Women And Videogames

 

Part 1: Background Reading on Gamergate

1) What was Gamergate?
Gamergate was a widespread online harassment movement in 2014. Although it was presented by supporters as a campaign about “ethics in games journalism,” it is widely understood to have been a misogynistic attack targeting women and marginalised individuals in the gaming industry.

2) What is the recent controversy surrounding narrative design studio Sweet Baby Inc?
Sweet Baby Inc has been targeted by a new wave of online harassment, with critics accusing the studio of pushing “woke” diversity into videogames. This has involved coordinated abuse, misinformation and calls for boycotts, echoing the tactics and tone of Gamergate.

3) What does the article conclude regarding diversity in videogames?
The article concludes that diversity in videogames is not being imposed artificially, but reflects the growing diversity of the gaming audience. It argues the industry must actively protect and support creators facing harassment to maintain an inclusive culture.

Part 2: Further Feminist Theory – Media Factsheet

1) What definitions are offered for ‘feminism’ and ‘patriarchy’?
Feminism is defined as the pursuit of political, social and economic equality for women, while patriarchy refers to a social structure in which men hold power and women are systematically disadvantaged.

2) Why did bell hooks publish Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center?
bell hooks wrote the book to criticise mainstream feminism for focusing mainly on white, middle-class women. She aimed to centre the experiences of women of colour and working-class women within feminist theory.

3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus of much of hooks’s work?
hooks focuses on how systems such as gender, race, class and sexuality interact to produce different forms of oppression, arguing feminism must address these intersections rather than treating women as a single group.

4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
Intersectionality describes how multiple social identities overlap to shape experiences of oppression. hooks argues that feminism must recognise these overlapping identities to avoid excluding marginalised women.

5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude about gender roles and the mass media?
Van Zoonen concluded that the mass media plays a significant role in constructing and reinforcing ideas about gender, influencing how society understands masculinity and femininity.

6) Van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which theorist does it link to?
This means gender is shaped by social and cultural influences rather than biology. This view links closely to Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity.

7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways, and which view do you agree with?
Some feminists argue these magazines reinforce traditional gender stereotypes, while others suggest audiences actively interpret and enjoy them. A balanced view recognising both media influence and audience agency is the most convincing.

8) Van Zoonen shows gender ideas change over time. Which theorist agrees things evolve, and do you think gender roles are changing?
This aligns with Stuart Hall’s view that representations and meanings shift over time. Gender roles do appear to be changing, as shown by increasingly diverse media representations.

9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining media influence?
She highlights a range of social, cultural and individual factors, including gender and power relations, that shape how audiences interpret media messages.

10) Which other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s work?
Her work can be linked to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze and Stuart Hall’s ideas about representation and ideology.

11) Van Zoonen discusses “transmission models” and women internalising dominant culture. What other theory does this link to?
This links to the idea of symbolic annihilation and Hall’s theory of dominant ideology influencing audience interpretation.

12) How does van Zoonen’s view of power as a “multiplicity of subordination” link to bell hooks?
It reflects hooks’s theory of intersectionality, as both argue power operates through overlapping systems of inequality rather than a simple opposition between men and women.