Exploring the Experiences of Female Gamers

Abstract

Video games are growing in popularity, with nearly half of all game consumers being women. While there is a change in consumer demographics, the majority of video game content continues to portray females as sexually objectified, victimized, and relegated to roles as tools for use by main characters. This study qualitatively explored and sought to understand the direct experience of females who actively play video games. The lived experience of female gamers was investigated with respect to their participation in the videogame subculture, video game play, and interaction with various portrayals of female video game characters. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, field notes, and document analysis. All data was then coded for emergent and specific themes using open and axial coding and the constant comparative method. Once coding was complete, the data was triangulated to find themes within and between the sources. Findings revealed that representations of female video game characters affect female gamers’ self-efficacy, perception of their roles and other gamers’ expectations of women and their roles, and their social interactions with other gamers.