We are currently faced with a dilemma in society in which there are vast discrimination towards women when it comes to either their ability to performance or their interest in and of itself in video games. This is a key issue as according to Hayes (2000) “video gaming is now often children’s first and most compelling introduction to digital technologies” and if their first experience is that of a stigmatized sexist norm what future does it hold in that of when they pursue other opportunities that may present themselves later in life? Not only this but it also affects how the gaming industry is perceived by society; who buys what, what companies are noted as contributing to women in gaming, and which are simply still sexist towards women (both characters, and gamers themselves).
Previous theories on the differences in what females and males tend to draw to are fairly biased in a number of ways. One of which is that they typically leave out previous experience that either gender could have possibly had before said research, and as American society goes, boys are often given more opportunity to play video games, even having a console placed in their room as opposed to their sisters room (Hayes 2009). Not only this but, what if some women simply revert to games that aren’t that time consuming, and stick to the short games, such as puzzles? Males generally spend more time actually playing games than female, meaning they have more time dedicated to a single game or match than a female would.
Some companies, and researchers gravitate towards a “global objective” of what is perceived as what females “want” or “desire” to have in a game, and can be extremely misleading and skewed. Even to the point where we have “girl games” separate from what the norm of the rest of society has. For example from Hayes (2009) the Sims is viewed more as a “girl game” as they “involve managing families and interpersonal relationships”, stereotypical of what is perceived as what women want in a game. Though despite this, at least half of it’s player base is still men (Hayes 2000) meaning that men are still the predominate gender playing it. “ A common explanation for this preference is that mutuality and relationships are a primary source of identity for women, while men’s identities are defined more by individuality and social hierarchy” (Gilligan, 1982; Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, & Surrey, 1991).
Previous theories on the differences in what females and males tend to draw to are fairly biased in a number of ways. One of which is that they typically leave out previous experience that either gender could have possibly had before said research, and as American society goes, boys are often given more opportunity to play video games, even having a console placed in their room as opposed to their sisters room (Hayes 2009). Not only this but, what if some women simply revert to games that aren’t that time consuming, and stick to the short games, such as puzzles? Males generally spend more time actually playing games than female, meaning they have more time dedicated to a single game or match than a female would.
Some companies, and researchers gravitate towards a “global objective” of what is perceived as what females “want” or “desire” to have in a game, and can be extremely misleading and skewed. Even to the point where we have “girl games” separate from what the norm of the rest of society has. For example from Hayes (2009) the Sims is viewed more as a “girl game” as they “involve managing families and interpersonal relationships”, stereotypical of what is perceived as what women want in a game. Though despite this, at least half of it’s player base is still men (Hayes 2000) meaning that men are still the predominate gender playing it. “ A common explanation for this preference is that mutuality and relationships are a primary source of identity for women, while men’s identities are defined more by individuality and social hierarchy” (Gilligan, 1982; Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, & Surrey, 1991).