Inspiration for This Project

The inspiration for this project on gender and video games came from a November 2002 class discussion and debate on the topic "technologies of play." This discussion took place as a part of a course that I taught titled Gender, Power, and Technology (IDST3114). This course was more generally focused on the mutual shaping of gender and technology, with an emphasis on power differentials and relationships. We covered a wide variety of topics throughout the semester, including technologies of the home, medical and reproductive technologies, technologies of work, technologies of cosmetic enhancement, and technologies of war.

The majority of the fifty students in the course were Interdisciplinary Studies (IDST) majors. IDST students construct unique plans of study to include work in two or more disciplines. Because of the individualized nature of the program, no two students in IDST 3114 shared the same knowledge base. What they do share is a talent for critical and synthetic thinking. IDST students think outside of the box. They are used to challenging assumptions.

Needless to say, our discussion-based class sessions were often very dynamic. The student's perspectives varied as much as their educational backgrounds. We had conservatives and radicals and many in-between. And while IDST 3114 sessions would regularly reach a high energy level, student reaction and excitement reached a surprising peak in the class period on "technologies of play" in which we discussed the role of gender in Barbie and video games. As we did our gender critique of these toys, opinions grew stronger and voices got louder. Animated discussion turned aggressive and I had to stop class twice to establish order. I had not gone into the session expecting such an exceptional reaction to the topic. It shocked me.

After the class period I tried to think of reasons why our discussion of "technologies of play" went the way that it did. In particular, I wondered why students had such a violent reaction to a gendered analysis of video games. The following is an excerpt from the email that I sent to the course listserv.