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Challenging Notions of Gendered Game Play: Teenagers Playing the Sims

Authors :
Beavis, Catherine
Charles, Claire
Source :
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. Sep 2005 26(3):355-367.
Publication Year :
2005

Abstract

This paper challenges notions of gendered game playing practice implicit in much research into young women's involvement with the computer gaming culture. It draws on a study of Australian teenagers playing "The Sims Deluxe" as part of an English curriculum unit and insights from feminist media studies to explore relationships between gender and game playing practices. Departing from a reliance on predetermined notions of "gender," "domestic space," and "successful game play," it conceptualizes "The Sims" as a game in which the boundaries between gender and domestic space are disturbed. It argues that observing students' constructions of gender and domestic space through the act of game play itself provides a more productive insight into the gendered dimensions of game play for educators wishing to work computer games such as "The Sims" into curriculum development. (Contains 1 note.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0159-6306
Volume :
26
Issue :
3
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education
Publication Type :
Report
Accession number :
EJ834712
Document Type :
Information Analyses<br />Journal Articles
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/01596300500200151