PRODUCTION #7
The articles titled Press F for Revoltby K.Cross, Putting Our Hearts Into Itby Lisa Nakamura, and Gamer-Hate and the Problem of Women by Jennifer Jenson and Suzanne De Castell all focus on the identity and representation within the digital sphere. The readings heavily focus on what it is like to be a female within the gamers world. These articles helped me to better understand the violence and objectification that happens over the web, I have also come to realize there is much I can do within my own classroom to help combat misogynistic ideologies towards young girls in the digital world.
Cross states “…. Has led many people to become implicitly socialized into viewing actions taken online as somehow less real or otherwise lacking in serious consequences (pg. 25)”. This quotation focuses on the difference between the physical world and the digital world and that many people feel that comments made online do not have real world implications or effects. She states that people view the web as being “real when it is convenient, unreal when it is not (pg.26)”. This goes to show that on the web there needs to be opportunity for meaningful social behavior because it cannot be disconnected from our physical reality. Actions on the web need to be viewed as having serious implications. It can also be viewed as a place where we can live out our own personal social values and morals “…. That the internet is a real place and that avatars are us, a digital manifestation of our flesh and blood existence, a vulnerable form onto which we may project all that we are and hope to be, and which is thus lumbered with many of the dame vulnerabilities as our physical selves (pg. 32).”
With this information being relevant as educators we need to educate our students on the importance and safety of using the Internet. They have to understand the implication of their digital actions. We also need to give opportunities to both male and female students to achieve success with digital technology. Jennifer Jenson and Suzanne De Castell state that “…..Women are under represented in the design and development of mainstream games, with estimates of 11% (in the USA), only 3% of those being game programmers (pg.187).” I feel like if we want to change these statistics it needs to start at an early age both boys and girls needed to be exposed to game design and young girls need to be able to see themselves in the game that they are playing.
Reflecting on my own gaming experience as a young girl I did not play games very often. The most common game I played was Yoshiis Island a game for my DS. Looking back on this experience I enjoyed playing this game because it was adventure based, the character you played as did not have a clear gender since it was a fictional creature. Each level the fictional creature would change colours so there was no customization of characters. Therefore I felt like it was a game that I could play and be successful at. Both my brother and myself played this game because it was a game that was not targeted to one specific gender.
Another videogame I played more as a teenager was Sims. Reflecting on this experience now I feel like the game has more stereotypical qualities and reflected anti-feminist ideologies. The female characters in the game all had a specific body type and most often they were over sexualities. In the game Sims there was a clear identifying factor between the male and female characters, the way the avatars in the game interacted was similar to social norms. From what I remember playing when I would take my female avatar out into the “city” men avatars would try to flirt and call out for attention, they could also hug and kiss my avatar. I feel like the game of Sims reflected much of societies bias and negative ideologies. Lisa Nakamura argued that their needs to be creative game designers that address social justice issues through there game design. She uses the term social warrior to define the type of creators that break the status quo mold. “The term social warrior…….. refer to the struggle against forms of body-based social discrimination such as sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, and classism (pg. 36)”. Personally I feel like Sims does not possess the qualities that a game should have in order to be classified as a social warrior. Sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination were all possible and relevant in the games of Sims.
This makes me wonder how my expose to games as a young girl could have affected my attitude towards games now as an adult. Reflecting on my past makes me want to change the future for my students. Reading through the articleGamer-Hate and the Problem of Women I really liked the explanation of the FiG workshop and how it tried to get feminist scholars to connect with other feminist in other areas to create a professional network within the industry. I thought that within my school it would be empowering to create a young girls network event where girls can share there digital creations and experiences they have encountered. It would be a safe place where girls can build on their technical and digital skills but also feel a sense of comfort bonding with other girls who may be in similar positions. As Lisa Nakamura stated “it is in gaming culture’s best interest, and by extension the interests of American culture as a whole, to create an affectively powerful and inclusive environment for all players (pg. 44).”