This article examines the case of “Penny Arcade and the Dickwolves” and looks at how hypermasculinity in video games shuns many female gamers and women who would like to play video games from participating in video gaming. Penny Arcade is a controversial web comic and blog that is very popular in the video gaming community. They host an expo called Penny Arcade Expo or PAX. In 2010, they published a comic called “Dickwolves” which featured characters based on video games.
"Penny Arcade has always prided itself on controversial or offensive jokes, as exemplified by their 2010 comic on ‘‘Dickwolves,’’ an imaginary beast that is described as having phalli instead of limbs. The comic is on the surface a parodyof a game mechanic, where a player is given a quest such as ‘‘free x prisoners’’or ‘‘rescue x slaves.’’ After the number of rescues is complete, the player can no longer interact with the remaining prisoners or slaves resulting in players spending a great deal of time ignoring the plight of virtual characters."
The “slaves” in the comic were raped nightly by the “Dickwolves.” This outraged many readers and those outside of the Penny Arcade community. Rape is a common reference in many gaming circles. Rape is used in a joking manner, as well as to threaten other players (in particular female players). Penny Arcade was not fazed by the backlash to the comic. They began selling merchandise featuring “Dickwolves” and featured the characters in several succeeding comics. This caused many to boycott the web comic and blog and their expo. The authors of this study, in order to conduct their research, looked at several discussion threads, forum discussions, Twitter feeds, and websites containing the terms “penny arcade,” “dickwolves,” “women gamers,” and others. The results found that there exists a culture of hypermasculinity in video gaming communities that are majority White and male that contains negative and even dangerous attitudes toward women.
As someone who plays video, particularly online games such as mmos (massively multiplayer online games), I have seen the culture of hypermasculinity in action. Gendered slurs, rape jokes, homophobia, and much more can be seen in the chat areas of many games. For instance, if a player is performing badly, they could be called names like “pussy,” “sissy,” or “fag.” Female gamers who are indentified as female can face sexual harassment or slurs being thrown at them. Particularly, comments about their bodies could be made. It is a stereotype that women who are serious gamers are unattractive. Those who do fit in with the standards of beauty are harshly criticized and viewed as “bad gamers.” Also, female gamers can have their ability questioned. Even if they are veteran or experienced players, female gamers are often viewed as novices or beginners, incapable of playing at a higher level. The video game world is opening up and becoming more inclusive, but there are still barriers.
"Penny Arcade has always prided itself on controversial or offensive jokes, as exemplified by their 2010 comic on ‘‘Dickwolves,’’ an imaginary beast that is described as having phalli instead of limbs. The comic is on the surface a parodyof a game mechanic, where a player is given a quest such as ‘‘free x prisoners’’or ‘‘rescue x slaves.’’ After the number of rescues is complete, the player can no longer interact with the remaining prisoners or slaves resulting in players spending a great deal of time ignoring the plight of virtual characters."
The “slaves” in the comic were raped nightly by the “Dickwolves.” This outraged many readers and those outside of the Penny Arcade community. Rape is a common reference in many gaming circles. Rape is used in a joking manner, as well as to threaten other players (in particular female players). Penny Arcade was not fazed by the backlash to the comic. They began selling merchandise featuring “Dickwolves” and featured the characters in several succeeding comics. This caused many to boycott the web comic and blog and their expo. The authors of this study, in order to conduct their research, looked at several discussion threads, forum discussions, Twitter feeds, and websites containing the terms “penny arcade,” “dickwolves,” “women gamers,” and others. The results found that there exists a culture of hypermasculinity in video gaming communities that are majority White and male that contains negative and even dangerous attitudes toward women.
As someone who plays video, particularly online games such as mmos (massively multiplayer online games), I have seen the culture of hypermasculinity in action. Gendered slurs, rape jokes, homophobia, and much more can be seen in the chat areas of many games. For instance, if a player is performing badly, they could be called names like “pussy,” “sissy,” or “fag.” Female gamers who are indentified as female can face sexual harassment or slurs being thrown at them. Particularly, comments about their bodies could be made. It is a stereotype that women who are serious gamers are unattractive. Those who do fit in with the standards of beauty are harshly criticized and viewed as “bad gamers.” Also, female gamers can have their ability questioned. Even if they are veteran or experienced players, female gamers are often viewed as novices or beginners, incapable of playing at a higher level. The video game world is opening up and becoming more inclusive, but there are still barriers.