Talk explores role of women in gaming

“The Politics of Play: Media Representation of Women in Gaming,” a discussion hosted by the Digital Media Center (DMC) and inspired by Women’s History Month, was held in the Mattin Center on Saturday night.

The discussion focused on the implications of the Gamergate scandal, a complex internet movement that pitted those gamers in favor of creating a more inclusive and female-friendly environment against those resisting such change.

The movement began in August as a plea to eradicate corruption in gaming journalism after it came to light that Zoe Quinn, a video game designer, allegedly slept with a reviewer from a game review website in order to secure a favorable review for her game, Depression Quest. Many women supported Gamergate initially because of its ethics advocacy, but the movement soon shifted. Men began to use the Gamergate hashtag to turn the movement into a backlash against inclusive change in the gaming industry.

The keynote speaker of the DMC’s event was Stephanie Orme, a feminist media researcher at Pennsylvania State University interested in sexuality, gender and race in the video game industry.

The participants pointed out what they viewed as the principal stereotype of a gamer: ugly, fat men with no lives. However, as Orme carefully pointed out, 48 percent of total gamers are women, according to new studies, with most of them becoming interested in gaming in the last few years from the advent of casual gaming via the Nintendo Wii system and smartphone games.

“Mobile games have changed the industry. It’s something anyone can pick up and absorb in a few minutes,” Orme said.

The dichotomy between casual and hardcore gaming was addressed, including the link between first-person shooter games like Call of Duty and gun violence in America, a comparison that, according to Orme, the mainstream media likes to exaggerate.

However, Orme noted that female gamers enjoy games with a variety of violence and intensity, not only softcore games such as Candy Crush.

“It’s surprising if you see the kinds of games women are playing. There’s a misconception about the dearth of female gamers out there,” Omre said.

Orme pointed out that the stereotypes of women in gaming are created by the hypersexualization of women in the games themselves, as well as by pervasive ideas about gender in society. Female gamers are portrayed on the Internet as either fat, ignorant nerds or attractive, sexual deviants, which, as Orme pointed out, is a polarized misconception. She explained that women gamers have their knowledge of games questioned every time a man hears a female voice in an online game.

Another topic discussed was the way in which women are seen by game creators and marketers, who focus their ad campaigns on demonstrating the femininity of games by showcasing pink systems and style-oriented games.

“What does it mean if a guy plays a fashion game?” Orme asked.

Attendees discussed games targeted toward women or girls and came to a general consensus that video games in general should be able to appeal to both men and women without making women feeling uncomfortable.

Orme then showed a Nintendo marketing campaign directed toward women that features the tagline “I’m not a gamer” and women like Dianna Agron from the television show Glee and Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas playing games and then speaking the tagline. Orme and attendees found the campaign concerning.

“The ‘I’m not a gamer’ phrase is not applied to men,” Orme emphasized.

The discussion ended with slides about salary disparities between men and women doing the same jobs in the gaming industry, the “boy’s club” of gaming companies, and sexual harassment and propositioning in the workplace.

After the discussion, sophomore Channing Kimble-Brown briefly discussed the future of women in gaming.

“There is definitely a move in a positive direction, but it feels slow. I’m a casual gamer, but I like to play RPGs [role-playing games],” Kimble-Brown said. “There’s a lot of vitriol online. Everyone will be okay, and then they’ll realize she’s a girl and treat her differently.”

Sophomore and Event Organizer Erica Schwartz agreed that women are treated differently and said she is appalled that some men blatantly refuse to game with women.

“To me, it’s completely ridiculous. It’s shocking that anyone would do that, because it makes absolutely no sense, but I really have to ignore people like that. It’s totally uncalled for and totally unfair,” Schwartz said.

However, Schwartz does believe that the gaming world as a whole is becoming a more inclusive environment.

“I definitely see the role of women in gaming growing, and there’s more discussion to make [gaming] more equitable,” Schwartz said. “The interest is there, but it just needs to be more for women.”