A Creative Fan Reflection: Gaming in a Straight Man’s World For my creative fan reflection, I have decided to make a Twine text-based dating simulator that critiques both the inferior treatment of consumers who falls outside the accepted straight-white male demographic as well as the structures of heteronormativity that have become so pervasive and normalized within the framework of the current videogames industry. To address this message, I have attempted to design a medium that possesses the ability to highlight the concerning existence of this system of a compulsory heteronormative patriarchy, and emphasize the need for diversity and the representation of more realistic narratives. The first issue that I wanted to address through my creation
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More than ever, the proliferation of female marketed games such as the Imagine franchise or romance focused dating sims have become more widespread, appearing increasingly often on store shelves and online retailers alike. However, this segregation of genres based on gender subconsciously relays the message to girls, that as a female, they are culturally expected to conform to certain traditional and societal expectations, forcing young women to limit themselves within the boundaries of a culturally established definition of femininity. Moreover, this act of policing the gender binary in software preferences has only served retain the power of the current the patriarchal and heteronormative state of the industry by effectively creating large entry barriers for potentially aspiring women (Kearney 3). According to a 2014 survey by the Game Developer’s Association reveals that 86% of game developers are male and 76% identify as heterosexual, thus underscoring the severe lack of diverse representation in modern gaming (Krobova, Moravec, & Svelch). Despite the claims of researchers and developers whose actions suggest an inherent difference between the inclinations of sexes, in reality these speculations are a repercussion of the sexist ideologies that pressure young girls into …show more content…
For this reason, the existence of straight relationships requires virtually no form of physical evidence to prove its existence. (Krobova et al.). Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has developed his theory of “habitus” to explain this phenomenon of how socially constructed ideologies can overtime seemingly become natural or innate (Dines & Humez, 104) For instance, two characters of the opposite gender can stand in a room alone together and some form of socially interpreted tension will emerge regardless of the intent of the creators. Heterosexuality then, is practically an invisible force, ubiquitous in all forms of media (Krobova et al.). In stark contrast, for homosexual attraction between two characters to be accepted as fact there must be a declarative coming out event, whether that be by the individual themselves or the higher authority of a game developer. One of the exceptions to this rule, however, lies within the development of queer characters who take on the caricatures of homosexuality, such as the flamboyant gay or the butch lesbian. The use of such stereotypes for “real gays” and “real lesbians” are often easily accepted by heterosexual audiences because they can help to deflect from the possibility that any other of the main characters possess homosexual tendencies that fall outside of the
More than ever, the proliferation of female marketed games such as the Imagine franchise or romance focused dating sims have become more widespread, appearing increasingly often on store shelves and online retailers alike. However, this segregation of genres based on gender subconsciously relays the message to girls, that as a female, they are culturally expected to conform to certain traditional and societal expectations, forcing young women to limit themselves within the boundaries of a culturally established definition of femininity. Moreover, this act of policing the gender binary in software preferences has only served retain the power of the current the patriarchal and heteronormative state of the industry by effectively creating large entry barriers for potentially aspiring women (Kearney 3). According to a 2014 survey by the Game Developer’s Association reveals that 86% of game developers are male and 76% identify as heterosexual, thus underscoring the severe lack of diverse representation in modern gaming (Krobova, Moravec, & Svelch). Despite the claims of researchers and developers whose actions suggest an inherent difference between the inclinations of sexes, in reality these speculations are a repercussion of the sexist ideologies that pressure young girls into …show more content…
For this reason, the existence of straight relationships requires virtually no form of physical evidence to prove its existence. (Krobova et al.). Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has developed his theory of “habitus” to explain this phenomenon of how socially constructed ideologies can overtime seemingly become natural or innate (Dines & Humez, 104) For instance, two characters of the opposite gender can stand in a room alone together and some form of socially interpreted tension will emerge regardless of the intent of the creators. Heterosexuality then, is practically an invisible force, ubiquitous in all forms of media (Krobova et al.). In stark contrast, for homosexual attraction between two characters to be accepted as fact there must be a declarative coming out event, whether that be by the individual themselves or the higher authority of a game developer. One of the exceptions to this rule, however, lies within the development of queer characters who take on the caricatures of homosexuality, such as the flamboyant gay or the butch lesbian. The use of such stereotypes for “real gays” and “real lesbians” are often easily accepted by heterosexual audiences because they can help to deflect from the possibility that any other of the main characters possess homosexual tendencies that fall outside of the