research-article

Sexism in the circuitry: female participation in male-dominated popular computer culture

Authors:

Michael James Heron,

Pauline Belford,

Ayse GokerAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society, Volume 44, Issue 4

Pages 18 - 29

https://doi.org/10.1145/2695577.2695582

Published: 08 December 2014 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper, the authors discuss sexism and misogyny within video game culture through the lens of two high-profile examples of cyber-mob harassment and vilification of 'girls in gaming'. We discuss the representation of women within games as a set up for a discussion of Anita Sarkeesian and her Women versus Tropes in Games Youtube series. We then discuss indie game developer Zoe Quinn and what has become known online as 'gamergate. We use logs from the participants in Quinn's harassment to deconstruct the anatomy, techniques and methodology of misogynist online harassment, and how it is permitted and normalized by wider gaming culture. We stress that while this is not universal, it is wide-spread, insidious, and a major problem for video gaming culture. We conclude with a short discussion on the ways in which the issue can be addressed.

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Cited By

Take KZhong VGeeng CBevensee EMcCoy DGreenstadt R(2024)Stoking the Flames: Understanding Escalation in an Online Harassment CommunityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36410158:CSCW1(1-23)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3641015
Heron MCrabb M(2023)Paddling in the Shallows: Game Domain Knowledge Within Non-Game DisciplinesSSRN Electronic Journal10.2139/ssrn.4650415Online publication date: 2023
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4650415
Soni SMitchell A(2022)Women and digital government in rural IndiaInformation Polity10.3233/IP-20030227:1(59-78)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.3233/IP-200302
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Sexism in the circuitry: female participation in male-dominated popular computer culture
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing profession
      1. Codes of ethics

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Published In

cover image ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society

ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society Volume 44, Issue 4

Special Issue on Women in Computing

November 2014

25 pages

ISSN:0095-2737

DOI:10.1145/2695577

Editors:
Dee Weikle
SIGCAS
,
Netiva Caftori
SIGCAS
,
Vaibhav Garg

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © 2014 Authors.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 08 December 2014

Published in SIGCAS Volume 44, Issue 4

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3641015
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https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4650415
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