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

ii

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