An Interview with a Video Gamer

551 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How sexist is the gaming world

In this meeting, Andrew Wong happily proclaims his love for video games. At 23 in the military, with his own house and eccentric personality, he plays every weekend. He’s even into comic books and all the latest hit TV shows—he enjoys the witty humor and is enticed by the creativity. “Nevertheless,” he says, “my best memories lie with video games.” As his fellow co-workers claim, he’s the ultimate nerd.
Wong is conscious of those stereotypes. He knows it’s unpopular to be a nerd—described by Rachel Hartigan Shea of the Washington Post as, “Clad in too-short, too-tight pants, armed with a pocket protector, glasses firmly taped together and pimples unpopped” (1). Wong responds to these assumptions with proud confidence, “Everyone is different.” According to him, passion for playing video games isn’t a typecast. Gamers are not how the stereotype says they are.
In America, it’s a common thought that many gaming men and women have no time to mingle. In reality, video gaming is simply not a respected hobby, which makes way for exclusion and bullying. Wong’s coming up defies what it’s supp...

Show More
Related

  • Will Wright Dream Machine Summary

    1776 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Most reported effects of videogames – particularly in the popular press – appear to centre upon the alleged negative consequences… Research has consistently shown that playing computer games (irrespective of genre) produces reductions in reaction times, improved hand-eye co-ordination and raises players’ self-esteem,” (Griffiths p. 47), states Mark Griffiths in his article, “The educational benefits of videogames”. When people think of video games, they often tend to think about the negative side effects that video games can have on a person. Will Wright in his article, “Dream Machines” also defends video games by providing positive effects that video games have on those who play them. Wright presents

    Read More

  • Reality Bytes Eight Myths About Video Games Essay

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author primarily appeals to the audience using logos. He brings statistics and data from research studies throughout the essay. He either provides background information on why the studies are misleading or just presents a fact. For instance, “According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General 's report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure” (Jenkins, “Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked”). He provides data like this through the essay. He is strongly trying to appeal to the audience’s sense of logic and

    Read More

  • Extra Lives Why Video Games Matter Analysis

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his article, “Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter,” author Tom Bissell utilizes pathos to explain the extra life our society is born into when dealing with gaming, making us forget everything happening around us. Bissell gives many examples of his own life and

    Read More

  • Video Games Representation

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the humble origins of the video gaming industry, individuals used it as a challenge of their abilities. In modern day, this industry is just a popular as any other media which exists in the mainstream world. Video games reflect society’s changing views of the normalities of which individuals and/or groups must abide to. This is exemplified in the evolving representation of the queer individuals within the virtual world. As the video game industry came into focus, so did the LGBT rights movement. This illustrates that society’s views on the LGBT community were reflected in the video games made, however, it was rare that such characters existed as protagonists until the twenty first century. Due to the extreme lack of asexual and non-binary

    Read More

  • Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Challenging Gender Dichotomy

    1995 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mikula, Maja "Gender and Videogames: the political valency of Lara Croft." Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 17.1 (2003): 79.

    Read More

  • Social Media's Impact on Gender Roles: An Annotated Bibliography

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    This journal article is entirely credible and written by two women who know what they’re talking about. This article discusses how video games form stereotypes about both genders and that they impact both gamers and non-gamers. Men are portrayed as aggressive and women are unsurprisingly portrayed as sex objects. A main issue with this is that video games are mostly played by the younger generation meaning these are the ideas being imbedded into the youth of the world. The...

    Read More

  • Feminist Movement: Gamer Girls

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    A feminist movement in its own right has begun in the gaming community. Women are generally believed to be understand by members in many geeky, gamer or nerdy parts of today’s society. In the gaming industry women are statistical and cultural outliers. Gender stereotypes about girl gamers or ‘Gamer Girls’, the latter of which has begun to receive a negative meaning, keep many women from fully participating in the rich game industry culture. Female workers in the gaming industry get mixed signals from an industry that on the outside appears to desire gender diversity in order to attract the growing ranks of female gamers but on the inside it is resistant to change its sexist and discriminatory practices that make women feel singled out and alone. Females of the gaming community not only receive sexist and vulgar remarks from their male counterparts of the community but the very companies, making the games they love to play, single them out more than anyone else. Being that game development is a very male dominated job in the gaming industry it is understandable that women would feel a little advised not to pursue a career in gaming but the few women that do brave the doubts are met with criticism and dominating remarks. They are paid less than their male counterparts and are given less chances at promotions.

    Read More

  • My Subculture Essay Examples

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone is different in their own unique ways. We are characterized by what we wear, what we look like, how we walk, and how we move. We are also characterized by our likes, dislikes, hobbies, and more. In addition to all of this, each one of us is characterized by what culture we are a part of. We represent that culture and its subcultures in unique and interesting ways. Today, I will share with you what subculture I belong to. I belong to a subculture of gaming, and I will talk about how, when, and why I participate in this culture.

    Read More

  • The Sexism Within The Gaming World

    2265 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many video games portray women as objectified beings, purely used for sex appeal and to attract the larger male gamer population. We also see men idealised in a similar way as well – the males in video games are portrayed as muscly, brawny men. However, we rarely see a scantily clad man in a game, but there is a vast abundance of games which feature women wearing ‘sexy armour’, or a noticeable lack of substantial amount of clothing. This isn’t female-friendly as these games are made for men, causing women to feel alienated and uncomfortable.

    Read More

  • Videogames and Their Effects on Behavior

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many kids like Tommy, who spend most of their childhood and adolescences emerged in imaginary lands rather than dealing with the real world at hand, become socially anxious and have low self-esteem later in life. Instead of thriving with a career and family, they relapse back to the same virtual interaction they had as a child. They float through life barely able to support themselves or result to living with their parents. Adulthood seems to them a mere task they must complete in order to continue their gaming. Excessive videogame play for children and adolescents cause social anxiety, depression, and aggression because more time is spent alone engrossed in dynamic storylines and complex situations than outside building face-to-face relationships and other healthy social skills that better prepare them for their future.

    Read More

  • Video Games Informative Essay

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whether they be first-person shooters like Call of Duty, sports games like Madden or Fifa, racing games like Forza or Mariokart, or even games and apps on your phones, there are quite a bit of gamers in here. According to the Entertainment Software Association, about 59% of American play some sort of video game, so gaming isn’t all that uncommon (Entertainment Software Association, 2014). As such, there must be some sort of effect on the audience of this growing form of entertainment.

    Read More

  • Sexism In Video Games Essay

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gaming has long been considered a male-dominated activity. There have been numerous scientific studies conducted to analyze the impact video games have on an individual and vice versa, however one of the most common discussions concerning the gaming community is sexism. With today’s growing audience and the popularity of smart phone gaming, it is a mystery as to why gaming has managed to keep its male-minded stereotypes. Most games reflect the sexist gender roles imposed upon gamers by society, however today’s response is a heated protest, some more dramatic than others. Most gamers are demanding more female protagonists, and developers are listening, but it’s a slow climb to equality in the world of pixels and fantasy. Let us discuss the surrounding influences of the video game community, some setbacks and remarkable breakthroughs in diversifying, and the ways gamers shape the games they play.

    Read More

  • The Development of Video Games

    2834 Words  | 6 Pages

    In society’s current era of technological advancement, video games have gone a long way since they were first created. Video games in the twenty-first century are no longer just toys or junk in the lifestyles of the youth. They have become innovative inventions that not only entertain its users, but also help aid the people in both the academic field and in jobs. The influences that video games bring about in the culture of the youth today are, in fact, not the negative influences that most people think. Video games are actually this generation’s new medium for educating the youth. The information they learn are also mostly positive and useful things that they may apply in their future lives (Prensky 4). In a generation that revolves around technology and connectivity, developers and educators have already been able to produce fun and interesting games that can teach and train people. Video game developers and educators should continue to collaborate in order to create more positive, educational, and appealing games.

    Read More

  • Gaming: Video Games

    2452 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many people believe that video games change people and mislead them to do bad things, such as drugs and alcohol, but it is the opposite. Gaming prevents people from such acts and actually helps to keep them away from the substances. Lots of people, mainly parents, believe that video games harm people so they try to keep their children away from them. In reality, video games make your life better. Video games can provide many benefits to your lifestyle as “numerous academic studies indicate that playing video games has many psychological and even physical benefits” (Guarini). Gaming helps stimulate the brain and advances your problem solving abilities. There are disadvantages to gaming, which is true, but the amount of benefits outweigh them by far.

    Read More

  • The Gaming World – Harmful or Helpful?

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The experience of game play can be described as an activity in which the player is virtually embodied in the game world. Anyone who has experienced the world of gaming knows how the engaging experience can manifest itself with “sweaty palms and chills down the spine” (http://www.eludamos.org/index.php/eludamos/article/viewArticle/80/147) when coming face-to-face with alien creatures; or with the adrenaline rush we get when racing a high speed automobile head-to-head with a friend. Gaming is an excellent source of entertainment. It provides an opportunity for social growth, provides a meaningful form of exploring expression, and provides heightened sensitivity.

    Read More

More about An Interview with a Video Gamer

Open Document