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Abstract
Recent increases in the number of women becoming involved in video game culture have been met with dissent by males, producing a tense atmosphere online and offline. These tensions reached a peak when video games journalist Ryan Perez attacked female video game celebrity Felicia Day over Twitter in June 2012, questioning the value of her work and calling her a ‘glorified booth babe’. The Incident quickly became notorious, and Perez was subsequently fired from his writing role with the gamer community site Destructoid. In order to gain an understanding of women's status in video game communities, we analyse the Twitter Incident in historical context and with reference to feminist and technology theory. The Twitter Incident may have functioned either as an act of catharsis or a watershed; Perez's punishment might have released tensions regarding misogyny, or signalled a change in attitude towards women in game culture. Continued mistreatment of women in the game community and industry implies that the Incident functioned as an act of catharsis. However, the notoriety that was raised and criticism Perez received has marked an increase in awareness of misogyny in video game communities and culture.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. The inclusivity of geek culture is relative and by no means unproblematic, as witnessed in Young (Citation2014).
2. Booth babes are women who are sexually explicit or provocative, often wearing revealing clothing. They are often present at popular culture and video game conventions to encourage men to take an interest in their respective booths. The practice has become less popular, with E3 banning such promotions (Schick Citation2006).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sian Tomkinson
Sian Tomkinson is a PhD candidate in Media and Communication at UWA. Her research focuses on gender and the construction of identities and communities in video game culture.
Tauel Harper
Tauel Harper is an Assistant Professor in Media and Communication at UWA. His research focuses on the intersection of agency, technology and communication and he has examined this intersection in articles and chapters on democracy, education, live music and play. His first book Democracy in the Age of New Media was published in 2011, he has a forthcoming book Media After Deleuze and his next book (tentatively titled Humans vs Zombies) will use critical theory to explore the Zombie trope.
