bring long-term benefits to the hobby.
Libraries are perfectly positioned to be inclusive, disregarding limits based on age, gender, or ethnicity—or what hobby one pursues. If you love games and gaming, share that love and that pride. Writer and game designer Monica Valentinelli recently wrote, “No woman should ever be afraid to admit they play games, read comic books, watch anime, dress up in costumes [cosplay] or know how to spell Cthulhu” (ow.ly/5EJmJ). Regardless of what kind of games you enjoy personally, in the library you can bring everyone along—and game on.
| Author Information |
| Liz Danforth, MLS, an Arizona-based part-time librarian who also works as a freelance game illustrator/designer/developer, writer, and library consultant, blogs at www.libraryjournal.com |
