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| Veknoid_Outcast said: I definitely agree that the anonymity of the internet fuels the undercurrent of sexism, racism, and homophobia that pops up with alarming frequency in the video game community. But I don't think anonymity explains fully the problem. There are many other factors, including the history of this medium as a "boy's club," the subject matter of video games, and the fact that many of the most vocal video game fans are emotionally unintelligent and immature. |
I think that gaming is more inclusive than you are implying, however, there really isn't much to debate there. It would really just be my experiences and my view of games as an "outcast club" vs. your experiences and your view of gaming as a "boys club" (while there is some degree of truth to the fact that gaming is dominated by males, I don't think that is due to elitism and exclusivity).
How do you think an academic study would help this in any way though? I think that the gears of change are already in motion in a lot of places and I believe that we will see more women in games as our society continues to push away dated gender roles. However, I do not think that anybody saying "there are a lot of sexist gamers" will help anything. Additionally, I think that in an academic scenario, that would be difficult to judge. I think a lot of the sexism seen is "general harassment" as opposed to sexism, meaning that people throw words around just to be a troll. In a situation outside of the safety of the internet, I think we would see a lot more normalization of opinions, as opposed to the hyperbole that is common on the internet.
