League of Legends is one of the most popular video games in the world, and yet it is also infamously known as being filled with harassment and failure. Why do I continue to play? In this project, a critical autoethnography is used to illustrate what it is like to play in this male-dominated space as a woman. Using feminist and queer game studies as my theoretical framework, this project investigates three distinct, but interconnected concepts: hegemonic masculinity, weaponized failure, and subversive play. In chapter one, I use Raewyn Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity to analyze League of Legends. I argue that gameplay elements such as champion selection, communication, and role-play make it difficult to challenge hegemonic masculinity in League of Legends. However, I do acknowledge that it is possible to challenge through playing the role of support properly – by concentrating on teamwork and sacrifice. In chapter two, I use queer video game studies, including key texts by Bonnie Ruberg and Jesper Juul, to consider failure in League of Legends. While queer failure can be fun in single-player video games, I argue that failure in League of Legends can be used as a weapon to intentionally hurt your teammates. Finally, in chapter three I consider my own subversive playstyle. While some academics have argued that woman who play masculine video games using male-coded skills cannot challenge the patriarchy, I argue that embracing my femininity in League of Legends allows me to persevere and push against the patriarchy. I argue that my feminine visibility in the form of my gamertag, SJW Queen, my communication style that emphasizes positivity and mediation, and how I play League of Legends are all examples of subversive gameplay. I bring my femininity into League of Legends uncompromised and I embrace it, rather than try to escape from it.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/40968 |
| Date | 10 September 2020 |
| Creators | Fedchun, Kathryn |
| Contributors | Scott, Corrie |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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