More than a Game: Understanding Gendered Discourse in Online Video Game Communities

Abstract

Using discourse analysis guided by Connell’s Relational Gender Theory and the concept of Hegemonic Masculinity, this research focused on the gendered discourse of online communities for the video game “Overwatch”. The overall aim of this study was to explore the discourse about gender in online communities dedicated to gaming to see how gender norms are reproduced, challenged, or both. Seeking answers to two research questions, 1), How does discourse about gender develop from images and text in conversations within digital communities?, 2), What forms does gendered discourse take in the images and text users post to their individual blogs?, data in the form of text and image social media posts were collected from one focus community on Reddit and one focus community on Tumblr over a three-month period. Two main themes were identified on Reddit: Promotion of Men as Gamers and Traditional Gaming Behaviours. These themes provided evidence of gender norms being reproduced, with men being seen as the superior gender in gaming spaces maintaining the belief that gaming is an activity reserved for men and boys. Two main themes were also identified on Tumblr: Critiquing the Heroes and Taking Pride in the Game. These themes demonstrated gender norms are being challenged in the selected community on Tumblr. A prominent LGBTQ+ community largely rejected heteronormativity as users critiqued the design of the game’s characters. Overall, the findings suggest there is potential to disrupt the established gender hierarchy in gaming that assumes men are superior to every other gender, but there is still a long way to go before this change becomes widespread.