Week 4 Discussion: The Computer Club: No Girls Allowed

The one section of this past two weeks' readings that caught my attention was the section in Kearney's book "Girls Make Media" that discussed the emasculation of computers and technology. As being a self-proclaimed geek, I relate to what Kearney discusses within this section of her book. I may love being on the computer and playing video games, but I have no desire in learning how my various electronic devices work.

I can blame this lack of desire on the world emasculating subjects such as math, science, and technology. I can also place the blame on my intimidation of working on my own tech support. Both of these theories are discussed by Kearney. I will say, however, with the help of my brother who works as a computer engineer, that I was able to replace and install a graphics card on my computer.

Beyond these theories that Kearney discusses, the one part of this reading that really sparked my attention was when Kearney discussed how technological media is so heavily geared towards an audience mostly comprised of heterosexual males. If you were to walk down the magazine aisle of the grocery store and take a look at the computer and video game magazines you would clearly see this trend. The ads within these magazines are for items made for men. The graphics within these magazines are colored with dark, "masculine" colors. The few times that there are female contributors within these magazines, they are most often the model-type geek-chic girls that the world barely ever sees.

The girl gamer is a rare find within our society. From personal experiences, I find that this is mostly because of the kinds of games out there and how girls are treated within gamer culture. Male gamers tend to leave girl gamers out of the bigger first-person shooter games such as "Halo", "Gears of War", and "Left 4 Dead" because they are action-based games filled with violence. Society has taught us that girls aren't supposed to be subjected to such images, and therefore not able to handle them. Because girls are kept from enjoying these games, they feel intimidated by them and usually don't give them a chance because they are afraid of not living up to the standards of the male gamers. When a girl goes against the grain and decides to play those games with the guys, they immediately have to do so much more better than the average male gamer if they hope to gain acceptance within the gamer culture.

Many game developers have seen this growing technology as an opportunity to bring in more of a female audience. The one major problem that comes up is the kinds of games that are being developed "for girls". The most favorite kind of game being developed for girls is the simulator genre. The budding girl gamer does not want to play games that simulate baby sitting, cooking, taking care of animals, and designing fashion. They want games with a great story that don't single out girls, nor push them away from enjoying the game.