Adding to the previous posts about male and female gamers, I'd like to refer to an episode of The Big Bang Theory. The plot centers around Penny, the female lead, discovering the wonders of Age of Conan (an online multiplayer game) and becoming obsessed with it. The episode demonstrates the stereotypes and stigma attached to identifying as a gamer.
The four main male characters are gamers. They also happen to be socially inept and are portrayed as physically inferior to the macho guys Penny introduces them to. Raj can't even speak in the presence of women. They don't fit the mold of traditional masculinity. Once Penny begins to play the game, she begins to become unfeminine and adopts the stereotypical traits of a gamer. She no longer cares for her appearance (food crumbs in her hair), as she only leaves her apartment to ask Sheldon for help. She wakes him up in the middle of the night and even interrupts him at work for advice. She also skips work and shuns her social life so she can feed her addiction.
Penny couldn't be both feminine and a gamer. The show suggests that Penny had to shed the feminine aspects of her personality to make way for the grotesque traits of the stereotypical gamer. One cannot be both feminine and a gamer. However, since the male characters aren't traditionally masculine, the stereotypical gamer is stigmatised as some mixture of both masculine and feminine qualities. Perhaps this mix is so foreign to non-gamers that they are somewhat "de-gendered" and dehumanised. This may in part explain the subordination of the gaming community.
Apologies if you don't like the show, I just thought it illustrated an interesting point on the gender and videogame debate. It is after all, a fictional sitcom.
That's an interesting example about the representation of gamers, women, and women who play games...
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the three are separate categories is kind of key, too.