‘It’s a Guy Thing’

I don’t think there is a facet of society that is not affected by gender debates or prejudices, in this case especially not in the world of videogames.
It has been widely accepted that videogames are produced and played by guys and guys only, often resulting in rather sexist representations of women in the games.
Is this just an extension from other media forms such as advertising and film? Pretty much.
But I was surprised to discover that there are women (a small percentage albeit) working in the gaming industry, facing challenges and overcoming the same obstacles women face in other male dominated industries. For example Jane Pinckard has written for game magazine’s and has just started with a videogame development studio, talking about her place as a woman she mentions it is both good and bad. Good because you stand out and bad because that’s the only reason you stand out. Had I not read the articles in the links Kevin put up on the blog I would not have realized that women in the games industry were so admirably vocal about the struggles they are facing and the efforts they put in to change the current situation.

As a side note however while there is a general feeling of frustration among the women I think it does ultimately come down to the individual and their different experiences, some may have more positive work environments than others. As Ubisoft's Elspeth Tory mentioned even though she had to prove herself in the beginning, once she had and worked in the industry for a while things got a lot better.

While videogames endeavour to become an accepted art form, I think they must also strive for gender equality in the game industry and the likes of the women characters in the games.