Game Culture 06: Gender & Gaming I

There's a lot of research on gender in and around games. Most of it is based on a very broad theoretical framework, where the definitions of gender is not really specified. This lecture tries to introduce some gender theories, but it won't be applied to games until lecture 07.

First and foremost we distinguish between sex and gender in the way that sex is your physiological state (Do you have a vagina) and gender as an identity created by cultural influences. I'm not saying that gender is created by culture, but it is influenced by it (As conceptions of feminism and masculinity changes from one country to another). Also, I'm not going into transsexualism or the related areas of that, as that is simply way to big. For now, we will look at masculinity and femininity only.

There are different ways to look at gender:

• Gender assignment (Birth gender)
• Gender Identity (What do I feel I am)
• Gender roles (How do I need to function so society will see me as a specific gender)
• Gender attribution (The evaluation of signs and practices when we look at someone and determines the gender of that person)

In all of these, there are a myriad of signs, symbols and behavioral patterns, such as physical, behavioural, textual (names), mythos (archetypes), communication practices, sexual orientation, biological attributes, leisure choices, work choices, domestic arrangements and so on. What's important to notice is that gender is dependent on interrelations. You cannot talk about masculinity without talking about femininity.

So how is gender enforced? West & Zimmerman states that gender is something so natural and automatic, that we do not think about it in everyday life. And since it is something that is so natural to us, not displaying gender-correct behavior makes society, react and correct. You are constantly being held accountable for your gender behavior, and as we are constantly being watched, we learn to discipline ourselves so that we still act gender-accordingly when alone. You simply cannot avoid "doing gender".

Pascoe divides masculinity into different forms:

• Hegemonic masculinity (The stereotypical, dominating male)
• Complicit masculinity
• Subordinated masculinity
• Marginalized masculinity

While there are different types of masculinity, Pascoe argues that all kinds holds a benefit that he calls the patriarchal dividend. This benefit is the reason that men are in a higher position than females. This statement is countered by Connel who explains that there are benefits and costs within both genders. And that these cannot be easily compared.

Today's readings

• West & Zimmerman, “Doing Gender”
• Hargreaves, “Femininity or ‘Musculinity’: Changing Images of Female Sports”
• Connell, “Rethinking Hegemonic Masculinity”
• Pascoe, “Making Masculinity”