![DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A “GAMER”?
•Yes but it’s not something I usually tell people.
•Yes, because I have enjoyed playing video games since I was a child….
•Yes, isn’t anyone who plays games?
•Yes! It’s a huge part of my life. Not only do I spend quite a bit of time gaming,
but I’ve made numerous good friends through gaming as a social medium.
•Yes, I love playing video games, it helps pass time…[I’m] a stay at home mom.
•Yes, because gaming is part of my identity.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/femalegamers-diversity-161102220811/85/Level-Up-on-Awareness-Exploring-Harassment-and-Promoting-Confidence-of-Female-Gamers-17-320.jpg)
Level Up on Awareness: Exploring Harassment and Promoting Confidence of Female Gamers
- 2. Stephanie Espinoza eLearning Librarian College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas, NV [email protected]
- 3. WHY STUDY FEMALE GAMERS?
- 4. “ ” GAMES ALLOWED ME TO GO TO ANOTHER WORLD, SO TO SPEAK, WHERE I MATTERED.
- 5. THE NUMBERS According to the 2015 Entertainment Software Association data, game players are: 56% men 44% women 4 4 % 5 6 % Gender of Game Players Women
- 6. THE NUMBERS Longitudinal performance analysis of men and women in EverQuest II and Chevalters’ Romance III Conclusion: Women perform at least as well as men do. The stereotype of female players as inferior is false (Shen).
- 7. THE FEMALE GAMER MYTH • Yet most Americans, including WOMEN, believe women DON’T play video games • 60% of American adults agree with the statement: “most people who play video games are men” (Duggan) • Women have also been known to underreport their MMO playing habits, even in anonymous surveys (Eklund)
- 8. DEFINITION: “The playing of games, especially video games” (“Gaming”) “GAMING”
- 10. “GAMER” Men are twice as likely to identify as “gamers” (Duggan) 15% of men compared to 6% of women
- 11. “GAMER” DEFINITION: “Contempt for women who call themselves ‘Gamer Girls’ has existed for a while online. In fact, I’d been careful to avoid the label over the years for that very reason” (Day)
- 12. DEFINITION: “GAMERGATE” “Online culture war, dealing with video game journalism ethics, the social values of video games, sexism, and feminism” (Mutert)
- 13. DEFINITION: “GAMERGATE” “Movement by a small but vocal minority of the online gaming population to bully and harass female gamers, game developers, and feminist media critics into silence” (Robbins)
- 14. GAMERGATE LED TO… •Online harassment of females •Sexist slurs •Doxxing (releasing personal info) •Threats of rape •Threats of death “Are you reading this? Of course you are. I will kill you.” (Kaplan) (Robbins) (Mutert) (“Gamergate”)
- 16. Over 3,500 members at the time of posting Total Responses: 219 METHODS: THE FACEBOOK GROUP (Espinoza)
- 17. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A “GAMER”? •Yes but it’s not something I usually tell people. •Yes, because I have enjoyed playing video games since I was a child…. •Yes, isn’t anyone who plays games? •Yes! It’s a huge part of my life. Not only do I spend quite a bit of time gaming, but I’ve made numerous good friends through gaming as a social medium. •Yes, I love playing video games, it helps pass time…[I’m] a stay at home mom. •Yes, because gaming is part of my identity.
- 18. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A “GAMER”? •Not really. I like to play games, but I’m mostly a social gamer… a casual player. •No, because I don’t think liking games requires a label. •Not really, I only play Guild Wars 2 and a few social games. I am not hardcore…. •I only play one game. •No. I am not as engaged in some of the games as my counterparts. I don't particularly care about my stats, regularly arrange 'play dates', etc. •No, but maybe I should.
- 19. “GAMER” DEFINITION: Most common rationale for being a gamer: • How long they’ve played (since childhood) • How often they play (daily, for hours) • Anyone who plays games is a gamer Clarifications: • Many specified they were “casual” gamers rather than “hardcore” • Some ONLY considered “hardcore” players to be “gamers” • Some were afraid to admit they were gamers to others Out of 185 responses to the question, only 8 women didn’t consider themselves gamers. 12 were in the middle
- 20. HOW OFTEN AND HOW LONG? Hours played in Guild Wars 2: •2,649 hours over 1,214 days •3,240 hours over 1,216 days •4,570 hours over 1,215 days •6,959 hours over 1,200 days •8,441 hours 0 50 100 150 200 Haven't played in a while Just when I have free time Seasonally Monthly Weekly Daily How often do you play video games? (216 responses) 181 (83.80% )
- 21. AGE Women over 18 are a greater portion of the game playing population (33%) than boys age 18 or younger (15%) The average age of a female game player is 43 years old (compared to age 35 for men) According to the ESA 2015 Report (Entertainment Software Association) 26% 30% 17% 27% Under 18 18-35 Years 36-49 years 50+ years
- 22. AGE •Teens = 8 •20s = 109 •30s = 48 •40s = 35 •50s = 11 •60s = 7 Youngest = 14 years Oldest = 69 years Most Frequent Age = 23 years Out of 218 responses (Espinoza)
- 23. HARASSMENT & SEXISM “Mysogynism is very common. I've heard more rape jokes in the last year than I would ever believe.”
- 24. HARASSMENT & SEXISM •Preferential treatment •Doubting skill based on gender •Harassment in-game such as sexist slurs •Obsession/stalking •Harassment outside of game
- 25. “ ” THE HIGHER LEVEL MY CHARACTER IS THE LESS LIKELY OTHER PLAYERS EXPECT ME TO BE FEMALE—BUT THAT'S THEIR PROBLEM, NOT MINE.
- 26. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED HARASSMENT? 5 2 % 4 8 % Experienced Harassment YESNO “Last month I had a guy tells me to go kill myself and no one in my family loves me.” “In college, some guys would be attracted to the fact that I was a gamer girl. I experienced actual physical sexual harassment…. My butt groped. Being pulled by my waist. Trying to steal kisses….” “I’ve stopped playing most MMOs due to the constant barrage of hate language.” “Oh yes, male gamers automatically assume you don’t know what you are doing.” “Some are sexist implying that I’m bad at games because I’m a female.... Other people can be sexually aggressive.”
- 27. GENDER ROLES “The idea that games are gender based is ridiculous to me. That's like saying only women can eat chocolate. Anyone that enjoys playing games can and should do so, and should be able to lay claim to being a gamer.” “Games have never been solely for males, though many men and boys have been led to believe that they were. Now that the presence of women in the gaming world has become impossible to ignore, many men are lashing out like young children unwilling to share favorite toys. Luckily, though quite vocal, these men are a minority.”
- 28. DESPITE HARASSMENT, WOMEN GAME • Exploration, competition, mastery and status, possibilities for female gamers to express themselves. They describe it as a “free space”, free from limitations in real life, a place where they can be equals with men (Eklund)
- 29. WHY WOMEN GAME “I am a stay-home parent with a chronic illness…. I lack the ability to earn money on my own. In GW2, I am able to add value to my account by completing simple tasks each day, and….save up to purchase things I really want. It gives me a sense of self- sufficiency and financial independence that I lack in real life. GW2 also gives me an opportunity to socialize without having to find a baby sitter. As I've mentioned many times in this survey, I feel that I am part of a community (maybe even an important part). I love the feeling of working as part of a team to accomplish great results that I would not be able to do alone.”
- 30. WHY WOMEN GAME •Stress relief •Escape / distraction from real world pain •Spend time with family / children •Connect with significant other •Make friends / share with like-minded people •Talk to friends / social interaction •Love of stories •They are FUN!
- 32. IN THE CLASSROOM
- 33. IN THE WORKPLACE • Only 26% of computing professionals are women (Belec) • Only 21% of game developers are women (Harwell) • “Researchers have argued that female gaming should be encouraged because it provides important technological knowledge” (Eklund) • First step is to help women feel that video games are not a waste • You can also incorporate computers/gamification into your classroom
- 34. EMPOWER WOMEN TO PURSUE RELATED CAREERS • Take the implicit bias test https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ • Remember that engineers are made, not born • Let the girls in your classes tinker with things, break things, and fail • Know that Title IX applies to STEM education too, not just athletics • Spread the word on how computing fields have social impact (Belec)
- 35. HOW CAN WE SUPPORT CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY?
- 36. SUPPORT CHANGE • “Gamergate taught us that companies can actually listen to their customers and begin to take steps towards more inclusive games. It's not a coincidence that after GamerGate we begin to see an increase of games featuring female leads and people of color more prominently….in the end it showed us that when we raise our voices, we can be heard. We can ask for more creative out of the box thinking from game developers without being restricted to only one very small demographic (straight/white/male)”
- 37. STEPS TO SUPPORT CHANGE 1. Raise Awareness Recognize and share that women DO play video games and DO experience unwarranted harassment for it 2. Create a Safe Space Allow women to express their gaming identity without judgement 3. Encourage both genders to talk about the issues Conversations can lead to better understanding THEN WE CAN LEVEL UP TOGETHER!
- 38. Belec, Hannah Moulton. “10 Ways to Get More Women into Engineering and Tech.” AAUW.org. AAUW, 26 March 2015.Web. 24 October 2016. Brookey, Robert Alan. “Paradise Crashed: Rethinking MMORPGS And Other Virtual Worlds. An Introduction.” Critical Studies In Media Communication 26.2 (2009): 101-103. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. Day, Felicia. You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir. New York: Touchstone, 2015. Print. Duggan, Maeve. “Gaming and Gamers.” PewInternet.org. Pew Research Center, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. Eklund, Lina. “Doing gender in cyberspace: The performance of gender by female World of Warcraft players.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 17.3 (2011): 323-342. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. Entertainment Software Association. Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry: 2015 Sales, Demographic and Usage Data. Washington D.C.: Entertainment Software Association, 2015. Web. Espinoza, Stephanie. “Female Gamers.” Survey. SurveyMonkey.com. SurveyMonkey, 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. “Gaming.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Eds. The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2011. Credo Reference. Web. 28 Dec. 2015. “Gamergate.” Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 19 Dec. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. Kubas-Meyer, Alec Harwell, Drew. “More Women Play Video Games than Boys, and Other Surprising Facts Lost in the Mess of Gamergate (Posted 2014-10-18 06:26:41).” The Washington Post Oct. 18 2014. ProQuest. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. Kaplan, Sarah. “With #GamerGate, the Video-Game Industry’s Growing Pains Go Viral.” Washington: WP Company LLC d/b/a. The Washington Post, 2014. ProQuest. Web. 2 March 2016. Keogh, Brendan. “Hackers, Gamers And Cyborgs.” Overland 218 (2015): 17-22. Humanities International Complete. Web. 2 March 2016. Kubas-Meyer, Alec. “Gamergate Fail: The Rise of Ass-Kicking Women in Video Games.” The Daily Beast Jun 23 2015. ProQuest. Web. 2 March 2016. M, Brandon Robbins. “Librarian's Guide to GamerGate.” Library Journal 139.19 (2014): 60. ProQuest. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. Mutert, Emilie. “SXSW Cancels Two Panels With GamerGate Ties; BuzzFeed, Vox Threaten to Withdraw.” Kut.org. KUT: A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, 26 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 March 2016. Shen, Cuihua, et al. “Do Men Advance Faster Than Women? Debunking the Gender Performance Gap in Two Massively Multiplayer Online Games.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 21. (2016): 312-329. Wiley. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. Voulgari, Iro, and Vassilis Komis. “‘Elven Elder LVL59 LFP/RB. Please PM Me’: Immersion, Collaborative Tasks And Problem-Solving In Massively Multiplayer Online Games.” Learning, Media And Technology 35.2 (2010): 171-202. ERIC. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. Whitaker, Ian. "UNLV professor’s idea for new library material is a real game-changer." Las Vegas Sun (NV) 29 Mar. 2016, Education. NewsBank. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. Works Cited
Editor's Notes
- #2: Intro about me (work online, play online). Explain about citations.
- #3: About Me: eLearning Librarian at CSN, interested in the digital world. Embedded in multiple online classes, lead library’s Distance Education committee, working on a needs assessment of online high school and college students. Also co-chair CSN Women’s Alliance diversity committee. This is a personal research interest and, full disclosure, I play video games about every week.
- #5: Harwell quotes P.J. McNealy, a games analyst and founder of Digital World Research: calls the stereotype a 17-year-old acne-faced male playing Call of Duty.
- #8: 31% disagree and 9% don’t know (Duggan)
- #10: Half of Americans play video games but only 10% consider themselves “gamers” (Duggan).
- #13: Concerned with ethical journalism—not promoting games just because they make a statement or talk about political issues. Don’t want games to be a medium that furthers an agenda.
- #14: Indie video game developer Zoe Quinn’s ex-bf (Eron Gjoni) wrote a blog post “The Zoe Quinn Post” implying she traded sex for positive reviews of her game “Depression Quest” Site investigated and found there had been no wrongdoing but harassment against Quinn continued (Kaplan) Anita - feminist blogger, video game reviewer, and YouTube show host (Gamergate) launched a Kickstarter to raise money for video series “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games” to analyze female stereotypes. Provoked a backlash from “hardcore gamers”. In October she cancelled a speech after anonymous e-mailer threatened “the deadliest school shooting in American history” while she was there. Journalist Jenn Frank came out as supporting Zoe Quinn’s Patreon account and was then targeted. Leaves her career for weeks due to the continued harassment. Felicia Day doxed within an hour.
- #15: One of the threats Zoe Quinn received in 2014 (before Sept. 12) Supporters of Gamergate felt this movement was an attack on their identity. Many gamers feel threatened by the diverse field of developers and critics (Keogh)
- #17: 10 Questions, Distributed by SurveyMonkey link via post on Guild Wars 2 Girls Private Group Facebook page, for one week. Incentive: Entered into drawing for five in-game gold as a thank you for participating (91)
- #24: Clearly girls are gaming. But what is it like to be a girl who plays video games in our society?
- #25: Intractable = hard to deal with, stubborn
- #26: (and I have both male/female characters and a total of 20, of which 18 are 80s in GW2) She has created 20 characters in Guild Wars 2 and raised 18 of them to the highest level (80)
- #32: These are skills we want in our future employees, and future leaders: male or female
- #35: “Women, on average, prioritize “communal goals” in their careers, meaning that they value working with and helping people. Engineers and tech workers can engineer an artificial limb, come up with solutions for drought and famine, and prevent cyberattacks” (Belec).
- #36: “Twenty-five years, seventy-five years or several thousand years of patriarchal structures (depending on how you look at it) will not disappear overnight” (Keogh) “Though there is much more work to be done, we have to acknowledge that we’ve taken some steps forward and celebrate it. And most crucial, we need to reward it.” (Kubas-Meyer)