Casual Scholarship
Modes that are more realistic than Girlfriend Mode
There has been a lot of discussion about John Hemingway’s flippant use of the phrase “Girlfriend Mode” to describe a beginner-type mode available in Borderlands 2. In particular, David Wildgoose’s piece “‘Girlfriend Mode’ and the Definition of Sexism” is worth a read, and I’m very fond of “Girlfriend Mode vs.… Read the rest
Women of Color Working in the Industry
Daniela Capistrano, a multi-media producer and journalist over at Current TV, is working on a guide for young women and girls interested in pursuing careers in the video game industry. The guide is tied to the work she has already done on a series of articles on themes addressed at the Games for Change Festival.… Read the rest
Onward and Upward
While I normally focus on bits of gaming culture I find interesting, I’m going to make a bit of an aside today. I have crossed a number of milestones (or hazing rituals, depending on your perspective) over the past few weeks, and I would like to share some of that here.… Read the rest
Feminists in Games Workshop
I was pretty excited to see this call for participants for the Feminists in Games Workshop. I don’t think I’m going to be able to apply this year, but I will be excited to see what comes of it.… Read the rest
Going Cardboard: Documentary
I was fortunate enough to get to see Going Cardboard, a board game documentary by first-time director Lorien Green. The documentary features interviews with board gamers, including collectors and critics, as well as both well established and aspiring game designers.… Read the rest
THATCamp Games postmortem
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend THATCamp Games. The “unconference” is one of a number of THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp) events held throughout the year.… Read the rest
Alan Alda for Atari
I recently stumbled across a series of Atari advertisements featuring actor Alan Alda. I have a soft spot for Alan Alda, partially because of his feminist politics, and partially because of a deep love for the series MASH — which Alda agreed to star in only after gaining assurance that surgery scenes would feature in every episode.… Read the rest
The Simple Genius of the Gamer Girl Manifesto
I saw “The Gamer Girl Manifesto” (embedded above) by Sexy Nerd Girl Presents thanks to Geekquality. The brief video features a number of young women gamers who identify themselves by their on-screen identities (which range from notable characters like Mario to the more subtly constructed identities from games like World of Warcraft) and by the game systems they use.… Read the rest
I Said Diamonds: the Aubrey Plaza WoW Spot
The first time I saw the TV ad above, which features Aubrey Plaza (best known for playing April Ludgate on “Parks and Recreation”) explaining in her trademark deadpan how she became a World of Warcraft player, I was rather charmed.… Read the rest
Are we not women? The problem with “Geek Girl”
Today on Kotaku, there is a piece on “Nerds and Male Privilege.” I saw it go out on Twitter, and I took the bait. And, I was greeted with an article that talks at length about the nasty effects male privilege has on “geek girls.”… Read the rest
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