Bertozzi's Conventions Unnecessary

The reading by Bertozzi “You Play Like a Girl” left me rather conflicted. When I was younger and was surrounded by consoles like Sega, Playstation and Nintendo I was constantly playing video games like Crash Bandicoot, The Legend of Zelda, Mortal Combat and Alex the Kid. These all have very broad ranges of subject matter from jungle adventures, to fantasy, to combat, to a small square headed boy, running around popping blocks in his little red overalls. The point is that the attraction of gaming wasn’t necessarily about the subject, but rather the action. If the game is fun and entertaining then I would enjoy playing it regardless of the subject matter. Yet Bertozzi talks about different conventions to get ‘women into gaming’ and they actually don’t seem necessary. Bertozzi mentions making inter- and cross-gender play more frequent; normalising it by using more female avatars. Using avatars that don’t stereotype inherently female attributes and change societal conceptions on what it means to be female: to change the way females are presented – strong and competitive being more sexually attractive as opposed to the stereotypical meek and submissive, women as ‘weak’.
To be honest, growing up I never noticed any of these. At the end of the day it is only a game and cannot be compared to reality (although some people may struggle with the concept of reality on a daily basis). I played games because initially my brother played them, and as a child I wanted to do all the things my brother did. Now it seems I play games because I want to, hence my addiction to Guitar Hero. It is not as if I felt less of a player because I was a woman, or because the games lacked these so called ‘needed conventions’ in order to appeal to the female audience. I enjoyed these games regardless and was more captivated by their entertainment value. This is why the reading left me conflicted. I see where Bertozzi is coming from, but from experience, I don’t think it is necessary.

Booth-babe Bashers Beware!

Firstly I would like to say alliteration is like the fine art of puns: highly unappreciated and unduly mocked.

Secondly, read the stage 2 blog. As blasphemous as this might sound to we Stage 3's, they'll probably come up with some ideas we have no idea about.

Thirdly, don't bash the booth-babes. Its honest work and according to this artickle here (amusing typo), they actually like the work! Though perhaps they're not as immersed in the actual cultural context surrounding it as the hot geek girl in the Angewoman costume. Dare to dream.

There are always two sides to any argument, despite how we write our essays. Yes, they might be seen as objectifying women and raising the future expectations of many an acne-d nerd, but before you jump on the feminist bandwagon, ask yourself: Are they objectified by the work they do? Or are we the ones that objectify them? Booth-babes are people too.

Dare to ask them what they think. Read the article.