IR10 Presentation Milwaukee Oct 9 2009

Rethinking Barriers for Female Gamers & the importance of online communities Tracy L. M. Kennedy IR 10 - October 9 th 2009

Tracy Kennedy
Tauren Druid
Kerran Ranger
GamerchiX
Angry Pink Spartan
Role Player
Casual Gamer
Social Gamer
Virtual Worlds Explorer
Researcher & Educator
… and more…

Charlie’s Angels
Pinball Machine 1978
Head-to-Head
Electronic Hockey 1980

Women do game… Source: Entertainment Software Association Report 2009

Source: NPD Group - Gamer Segmentation 2009 … .but not all

So, where are the rest of the women?

Content, design & marketing

Console Gaming & Social Spaces

Everything Old is New Again? (or has nothing changed?)
Email, IRC, list-servs, forums etc
questions about one's physical appearance
invites for cybersex
threatening & hostile messages
Harassment & cyberstalking & more
Tannen 1994; Fallon 1998; Spender 1997; Spertus 1996; Jenson 1996; Winter & Huff 1996

How does social gaming shape women’s gaming experiences?

Women’s Gaming Community: Case Study
Xbox Live Forum
3000 Female gamers in 2007
Age 4-75
US, Canada, Europe
Members Only access
Moderated forum
Not a clan

June 19th 2007: forum ‘snapshot’
Content Analysis:
410 messages posted
11301 replies to messages
Messages coded into topics
Sub-coded into ‘general’ topics/themes

General Forum Topics
Gaming Support
48% of messages
200 topics
6072 replies
Hardware, good/bad games, game play suggestions (strategies), glitches, other gaming consoles (Wii, PlayStation etc)
Relationship Building
44% of messages
179 topics
4600 replies
F2F Meetings, Interactive posts, Looking for friends, Introductions

Social Support
8% of messages
33 topics
629 replies
Encouragement & Help for Offline Personal Issues:
Depression, Weight & Diet, Problems with spouses/partners & family members

Harassment
Verbal abuse
Porn photos & exhibitionism on webcams
Team killers (only kill the chicks!)
Exclusionary practices (booted from games)
Invites for cybersex
Harassment occurs :
During game play
Outside of game play (Lobbies)
In forums outside GamerchiX
* cafepress.com

“ Hey Ladies! I hope you can help me on this one. I'm being harassed by two guys that used to be on my friends list. They keep sending me friend requests over and over even after I decline them. They're even doing it with their alternate accounts. Is there any way at all for me to block them from sending me friend requests??? I've searched all over and I can't find a way to block them. This is day 3 of all this and it's getting quite annoying. I can't believe how childish some people are. =”

“… me and my friend were playing split screen GOW. A guy joins the room and I boot him since I was just about to invite my friend. The guy keeps coming back – about 3 times, and he sent me messages saying curse words and more. I message him and tell him - ‘I’m not scared of you so leave me alone’. He sends me a pic message with him holdin the xbox controller in one hand and a gun that’s real and its pointing to the camera, i immediately blocked communication with him. what should i do about this person?????????”

OMG!! Yes, if there is a gamer out there who hasn’t had an unpleasant experience then I will be totally shocked. Yes, everyday (I mean everyday) there is male harassment (especially since you are a girl) for both males and females. I get a lot of sexually related emails from people that I don’t know (I block their communications). If they are really bad then I report them through GamerchiX directly to Trixie [moderator]...as she has asked us to. The problem is that you can’t report them all. Trixie would just be flooded, so how to combat it or at least control the amount of it?? I don’t know, there is no avenue through XBOX to report such lewd and threatening acts - except for the feedback option. I just don’t think that is enough for some of these gamers to be reported on. Especially if they are soliciting sexual materials. We have had many a discussion thread on our experiences and we share what we have seen and what we did about it. I think that we find “safety in numbers” if you know what I mean, but to me it is still not enough.

Does that mean that social gaming is always a negative experience for women?

Social Gaming & Community
Meeting people with common interest (gaming)
Sharing stories – not alone
Creating safe spaces to discuss sensitive topics
Creating safe online gaming places – gaming with friends, groups & clans
Mentoring & learning
Help on how to stop abuse & harassment

“ I feel GamerchiX has encouraged us ladies to become more vocal and active on Xbox LIVE without having to worry about being hit on, cussed out or kicked out of a game just because we are girls.” “ GamerchiX has really given me an opportunity to meet some wonderful ladies. I've been online so much more than I was before and have become much more vocal when I game because I'm not afraid of getting talked down to.” “ Girls of all ages and from all backgrounds have a safe environment to chat and play without fear of negative comments and remarks.” Community Matters!

Beyond the game & forum Bridging online/offline spaces

F2F: role models & mentors

June 2006: 300
June 2007: 3000
June 2008: 6000
June 2009: 10000

*Xbox.com

Offline & Online

Solitary to Social
console gaming is becoming more & more about the ‘social’ & the interactive – online & offline
need to think about social issues in these social spaces
harassment potential impediment to keeping women interested and invested in gaming
how to manage these social spaces in a way that situates gaming as a positive experience for gamers
community (still) matters

Thanks & game on! PhD Candidate – University of Toronto Dept of Sociology Course Instructor - Brock University Dept. of Communications, Popular Culture & Film Tracy Kennedy [email_address] www.netwomen.ca

IR10 Presentation Milwaukee Oct 9 2009

by Tracy Kennedy on Oct 28, 2009

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IR10 Presentation Milwaukee Oct 9 2009 — Presentation Transcript

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