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Studies have shown that women are the most rapidly growing group of consumers for games. A hobby, that for a long period of time has been known as male-dominated, causing controversy with oversexualized female characters as well as prominent negative culture filled with harassment. The times are changing, as target groups are more varied than previously and research is changing its course, instead of assigning certain traits to men and women to distinguishing the intersectional nature of gender. However, it appears that the online gaming culture has stagnated over time, failing to recognize the inclusion of women to its realm. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the female gamers experiences within online games as well as investigate the consequences of the negative game culture. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with female gamers. A thematic analysis was conducted, which resulted in the following themes: (1) Social dynamics in online games, (2) Strategies for managing negative experiences and (3) Consequences of gender-based discrimination. The results have shown that women very much enjoy playing online-games but are met with a lot of negativities in form of harassment. To be able to play in such environment, women have adapted by using different forms of managing strategies. This study contributes insights to the positive and negative factors of online games and their consequences from the perspective of female gamers. As it is discussed, the consequences of the negative game environment are vast but different, for all the players engaging in online games. Ultimately, we provide recommendations on future research.

This work focuses on a gender analysis of female characters in video games, specifically the action genre of computer games in which players play from the perspective of a third party (ie see a playable character on canvas). Pays attention to very specific situations in which the female figure is markedly ambivalent status - show clearly feminine characteristics, it moves but clearly masculine space and pay the archetypal clearly masculine activities. Working with so anlýzou konrkétních computer games and playable characters trying to determine whether computer games as a new medium for his portrayal of female characters contribute to gender stereotypes and whether, therefore, become another medium, that these stereotypes produces and reproduces that deconstructs these stereotypes and changing, or whether it even creates new stereotypes. The analysis is the analysis itself as a representation of female characters in visual, narrative or folder of computer games and interactive component analysis itself - that is playing. In this sense, the work seeks to determine how the female characters look if they present archetypal feminine or masculine characteristics and what pleasure playing them can offer both male and female players. In conclusion, the work also attempts to describe the transformations which...

This thesis addresses the gender-specific game access inequalities that exist between male and non-male children. To do this, it proposes a conceptual workshop design named SpielRaum, which aims to offer teens of marginalized genders a safe space to access games. By curating games for free play and combining it with guided discussions and self-reflection exercises, the workshop hopes to facilitate game literacy in a play-centric way. This sets it apart from other game-related workshops for non-male teens, which are also examined. It is found that they tend to be development-centric. Leading up to the workshop design, the game access disparities are put into context. It is found that implicit and explicit exclusion of non-male people in the games domain leads to a vicious circle of non-participation and non-representation. This in turn contributes to the socialized perception of games as a male medium and disadvantages non-male players in the context of gaming. Further, game literacy is determined as an important game access condition and way of self-defense against marginalizing game content. This is why SpielRaum aims to raise non-male participants’ awareness for their own marginalization and show them that they can unapologetically claim gaming for themselves. / Detta arbete tittar på könsspecifika ojämlikheter vad gäller tillgång till videospel som finns mellan manliga och icke-manliga ungdomar. I undersökningen föreslås en konceptuell workshop som heter SpielRaum, som siktar på att ge tonåringar som tillhör marginaliserade könsgrupper en säker miljö för att därmed göra videospel mer tillgängliga. Genom att samla spel för fritt spelande och kombinera guidade diskussioner med självreflekterande övningar, hoppas workshopen kunna ge ökad kunskap om spel på ett spelfokuserat sätt. Detta gör att den skiljer sig från andra workshop-miljöer för icke-manliga tonåringar, vilket även behandlas i arbetet. Vad som upptäcktes var att de tenderar att varautvecklingsorienterade. Under arbetet med workshop-designen sattes skillnaderna runt speltillgänglighet i fokus: det fastställdes att implicit och explicit uteslutning av icke-manliga spelare leder till en ond cirkel av icke-deltagande och icke-representation. Detta bidrar sedan till den sociala uppfattningen att spel är ett medium för män och att icke-män är missgynnade vad gäller spel. Dessutom är kunskap om spel nödvändigt om man ska kunna delta i spel, och kan användas som ett sätt att försvara sig själv mot marginaliserande innehåll i spel. Detta är anledningen till att SpielRaum siktar på att öka icke-mäns medvetenhet för sin egen marginalisering och för att visa att de kan delta i spelvärlden utan att be om lov först.