Gaming sexism: Gender and identity in the era of casual video games

Discourse of Gaming: A Conceptual Framework of Gaming as an Interpretive Community

“…Games also made respondents "more analytical and patient" (Participant 243) and a "more efficient multi tasker," according to Participant 236. Here, this definition of a "good game" through Discourse of Gaming would seem to confirm the hierarchy of games reflected by both Consalvo and Paul (2019) and Cote (2020), particularly noteworthy were response like Participant 71 that even embraced the term hardcore to reflect a preferable gaming experience.…”

“…This perhaps reflects the lack of representation of members of marginalized communities in video games, which Shaw (2014) argues is connected to the degree to which those members ascribed to the gamer identity. Similarly, gender identity (Cote, 2020) and even the amount of time spent playing (De Grove et al, 2015) affect the degree to which individuals discursively describe themselves within this identity. This mechanism emerged alongside the development of home consoles with players self-categorizing as core players rather than casual players (Chess & Paul, 2019).…”

“…This shapes their personal life, as players reported that when they excessively game they "rarely manage to go out and socialize," according to Participant 100. The reflection by participantsthat tended toward the core gaming identity (Cote, 2020) -is noteworthy in that typically privileged is a higher amount of time spent in gaming (De Grove et al, 2015). The concern regarding gaming "excessively" would seem to reflect resistance to this aspect of the gamer identity.…”

Benevolent Transgressive Play in Dungeons & Dragons [D&D]

“…As such there has been considerable examination of the game's educational potential in recent years (e.g., Carter, 2011;Clarke et al, 2019;Cook et al, 2017;Garcia, 2020;Wright et al, 2020;Sidhu, 2024), with a focus on creativity, critical thinking, and social development outcomes (e.g., Sidhu & Carter, 2020a). Other research has also identified the appeal of D&D's typical face-toface play environment which can contribute to "more positive gaming experiences" for players historically excluded from online game cultures (Cote, 2020). Importantly though, critiques of the exclusionary practices associated with D&D play are at the forefront of current discourses and are especially pertinent when discussing transgression in the game.…”

Toward a multidimensional streaming: A thematic case study of two Twitch channels

“…In this sense, Paul (2018) shows that the culture of video games favors a type of "tyranny of meritocracy," which, following the number of hours of play and viewing, only favors young and white boys, who have the socio-economically adequate level to purchase the most advanced digital devices. On the contrary, there is also talk about the assumed character of considering women as "outsiders" when it comes to performance in video games (Cote, 2020;Orme, 2021). A temporary solution frequently practiced on streaming platforms is the one identified by Fox and Tang (2017), according to which participants in the virtual environment mask their gender identity just to avoid any form of harassment.…”