| From: | Cugel the Clever <cugel@**.NET> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Gender in gaming |
| Date: | Thu, 10 Aug 1995 19:22:26 +01.0 |
> >I've noticed that a majority of the gamers I've encountered >are
> >male.
>
> I've noticed this too. It's true not only in the gaming world, but
> hobbies that seem to be related: comic bookdom, scifi ( although a
> lot less so ), and the audience of action movies all seem to be more
> male oriented than female. Why do you all think that is? ( I'm
> crossing my fingers that most responses will be reasonably
> intelligent . . . ) :D
I'll try to sound at least at bit intelligent :). First to say, this is very
difficult to answer completely. There are a lot of factors which are
important, but if I would list them all this post would be the size
of a syllabus :). In fact I got in front of me a syllabus which
partially deals with this question. To bad it's in Dutch, so the
title wouldn't say much :). So here's a simplified version:
Most gamers are still male because of the differences in upbringing
of children. Still most boys are raised to be independent and are
encouraged to explore and to participate in physical actions like
sports. Boys get recognition for their achiefments and are much
more pushed to be successful in society. A boy is judged more by his
actions than by his interactions (hence the perference for action
movies which mostly show an individual male winning by using his wits
and physical powers and by not be frightened by new developments)
Girls are mostly raised to care for others and interact with others
(this still counts for most of "our" generation, it's changing slowly).
Girls are not required to do the things boys are stimulated to do.
Some activities are even strongly disapproved of.
The encouragement to explore leads to a greater involvement in the
hobbies you listed above (you could also add astronomy, technology,
etc.). Creating a new world is in fact the ultimate form of exploration,
and so is participating in a role-playing game.
Also the theme of most role-playing games is very action oriented (SR
is an excellent example of that) which attracts boys. Girls are more
attracted to social oriented activities (the WW series are more
femine in their approach, more geared towards the acting and social
interactions).
Conclusion: it is a result of unbringing, culture and the environment
in which someone grows up and it's changing.
Martin Steffens (Cugel@**.net / bdi05626@***.rhij.nl)
Geek Code v3.0:
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