Comments on: Reading Question for Kafai and Heeter, take 1

By: Oliver Sutro

Oliver Sutro — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 05:31:43 +0000

“The most visible part of the girl games movement included so-called pink games for girls with traditional values of femininity.” Is this movement not simply reaffirming stereotypes that the feminist community is trying to quell? Is the capitalism of the united states a clear indicator of women’s general opinion?

By: Avery Rain

Avery Rain — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:25:36 +0000

In Jenkins and Cassell’s reported study about educational video games in school, girls did twice as well on a game when it included ponies and balloons as opposed to pirates, ships, etc. This does not seem to fit into the differences between femme and butch qualities of games described by Brunner, but simply represents a difference in symbols used. From where might this difference in performance stem, and would it be reproduced if done with children today?

By: Eleanor Krause

Eleanor Krause — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:25:32 +0000

Laurel claims that in her program Purple Moon “characters exhibited loyalty, honor, love and courage. They also struggled with gossip, jealousy, cheating, lipstick, smoking, exclusion, racism, poverty, materialism, and broken homes.” And boasts that these aspects “meet girls where they were, in the realities of their own lives.” Boys experience these problems in life too, why don’t their games have similar incorporations? Does this give insight into societal issues of gender equality? Are boys encouraged to escape to a fantasy world while girls are only expected/allowed to enter a world not so different from their own?

By: Amelia Furlong

Amelia Furlong — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:54:16 +0000

Sims is the top-selling franchise game, and Jenkins and Cassell claim that it is a “gender-neutral” game. Yet doesn’t the Sims game perpetuate entirely female stereotypes? The characters go about their domestic duties, interact socially, problem solve and make friends. Doesn’t this completely fit the stereotype of the female game? Therefore, what does this say about the men that buy this game? Are they really craving games, too, that fit less into the “butch” game and more into the “femme?”

By: Rajsavi Anand

Rajsavi Anand — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:11:49 +0000

If we look at the market driven aspect of creating new games–i.e. pink games, and macho action games–what is the problem with games that appeal to both sexes such as the Sims? I find it interesting to think that even in this game, gender roles are still somewhat defined as women take care of the children in the first Sims game. So what should video game designers do when the only way to sell their games to both sexes is through making them appeal to a specific sex–i.e. giving them stereotypical ‘feminine’ traits?

By: Maria Macaya

Maria Macaya — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:02:26 +0000

“Gaming activities are not neutral or isolated acts, but involve a person’s becoming and acting in the world as part of the construction of a complex identity.”

Does this mean that we shape our identity by conciously choosing to play videogames or not, and if we do, by which videogames we play? or is our identity shaped by the videogames we are exposed to or are likely to play wihout us realizing their effect on us?

By: Joyce Ma

Joyce Ma — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:19:30 +0000

Does the same concept of femininity and masculinity portrayed in cinema the same as “femme or butch” in gaming?

By: Laura Hendricksen

Laura Hendricksen — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:13:10 +0000

Kafai and Heeter explain that a feminist movement willing to challenge the digital gender gap developed as a reaction to gendered assumptions that videogames were reserved for men. The authors mention that the « movement has emerged from a […] highly unstable alliance between feminist activists and industry leaders ».
However, how do the political wills of feminists negotiate with commercial interests in the representation of gender in computer games? Aren’t companies instrumentalizing « gender » to increase their economic gains? Isn’t this goal opposite to the cause of feminists who intend to reveal how masculinity and feminity are cultural constructs?
It seems to me that not only do both seek very different goals but also rely on an opposite understanding of the word « gender ».

By: Amethyst Tate

Amethyst Tate — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:07:37 +0000

*some purple games focused on adjusting to school environment.

By: Amethyst Tate

Amethyst Tate — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:06:50 +0000

In the preface, the authors comment that due to lack of video games for females in the past, games labelled pink games and purple games. Pink games involved activities such as styling a barbie, while purple games focused on girls adjusting to their school environment (which sounds like the worst game idea EVER by the way). However, aren’t these games simply reinforcing conventional gender expectations by presenting stereotypical ideas of what females like to play? How are these limited options of girls games an answer to the issue of underrepresentation of females in video game culture? What about the females who enjoy the car racing games, fighting games etc., but don’t want to be subjected to degrading images of females or only be able to play a male character? What are their options?