Introduction : not a post-racism and post-misogyny promised land : video games as instruments of (in)justice / Kishonna L. Gray and David J. Leonard -- The corporeal ethics of gaming : vulnerability, mobility, and social gaming / Rob Cover -- Power, violence and the mask : representations of criminal subjectivities in Grand Theft Auto online / Tim Rowlands, Sheruni Ratnabalasuriar, Melissa Hobart, Kyle Noel, Shaun-Patrick Allen, Briana Reed, and Anthony Gonzales -- The post-feminist politics of the "Everyone can make games movement" / Stephanie Orme -- Smart play : social stereotypes, identity building, and counter narratives of gold farmers in China / Zixue Tai and Fengbin Hu -- The sobering reality of sexism in the video games industry / Stanislav Vysotsky and Jennifer Allaway -- The perpetual crusade : rise of the Tomb Raider (2015), religious extremism, and the problem of empire / Kristin Bezio -- Nancy Drew and the case of the girl gamers / Andrea Braithwaite -- The horrors of transcendent knowledge : a feminist-epistemological approach to video games / Stephanie Jennings -- Playing with pride : claiming space through community building in World of Warcraft / Karen Skardzius -- Curate your culture : a call for social justice-oriented game development and community management / Amanda Cote -- The Legends of Zelda : fan challenges to dominant video game narratives / Kathryn Hemmann -- Avatars, addressing racism and racialized address / Robbie Fordyce, Tim Neale, and Tom Apperley -- Activism in video games : a new voice for social change / Taylor Barkley and Kira Foglesong -- DiscrimiNation : a persuasive board game to challenge discriminatory justifications and prejudices / Maresa Bertolo, Ilaria Mariani, and Eleonora A. Conti.
Summary:
From #Gamergate to the daily experiences of marginalization among gamers, gaming is entangled with mainstream cultures of systematic exploitation and oppression. Whether visible in the persistent color line that shapes the production, dissemination, and legitimization of dominant stereotypes within the industry itself, or in the dehumanizing representations often found within game spaces, many video games perpetuate injustice and mirror the inequities and violence that permeate society as a whole. Drawing from the latest research and from popular games such as World of warcraft and Tomb raider, Woke gaming examines resistance to spaces of violence, discrimination, and microaggressions in gaming culture. The contributors of these essays identify strategies to detox gaming culture and orient players toward progressive ends, illustrating the power and potential of video games to become catalysts for social justice.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.