#womeningaming

[night-lie]

I have opened the path.

[lovewillabides]

The Last Solar Threading Ritual

[dread-red-queen]

GOLD & SILVER

🚫dont reupload/edit my shots/art without my permission🚫

[mirandatrannzz]

[Week 9]

🎮 Game Over for Gatekeeping? How Diversity is Reshaping Gaming

From Ethics to Exclusion: How Gamergate Redefined Online Harassment

Gamergate, disguised as a push for "ethics in gaming journalism," was a targeted harassment campaign designed to exclude women and marginalized voices from gaming (Stuart, 2014).

It stemmed from anxieties over shifting power dynamics - gaming was no longer an exclusively male space, and the rise of female representation triggered a backlash.

💻 Online platforms amplified this outrage through their algorithms, normalizing harassment under the guise of "free speech." Far from neutral, they became enablers, rewarding inflammatory content with visibility and allowing harassment to flourish. Gamergate reinforced the "gamer mold," framing women and marginalized groups as interlopers and discouraging diversity (O’Donnell, 2022).

⚠��� The tactics of Gamergate persist in modern online hate campaigns. While diversity initiatives exist, women in gaming - whether developers, streamers, or critics - still face routine harassment (Cote, 2020). The fight for inclusivity is not just about gaming; it reflects broader struggles over power and digital exclusion.

The Gamer Mold: Who Fits, Who is Pushed Out, and Who Fights Back

The stereotypical "gamer" - young, white or East Asian, middle-class male - is an instrument of control, upholding the status quo (Yao et al., 2022). This exclusionary identity dictates who is seen as a "real" gamer. 

📊 A staggering 83% of adults aged 18–45 report harassment in gaming spaces (Moreno-López & Argüello-Gutiérrez, 2025), exposing systemic hostility toward those who do not conform.

This structure fuels gatekeeping. When Anita Sarkeesian critiqued sexist tropes in Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, she faced a coordinated harassment campaign, including death threats, rape threats, and a mass shooting threat at Utah State University (Teti, 2017). 

💣 Such extreme responses reveal that digital platforms are not neutral but contested battlegrounds for power and exclusion (Chia et al., 2020).

Gamergate further entrenched the "gamer mold," reinforcing gaming as a male-dominated space. However, marginalized gamers are fighting back, reshaping the industry, and creating alternative spaces.

Press Start to Disrupt: How Marginalized Gamers Are Fighting Back

Diverse gamers reclaim space through streaming, esports, game development, and indie gaming.

Groups like Black Girl Gamers (BGG), founded in 2015 by Jay-Ann Lopez (Teasley, 2024), have built safe digital spaces for Black women, amplifying marginalized voices through curated Twitch streams and industry panels.

🌍  BGG is not just about representation - it is a direct challenge to the structures that police gaming culture.

The rise of such communities underscores the depth of systemic exclusion (Paul, 2018). Their existence highlights how traditional gaming spaces remain hostile, necessitating alternative platforms.

However, progress is not just about visibility; it requires dismantling entrenched power structures. Actual change goes beyond inclusion - it demands systemic transformation in how gaming spaces are defined and governed (Peterson, M. , 2013).

Gaming's future hinges on this battle (Chia et al., 2020). The question is no longer whether diversity belongs in gaming but whether the industry will dismantle the barriers that necessitated these counter-movements in the first place.

💬 What do you think?

💡 Have you experienced gatekeeping in gaming?

🚀 What are your favorite communities that are pushing for diversity?

🔁 Reblog & share your thoughts in the tags or comments! Let's keep the conversation going. 

References

Chia, A., Keogh, B., Leorke, D., & Nicoll, B. (2020). Platformisation in game development. Internet Policy Review, 9(4). https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/platformisation-game-development

Cote, A. C. (2020). Redirecting. Ebsco.com. https://research.ebsco.com/c/ln5f2k/search/details/ye2pindx6n?db=e000xww

Moreno-López, R., & Argüello-Gutiérrez, C. (2025). Violence, Hate Speech, and Discrimination in Video Games: A Systematic Review. Social Inclusion, 13. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.9401

O’Donnell, J. (2022). Gamergate and Anti-Feminism in the Digital Age. In Springer eBooks. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14057-0

Paul, C. A. (2018). The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games. Google Books. https://books.google.com.vn/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Mip0DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT6&dq=how+traditional+gaming+spaces+remain+hostile

Peterson, M. (2013). Computer Games: Definitions, Theories, Elements, and Genres. In: Computer Games and Language Learning. Palgrave Macmillan’s Digital Education and Learning. Springer.com; Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://fsso.springer.com/federation/Consumer/metaAlias/SpringerServiceProvider

Stuart, K. (2014, December 3). Zoe Quinn: “All Gamergate has done is ruin people’s lives.” The Observer. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/03/zoe-quinn-gamergate-interview

Teasley, S. (2024, February 12). A Peek Inside Her Agenda: Jay-Ann Lopez. Her Agenda. https://heragenda.com/p/jay-ann-lopez/

Teti, I. F. (2017). Female Tropes in Video Games | Penn State - Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA). Psu.edu. https://sites.psu.edu/academy/2017/04/09/female-tropes-in-video-games/

Yao, S. X., Ewoldsen, D., Ellithorpe, M., Van Der Heide, B., & Rhodes, N. (2022). Gamer Girl vs. Girl Gamer: Stereotypical gamer traits increase Men’s play intention. Computers in Human Behavior, 107217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107217

[gameznewsinfo]

Discover the most iconic female video game characters who have redefined gaming and inspired millions!

Top 10 Female Game Characters Every Gamer Must Know 🎮👑

[larasarty]

[unrulymagic]

me when i was right all along:

[hagiographer13]

2024 Kassandra Kalendar VP, pt 2

[bobastudios]

Day 1 at MAGFest! We had such a blast catching up with everyone at Unity's Indie Dev Mixer! So many familiar faces including some that it has been years since we've seen! Great seeing you all! 🥰

Here's to our first year attending just for fun and not as a MIVS dev—we're going to do everything this year! 🤩

[lakis19]

✨ Exciting Update! ✨

I just finished some art for our game, and I can’t wait for you to see it! 🎨 Dive into our visual novel dating sim featuring magical girls set against the backdrop of World War. It’s a unique blend of adventure, romance, and magic!

I’d love for you to check it out and share your thoughts! 💖

👉 Play here!

[balsamicvinegar56]

What about the women in games?

Keogh (2021) discusses the Melbourne indie game scene: he explores the real-world games communities, using the Freeplay Independent Games Festival as an example (Keogh 2021, p. 215), and how the online games community is flourishing through servers such as discord (Keogh 2021, p. 214). Keogh (2021) also explains game development within Melbourne through two main lenses: the local versus global context, or as a money-making business versus it being for individual creative pleasure. An interesting point which Keogh (2021, pp. 213, 220) touches on but didn’t analyse was games male dominated culture and how it’s reflected within games and the games community.

As a result of the games industry being heavily dominated by male figures for an extended period of time, we continue to see the effects being reflected within video games themselves. According to Cruea and Park (2012, p. 47) video games are designed to dismiss female interest from the beginning. During the marketing process, popular video games are being framed as ‘unappealing or even stressful’ to women (Cruea & Park 2012, p. 47). In addition to this, features within video games are obviously designed for the male gaze by subverting women as sexual objects. Despite female characters in games being less common compared to male characters, when they do appear, they are shown with large breast and small waists (Cruea & Park 2012, p. 48). Unfortunately, for women, this is raising concerns about the influence of unrealistic body standards (Cruea & Park 2012, p. 46) and as a result of this type of gender representation, women in particular, are finding less enjoyment from playing video games (Cruea & Park 2012, p. 48).

Personally, I’m not an avid gamer; however, I have watched people play games. When I was younger, and Grand Theft Auto was trending, I remember watching family friends play and was shocked to notice that the main female representation was prostitutes and women in strip clubs.

Not only are women sidelined within video games but it’s also common for women in the games community to feel unincluded. Cruea and Park (2012, p. 47) explain how male peers often assert dominance over female gamers by taking control over gaming equipment, hence not giving female gamers a chance to be apart of their communities. Also, due to the lack of female presence within the games industry for so many years, there has been a lack of support for fellow female gamers (Cruea & Park 2012, p. 47), meaning they have been outnumbered by the male gaming population. It has been expressed that female’s playing games for extended periods of time is a taboo subject, compared to it being a ‘male activity’ (Cruea & Park 2012, pp. 47-48). This ties into women feeling uncomfortable playing games in public because game mastery is usually only acceptable for the male community (Cruea & Park 2012, p. 47).

It’s clear that female representation within games and the games community has been unequal and unrealistic for many years; however, more currently, there is a noticeable rise in female gamers which may spark a new era for the gaming industry.

References:

Cruea, M & Park, S 2012, ‘Gender disparity in video game usage: A third-person perception-based explanation’, Media Psychology, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 44-67, https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2011.648861.

GearOS Play’s 2018, Evolution Of Strip Clubs In Grand Theft Auto Series (2002-2013), accessed 1 May 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSlUItjVYlY.

Keogh, B 2021, ‘The Melbourne indie game scenes: value regimes in localized game development’ in P Ruffino (ed), Independent Videogames: Cultures, Networks, Techniques and Politics, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, pp. 209-222.

[night-lie]

rise like the sun

[lovewillabides]

[0miasblog]

In this TikTok video posted by SkyNews, some women come forward to speak up about their experiences with gaming. This traces back to the video we watched this week with Kamala Harris, Ashley Judd, and Anita Sarkeesian. For context, Anita talks about the threats and harassment she faces online every day. The examples that are portrayed in the video show how aggressive and hostile men can be towards women in gaming, which is something Anita talked about from her own experiences.

[ludoroyale]

"Wishing a fantastic International Women's Day to the fierce competitors of Ludo Royale! Your intelligence, tenacity, and camaraderie make every game a thrilling adventure.

Get It Now: https://shorturl.at/hmoH8 . . .

LudoRoyale #LudoQueens #InternationalWomensDay #GameChangers #FierceAndFearless #WomenInGaming #EmpoweredByPlay #TrailblazingWomen #LudoRoyaleQueens #WomenOfStrength #PlayLikeAGirl #WomensDayGaming #LudoWarriors #GameOnGirls #QueensOfTheBoard #EmpoweredGaming #WomensDayWins #LudoLadies #ThrivingTogether #BoardGameQueens #WebmobrilGamingStudioz #mobilegamedevelopment #gamingcommunity #gamingindustry #world

[gametruckhq]

Women enjoy a wide range of video games genres, but a the most important element in a game for women is the quality of the story and interesting characters. Game On, Girls! #videogame #videogames #gamermom #womeningaming #gametruck