The Analysis -
The "Average" Gamer
Elsa León
Women & Video Games Data Analysis
Our research group set out to discover and demystify the woman gamer through surveys and local interviews; though we could not extend our research beyond Tampa Bay to women gamers all over
the U.S and world due to time and resources, we did manage to find a diversity of women gamers
without having to look too far. A major theme in our research concerned the age at which women
gamers started playing video games; out of the 54 that took our online survey, 46.3 % began playing
between the ages of five to eleven, which illustrates that many of the women gamers in our research
have been playing video games their whole lives and have grown up with video games, starting with
classic games and consoles. Percentages for gamers who started later were small compared to the
majority of 46.3 %.
We often found ourselves surprised and confronted with answers we did not expect, such as our findings when it came to the marginalization of women gamers and their experiences with
marginalization. Our online survey showed 55.6% as experiencing marginalization, 40.7% as not
experiencing it, and 3.7% as being unsure. These results show the diversity in women gamers in that
while some women gamers experience issues, others experience more supportive environments, and
fewer even acknowledge or realize the issue of marginalization itself. One of our face-to-face
interviewees claimed flat-out that she never felt marginalized.
Women’s representation in game advertisements and media are another issue covered in our
research and while many of our candidates play video games and embrace the industry, they are not
blind to the slow progress regarding women and video games, which varies from lack of diverse
characters to the industry’s unsubtle way of advertising to the heterosexual male norm. 38.9% of online surveyors were upset and disliked women’s representation and 24.1% claimed to be outraged. The percentages that claimed were indifferent or were positive concerning women’s marginalization
dwindled to smaller numbers. Overall, responses were wide and varied and unpredictable; while some
women gamers claim that characters are sexually exploited, others believe that the characters are hyper-sexualized but badass. Other women gamers may not be bothered.
Video games are just as diverse as their players and women gamers are no exception, ranging in their experiences, likes/dislikes, and opinions concerning a very popular and growing media. The future of video games is far from bleak for the woman gamer as more women find a place in the industry. Women gamers are often portrayed as a mysterious, rare, and reclusive breed, a myth that
encourages many gamers to assume that women do not play video games or are not as good as male
gamers. However, our research illustrates that in even a small study conducted locally, a mixed group
of women gamers could be found, all with varying opinions and experiences concerning the world of
gaming.
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Ashley Patterson
Women & Video Games Data Analysis #2
The idea of a “No Girls Allowed” clubhouse would be filled with video games. At a certain age video games are for all and both young boys and girls are encouraged to play “Rated E” games but once girls hit adolescence the tides change. Adolescent girls are herded away from the video games they once played and toward more feminine things. The women that resist these changed and hold onto their consoles and controllers or the ones that pick it up later in life are the women we interviewed for this analysis. These women also fight the notion that the only games that women play are solitaire and minesweeper.
From the data we collected we try to create the “Average Woman Gamer” within the amount of participants we sampled. What we found was that the “average” gamer was a woman who played role playing games alone for 0 to 3 hours a day on both the console and computer. This woman is upset at the representation of women in games and gaming advertisements and the limitations of the characters that she may be represented as. Although this woman enjoys her gaming it does not consume her personal life nor does it affect her relationships with others. She is more than a woman and more than a gamer, she is known by many different identities and not one defines her. She is a woman who happens to play video games in a culture that marginalized women as merely a way to sell the video games to their male counterparts.
Women & Video Games Data Analysis
Our research group set out to discover and demystify the woman gamer through surveys and local interviews; though we could not extend our research beyond Tampa Bay to women gamers all over
the U.S and world due to time and resources, we did manage to find a diversity of women gamers
without having to look too far. A major theme in our research concerned the age at which women
gamers started playing video games; out of the 54 that took our online survey, 46.3 % began playing
between the ages of five to eleven, which illustrates that many of the women gamers in our research
have been playing video games their whole lives and have grown up with video games, starting with
classic games and consoles. Percentages for gamers who started later were small compared to the
majority of 46.3 %.
We often found ourselves surprised and confronted with answers we did not expect, such as our findings when it came to the marginalization of women gamers and their experiences with
marginalization. Our online survey showed 55.6% as experiencing marginalization, 40.7% as not
experiencing it, and 3.7% as being unsure. These results show the diversity in women gamers in that
while some women gamers experience issues, others experience more supportive environments, and
fewer even acknowledge or realize the issue of marginalization itself. One of our face-to-face
interviewees claimed flat-out that she never felt marginalized.
Women’s representation in game advertisements and media are another issue covered in our
research and while many of our candidates play video games and embrace the industry, they are not
blind to the slow progress regarding women and video games, which varies from lack of diverse
characters to the industry’s unsubtle way of advertising to the heterosexual male norm. 38.9% of online surveyors were upset and disliked women’s representation and 24.1% claimed to be outraged. The percentages that claimed were indifferent or were positive concerning women’s marginalization
dwindled to smaller numbers. Overall, responses were wide and varied and unpredictable; while some
women gamers claim that characters are sexually exploited, others believe that the characters are hyper-sexualized but badass. Other women gamers may not be bothered.
Video games are just as diverse as their players and women gamers are no exception, ranging in their experiences, likes/dislikes, and opinions concerning a very popular and growing media. The future of video games is far from bleak for the woman gamer as more women find a place in the industry. Women gamers are often portrayed as a mysterious, rare, and reclusive breed, a myth that
encourages many gamers to assume that women do not play video games or are not as good as male
gamers. However, our research illustrates that in even a small study conducted locally, a mixed group
of women gamers could be found, all with varying opinions and experiences concerning the world of
gaming.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashley Patterson
Women & Video Games Data Analysis #2
The idea of a “No Girls Allowed” clubhouse would be filled with video games. At a certain age video games are for all and both young boys and girls are encouraged to play “Rated E” games but once girls hit adolescence the tides change. Adolescent girls are herded away from the video games they once played and toward more feminine things. The women that resist these changed and hold onto their consoles and controllers or the ones that pick it up later in life are the women we interviewed for this analysis. These women also fight the notion that the only games that women play are solitaire and minesweeper.
From the data we collected we try to create the “Average Woman Gamer” within the amount of participants we sampled. What we found was that the “average” gamer was a woman who played role playing games alone for 0 to 3 hours a day on both the console and computer. This woman is upset at the representation of women in games and gaming advertisements and the limitations of the characters that she may be represented as. Although this woman enjoys her gaming it does not consume her personal life nor does it affect her relationships with others. She is more than a woman and more than a gamer, she is known by many different identities and not one defines her. She is a woman who happens to play video games in a culture that marginalized women as merely a way to sell the video games to their male counterparts.