From BarbieŽ to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer GamesJustine Cassell, Henry Jenkins Girls and computer games—and the movement to overcome the stereotyping that dominates the toy aisles. Many parents worry about the influence of video games on their children's lives. The game console may help to prepare children for participation in the digital world, but at the same time it socializes boys into misogyny and excludes girls from all but the most objectified positions. The new "girls' games" movement has addressed these concerns. Although many people associate video games mainly with boys, the girls games' movement has emerged from an unusual alliance between feminist activists (who want to change the "gendering" of digital technology) and industry leaders (who want to create a girls' market for their games). The contributors to From BarbieŽ to Mortal Kombat explore how assumptions about gender, games, and technology shape the design, development, and marketing of games as industry seeks to build the girl market. They describe and analyze the games currently on the market and propose tactical approaches for avoiding the stereotypes that dominate most toy store aisles. The lively mix of perspectives and voices includes those of media and technology scholars, educators, psychologists, developers of today's leading games, industry insiders, and girl gamers. Contributors |
Contents
Chess For Girls? Feminism and Computer Games | 2 |
Computer Games for Girls What Makes Them Play? | 46 |
Girl Games and Technological Desire | 72 |
Video Game Designs by Girls and Boys Variability and Consistency of Gender Differences | 90 |
Interviews | 117 |
An Interview with Brenda Laurel Purple Moon | 118 |
An Interview with Nancie | 136 |
An Interview with Heather Kelley Girl Games | 152 |
An Interview with Lee McEnany Caraher Sega | 192 |
An Interview with Marsha Kinder intertexts Multimedia | 214 |
Rethinking the Girls Games movement | 231 |
Retooling Play Dystopia Dysphoria and Difference Suzanne de Castell and Mary Bryson | 232 |
Complete Freedom of Movement Video Games as Gendered Play Spaces | 262 |
Storytelling as a Nexus of Change In the Relationship between Gender and Technology A Feminist Approach to Software Design | 298 |
Voices from the Combat Zone Game Grrlz Talk Back Compiled by Henry Jenkins | 328 |
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Other editions - View all
From BarbieŽ to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games Justine Cassell,Henry Jenkins No preview available - 2000 |
From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games Justine Cassell,Henry Jenkins No preview available - 1998 |
From BarbieŽ to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games Justine Cassell,Henry Jenkins No preview available - 2000 |