Once you shop, you can’t stop: are big-brand companies producing games for girls, or girls themselves?

ABSTRACT

Free, online games tailored specifically for girls have carved out a burgeoning niche in a marketplace that has traditionally catered to the interests of boys. However, girls’ games may have a negative impact not only on girls’ perceptions of their gendered roles in society, but also on their attitudes towards their future career choices. Using purposeful sampling, a series of girls’ games were drawn from the Disney, Hasbro, Mattel, and Shopkins websites for investigation. Thematic analysis identified four major themes: (1) emphasis on girls’ perceived interest in clothes, make-up, and shopping, (2) promotion of idealized notions of femininity, which is wholesome, compliant, and domesticated, (3) emphasis on gender performanity and role-play, (4) reinforcement of leisure activities and frivolous over-consumption. Media messaging conveys the cultural ideologies, sociopolitical agendas, and economic interests of multinational corporations. Are big-brand companies producing engaging games for girls, or are they instead producing girls themselves?

KEYWORDS:

• New media studies
• online games
• girls’ games
• critical theory
• mass media
• hyperfemininity
• big-brand marketing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rebecca Hughes

Rebecca Hughes is a Lecturer at the University of Toronto.