This volume addresses the persistent and frequently toxic associations between masculinity and games. It explores many of the critical issues in contemporary studies of masculinity—including issues of fatherhood, homoeroticism, eSports, fan cultures, and militarism—and their intersections with digital games, the contexts of their play, and the social futures associated with sustained involvement in gaming cultures. Unlike much of the research and public discourse that put the onus of “fixing” games and gaming cultures on those at its margins—women, LGBTQ, and people of color—this volume turns attention to men and masculinities, offering vital and productive avenues for both practical and theoretical intervention.
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1 Introduction: Masculinity and Gaming: Mediated Masculinities in Play |
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1 | (20) |
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Part I Act Like a Man: Representations of Masculinity |
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21 | (106) |
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2 "We're Going to Have to Do Things That Are Unthinkable": Masculinity/Games/Torture |
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23 | (14) |
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3 Army Men: Military Masculinity in Call of Duty |
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37 | (18) |
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4 The End of the Dream: How Grand Theft Auto Simulates and Subverts Its Male Player-Character Dynamics |
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55 | (16) |
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5 "You're a Hunter, Bro": Representations of Masculinity in Until Dawn |
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71 | (22) |
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6 (Re) reading Fatherhood: Applying Reader Response Theory to Joel's Father Role in The Last of Us |
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93 | (16) |
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7 He Scores Through a Screen: Mediating Masculinities Through Hockey Video Games |
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109 | (18) |
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Part II Now You're Playing with Power Tools: Gendering Assemblages |
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127 | (82) |
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8 Militarism and Masculinity in Dungeons & Dragons |
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129 | (20) |
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9 At the Intersection of Difficulty and Masculinity: Crafting the Play Ethic |
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149 | (16) |
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10 Orchestrating Difference: Representing Gender in Video Game Music |
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165 | (20) |
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11 Tools of the Game: The Gendered Discourses of Peripheral Advertising |
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185 | (24) |
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Part III The Right Man for the Job: Gaming and Social Futures |
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209 | (72) |
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12 Performing Neoliberal Masculinity: Reconfiguring Hegemonic Masculinity in Professional Gaming |
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211 | (18) |
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13 Masculinity's New Battle Arena in International e-Sports: The Games Begin |
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229 | (20) |
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14 Tcchnomasculinity and Its Influence in Video Game Production |
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249 | (14) |
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15 Not So Straight Shooters: Queering the Cyborg Body in Masculinized Gaming |
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263 | (18) |
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| Index |
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281 | |
Nicholas Taylor is Assistant Professor of Digital Media in the Department of Communication at North Carolina State University, USA. His work applies critical, feminist, and socio-technical perspectives to experimental and mixed-methods research with digital gaming communities.
Gerald Voorhees is Assistant Professor of Digital Culture and Communication in the Department Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo, Canada. His research is on games and new media as sites for the construction and contestation of identity and culture.
