A presentation for the 2016 NSHE Southern Nevada Diversity Summit

2. Stephanie Espinoza
eLearning Librarian
College of Southern Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
Stephanie.Espinoza@csn.edu

3. WHY STUDY FEMALE GAMERS?

4. “
”
GAMES ALLOWED ME TO GO TO
ANOTHER WORLD, SO TO SPEAK,
WHERE I MATTERED.

5. THE NUMBERS
According to the 2015
Entertainment Software
Association data,
game players are:
56% men
44% women
4 4 %
5 6 %
Gender of Game
Players
Women

6. THE NUMBERS Longitudinal performance analysis of men and
women in EverQuest II and Chevalters’
Romance III
Conclusion: Women
perform at least as well as
men do.
The stereotype of female
players as inferior is false
(Shen).

7. THE FEMALE GAMER MYTH
• Yet most Americans, including WOMEN, believe
women DON’T play video games
• 60% of American adults agree with the
statement: “most people who play video games
are men” (Duggan)
• Women have also been known to underreport
their MMO playing habits, even in anonymous
surveys (Eklund)

8. DEFINITION:
“The playing of games, especially video games”
(“Gaming”)
“GAMING”

9. DEFINITION:
“GAMER”

10. “GAMER”
Men are twice as likely
to identify as “gamers” (Duggan)
15% of men compared to 6% of women

11. “GAMER” DEFINITION:
“Contempt for women who call themselves
‘Gamer Girls’ has existed for a while
online. In fact, I’d been careful to avoid the
label over the years for that very reason”
(Day)

12. DEFINITION:
“GAMERGATE”
“Online culture war, dealing with video game journalism ethics,
the social values of video games, sexism, and feminism”
(Mutert)

13. DEFINITION:
“GAMERGATE”
“Movement by a small but vocal minority of the online
gaming population to bully and harass female gamers,
game developers, and feminist media critics into silence”
(Robbins)

14. GAMERGATE LED TO…
•Online harassment of females
•Sexist slurs
•Doxxing (releasing personal info)
•Threats of rape
•Threats of death
“Are you reading this?
Of course you are.
I will kill you.”
(Kaplan)
(Robbins) (Mutert) (“Gamergate”)

16. Over 3,500 members at the time of
posting
Total Responses: 219
METHODS: THE FACEBOOK GROUP
(Espinoza)

17. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A “GAMER”?
•Yes but it’s not something I usually tell people.
•Yes, because I have enjoyed playing video games since I was a child….
•Yes, isn’t anyone who plays games?
•Yes! It’s a huge part of my life. Not only do I spend quite a bit of time gaming,
but I’ve made numerous good friends through gaming as a social medium.
•Yes, I love playing video games, it helps pass time…[I’m] a stay at home mom.
•Yes, because gaming is part of my identity.

18. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A “GAMER”?
•Not really. I like to play games, but I’m mostly a social gamer… a casual player.
•No, because I don’t think liking games requires a label.
•Not really, I only play Guild Wars 2 and a few social games. I am not hardcore….
•I only play one game.
•No. I am not as engaged in some of the games as my counterparts. I don't
particularly care about my stats, regularly arrange 'play dates', etc.
•No, but maybe I should.

19. “GAMER” DEFINITION:
Most common rationale for being a gamer:
• How long they’ve played (since childhood)
• How often they play (daily, for hours)
• Anyone who plays games is a gamer
Clarifications:
• Many specified they were “casual”
gamers rather than “hardcore”
• Some ONLY considered “hardcore”
players to be “gamers”
• Some were afraid to admit they were
gamers to others
Out of 185 responses to the question, only 8 women didn’t consider themselves gamers.
12 were in the middle

20. HOW OFTEN AND HOW LONG?
Hours played in Guild Wars 2:
•2,649 hours over 1,214 days
•3,240 hours over 1,216 days
•4,570 hours over 1,215 days
•6,959 hours over 1,200 days
•8,441 hours
0 50 100 150 200
Haven't played in a
while
Just when I have
free time
Seasonally
Monthly
Weekly
Daily
How often do you play video games? (216 responses)
181
(83.80%
)

21. AGE Women over 18 are a greater portion of the
game playing population (33%)
than boys age 18 or younger (15%)
The average age of a female game player is
43 years old (compared to age 35 for men)
According to the ESA 2015 Report (Entertainment Software Association)
26%
30%
17%
27%
Under 18 18-35 Years 36-49 years 50+ years

22. AGE
•Teens = 8
•20s = 109
•30s = 48
•40s = 35
•50s = 11
•60s = 7
Youngest = 14 years Oldest = 69 years
Most Frequent Age = 23 years
Out of 218 responses (Espinoza)

23. HARASSMENT & SEXISM
“Mysogynism is very common. I've heard more rape jokes in the last year than I would ever believe.”

24. HARASSMENT & SEXISM
•Preferential treatment
•Doubting skill based on gender
•Harassment in-game such as sexist slurs
•Obsession/stalking
•Harassment outside of game

25. “
”
THE HIGHER LEVEL MY
CHARACTER IS THE LESS LIKELY
OTHER PLAYERS EXPECT ME TO
BE FEMALE—BUT THAT'S
THEIR PROBLEM, NOT MINE.

26. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED HARASSMENT?
5 2 %
4 8 %
Experienced Harassment
YESNO
“Last month I had a guy tells me to go kill myself
and no one in my family loves me.”
“In college, some guys would be
attracted to the fact that I was a
gamer girl. I experienced actual
physical sexual harassment…. My
butt groped. Being pulled by my
waist. Trying to steal kisses….”
“I’ve stopped playing most MMOs due to the
constant barrage of hate language.”
“Oh yes, male gamers automatically assume you
don’t know what you are doing.”
“Some are sexist
implying that I’m bad at
games because I’m a
female.... Other people
can be sexually
aggressive.”

27. GENDER ROLES
“The idea that games are gender
based is ridiculous to me. That's like
saying only women can eat
chocolate. Anyone that enjoys
playing games can and should do so,
and should be able to lay claim to
being a gamer.”
“Games have never been solely for
males, though many men and boys
have been led to believe that they
were. Now that the presence of
women in the gaming world has
become impossible to ignore, many
men are lashing out like young
children unwilling to share favorite
toys. Luckily, though quite vocal,
these men are a minority.”

28. DESPITE HARASSMENT, WOMEN GAME
• Exploration, competition, mastery and status,
possibilities for female gamers to express themselves.
They describe it as a “free space”, free from limitations in
real life, a place where they can be equals with men
(Eklund)

29. WHY WOMEN GAME
“I am a stay-home parent with a chronic illness…. I lack the ability to earn money on
my own. In GW2, I am able to add value to my account by completing simple tasks each
day, and….save up to purchase things I really want. It gives me a sense of self-
sufficiency and financial independence that I lack in real life. GW2 also gives me an
opportunity to socialize without having to find a baby sitter. As I've mentioned many
times in this survey, I feel that I am part of a community (maybe even an important
part). I love the feeling of working as part of a team to accomplish great results that I
would not be able to do alone.”

30. WHY WOMEN GAME
•Stress relief
•Escape / distraction from real world pain
•Spend time with family / children
•Connect with significant other
•Make friends / share with like-minded people
•Talk to friends / social interaction
•Love of stories
•They are FUN!

31. Independent Thinking

32. IN THE CLASSROOM

33. IN THE WORKPLACE
• Only 26% of computing professionals are women (Belec)
• Only 21% of game developers are women (Harwell)
• “Researchers have argued that female gaming should be encouraged
because it provides important technological knowledge” (Eklund)
• First step is to help women feel that video games are not a waste
• You can also incorporate computers/gamification into your classroom

34. EMPOWER WOMEN TO PURSUE RELATED CAREERS
• Take the implicit bias test https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
• Remember that engineers are made, not born
• Let the girls in your classes tinker with things, break things, and fail
• Know that Title IX applies to STEM education too, not just athletics
• Spread the word on how computing fields have social impact
(Belec)

35. HOW CAN WE SUPPORT CHANGE
IN THE INDUSTRY?

36. SUPPORT CHANGE
• “Gamergate taught us that companies can actually listen to
their customers and begin to take steps towards more
inclusive games. It's not a coincidence that after GamerGate
we begin to see an increase of games featuring female leads
and people of color more prominently….in the end it showed
us that when we raise our voices, we can be heard. We can ask
for more creative out of the box thinking from game
developers without being restricted to only one very small
demographic (straight/white/male)”

37. STEPS TO SUPPORT CHANGE
1. Raise Awareness
Recognize and share that women DO play video games and DO experience unwarranted harassment for
it
2. Create a Safe Space
Allow women to express their gaming identity without judgement
3. Encourage both genders to talk about the issues
Conversations can lead to better understanding
THEN WE CAN LEVEL UP TOGETHER!

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