The Gendered Nature and Malleability of Gamer Stereotypes

Abstract

Video gaming is seen as a male space. Female gamers are seen as atypical, have their competence challenged, and face more harassment than male gamers do. This precarious position is increasingly problematic as video gaming is now one of the most prevalent leisure activities, providing an opportunity to both forge and maintain friendships, and to achieve social status and career opportunities. We argue that the marginalization of female gamers is driven by masculine gamer stereotypes. We investigate the content and gendered nature of gamer stereotypes as well as their malleability in response to exposure to female gamers across two studies (N_{Study 1} = 287; N_{Study 2} = 176). We explore the content of gamer stereotypes and find that they contain both negative aspects, such as lacking social skills, and positive aspects, such as being competent and agentic. Both studies demonstrate that gamer stereotypes are more similar to stereotypes of men and boys than those of women and girls. In Study 2 we test whether exposure to a female gamer can change the negative association between female stereotypes and gamer stereotypes, finding support for this prediction. We conclude that gamer stereotypes are highly gendered but may be malleable: increasing the visibility of female gamers could potentially reduce the incompatibility between femininity and gaming.