Kochanek 1 Ferra Kochanek Professor Ditch English 115 3 September 2017 . Gender Roles in Video Games es (oA Ever since video games have been invented, gaming has primarily been a male-dominated sport. In the recent years, these games have been picked up by women, which men have not been to pleased about. Growing up, people have undertaken a mentality that video games are only for men and because of this, being a “girl gamer” has very negative consequences including dismissal, rude behavior, and extra attention causing women to feel discouraged and feel the need to change their tone, In fact, many girl gamers are too afraid to admit their gender because of the way they are treated in and out of the game. They play more aggressive and hide themselves i yy gpg to blend in with the male-dominated video same) 9 KYO community. // Li i ALA nee A-AO Whe Being a git gamer myself ae hhave had numerous occasions of the negative consequences Hoe stated above. To shield myself from potential abuse and negativity, I have adopted a certain mindset. This mindset changes according to the people I am currently gaming with. For ni when I meet other girl gamers who I know have struggled through the same hardships, [ adopt a the game, Being ae accepted as myself changes how I act around people. If I play with random people, whom I do yw" more feminine and genuine persona which is closer to how 1 am outsi not know very well, thep I adopt a more masculine performance because, in my experience, die aleKochanek2 they a when people have guessed that lam a girl either two things happen: they special treatment, or they dismiss your skill level and degrade your performance. gt i" Gendering from games start from early childhood. The toy’ differ for each gender: boys are given video games while girls are given barbies. I's lookéd down upon for girls to be ok said games because “it is not ladylike” or “they are to violent for a sweet gitl like you.” The only video games allowed are dress up games, cooking games, and baby care games which are seen as girl things to do, In the article, “Night to His Day,” Judith Lorber explains that “Once a child’s gender is evident, others treat those in one gender differently from those in the other, and the J children respond to the different treatment by feeling and behaving differently” (20). In this ease, girls are treated negatively from an early age if they play video games and so they grow up thinking gaming is bad. Likewise, boys grow up believing girls can’t and shouldn't play video games, so they treat them poorly if they do so. nie ynindset discourages many females from fhe” _ starting or continuing gaming, Je, "wo omteA de AN EU Because of sexism in the game, often I adopt an aggressive tone of play. I shout whe? and point out mistakes which is common behavior for men, but unorthodox coming from a woman, Inthe article, “Becoming a Member of Society," Aaron Devor describes atwibues that) Jate with men and women, “These two clusters of attributes are most commonly seen ADE 7 irror images of one another with masculinity usually characterized by dominance and {My 3 aggression, and the femininity by passivity and submission” (39). According to Devor, my tone nda ie a and playstyle is inappropriate as a proper member of society. I do not conform to the normal NY -f) behaviors of society's definition of a woman. However, because of this masculine performance, 1 am able to be an active member of the gaming community and be treated with respect that I iKochanek 3 deserve, Some girls, however, have the total opposite mindset than a masculine one. In my experience, many gir! gamers that are comfortable with expressing their gender online adopt a ‘mentality of submissiveness. They play girl characters, play a supporting role, and are driven away from dominating characters that are usually more assertive. This is because they are constantly told that’s what their correct role in the game is and it is the only possible thing a girl could be decent in, This submissive type of behavior doesn't occur only in casual video game players but algo in pro video game players. Proffesional video games, or E-Sports, is dominated purely by men, Taking League of Legends as an example, every pro team consists of only men and no women, Once a girl named Maria Remilia was invited to become a pro, she played for a season and got so many insults, and negative attitudes that the team had to drop her and she quit. This is a prime example of the mindset that girls aren't good enough to play video games. Even though she was amazing at the game, every time she made a mistake people would call her out. Other pro players that were men would do the same things yet would not receive as harsh comments. | ‘Another example of girls being abused in video games was a pro-team called team siren. This ‘was a pro team in League of Legends made up entirely out of women, but disbanded a mere two | weeks of getting together. This was because they became the laughing stock of the entire League of Legends community. In an attempt to create the message of empowerment for every girl gamer, they instead received harsh comments including, “this is a joke” and “they just want attention.” This message of equality backfired on all the members and furthered the divide between man and woman in the gaming world.Kochanek 4 & Video games are supposed to be fun for anyone who chooses to participate. However, tue \, to the gender norm of video games, even if girls ere good at gaming , stereotyping has made it so © when a girl says they ean game men think, “oh you're a girl? You must not be good at the game,” ‘The word “gir!” can also be described as offensive or misleading since some gamer girls are not young enough to be considered as such. This word has been used as an insult towards other guys in the common phrase, “you play like a girl,” which translate to, “you play really bad.” This phrase is also used outside of gaming in a negative connotation because men see women as inferior to them in almost everything. This thinking translated into video games and continues to be the normal way of thinking for the gaming community. Gendering has become a norm for people playing video games. Society has warped their views of video games as a men only sport. Not only does being a girl gamer have negative girl gamers feel the urge to conform to society norms by either portraying themselves as more manly to fit in with the community, or more submissive to fit the role that gendering has given them. Anyone should be able to play video games regardless of their gender and should not be punished because they want to enjoy games that say anyone can play. Although there are many consequences inside the game, but also has a negative impacts outside the game as well. Known tales that are opposed to letting women play, there are some males that are starting to realize the | value of women playing video games. As more women take up video games, the more the world can see that women are able to match up to males. Because of this, video games are slowly challenging the mentality of gender norms. The changing of gender norms in video games will one day translate into the real world and equality can be achieved.Kochanek 5 Works Cited “Becoming a Member of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender.” Composing John F. OHara, Devor, Aaron. =< Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader, edited by Rachel Groner and J Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014, pp. 2-43, Hess, Amanda. “A. ae of Sexist Video Game Marketing.” Slate Magazine, 4 Dec. 2013, nw, logs! 120 -mé mas ret s history_of the sexist_selling hu “Night To His Day.” Composing Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader, edited by 2014, pp.\A-20 Lorber, Judith. Rachel Groner and John F. 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