Youth, sexism and videogames (A32_EN)

This activity focuses on practising how to avoid and detect sexist conduct when people play videogames.

Sexism, types of sexism on videogames, sexist conduct by people

The aims of this activity are:

• To detect sexist conduct in videogames
• To detect sexist conduct in young players
• To explore how teenagers and young adults react to sexist behaviour

Trainers in youth associations, young workers, trainers in trade unions

According to Newzoo (2019), there are about 2.5 billion gamers across the world. Within this community, there is a strong culture of sexism in those who play and create videogames.

These behaviours are so normal inside the videogames that players do not even notice it.

In this activity, we will show potential sexist conduct and open a debate in order to get to know how young people think and react to this.

The activity will be divided into four parts. First, the facilitator shows different videos to open the debate among the participants. After that, the facilitator will explain why these behaviours are sexist. Third, the facilitator invites the participants to show other examples that they know, when they are playing. Finally, the different kinds of solutions that they could think of in order to avoid this behaviour are being summarized.

Videos and gameplays from YouTube and Twitch.

Conversation and explanation

This activity is conducted in a small group. The teacher has to be skilled in group dynamics and has enough experience with teenagers. And it is very important to have a certain knowledge about the videogaming world.

Fox, J., & Tang, W. Y. (2014). Sexism in online video games: The role of conformity to masculine norms and social dominance orientation. Computers in Human Behavior, 33, 314-320.

Bègue, L., Sarda, E., Gentile, D. A., Bry, C., & Roché, S. (2017). Video games exposure and sexism in a representative sample of adolescents. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 466.

Fox, J., & Tang, W. Y. (2017). Sexism in video games and the gaming community. New Perspectives on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming: Multiplayer 2, 115-135.

Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (2016). Sexy, strong, and secondary: A content analysis of female characters in video games across 31 years. Journal of Communication, 66(4), 564-584.

Dill, K. E., Brown, B. P., & Collins, M. A. (2008). Effects of exposure to sex-stereotyped video game characters on tolerance of sexual harassment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44(5), 1402-1408.

UMA, Antonio Cuartero

Yes