Started when I decided to print out this week's reading to take on the plane to Seattle. I know, ecologically very unfriendly. And it gets worse. As usual, crunched for timing, multitasking I'm printing and realize the queue isn't moving and I'm cursing and annoyed because I think Firefox has sent some bad stuff and crashed the printer (it happens quite a bit, actually. very frustrating) but it turns out the printer is out of paper and what I expect to be 8-10 pieces of paper is a 1.5" tall stack. And there's more to come. In printing the article:
Posted April 16, 2003 by jane
I ended up printing 1.5" of the comments that accompanied her 5 page write up. A further indictment of my lack of imagination in printing the darn thing -- the article is chock full of great links worth pursuing. I am continually amused by my own habits and routines and how clearly they label me as the digital immigrant that I am. I did feel guilt, for what it's worth. I'm still more comfortable with paper. Go figure.
The article I killed a tree to print was written by Jane Pinckard in 2003 for her gender-attentive blog: Game+Girl=Advance. Apparently she got her blog's name from her frustration and fan appreciation for the "Game Boy." As a woman, Jane is a unique figure in the gamer world and according to this MTV bio and interview, she has worked (and might still) for a bunch of big deal gamer magazines (GamePro and Xbox Nation) and hi-tech publishing giants Ziff Davis and the CMP Game Group.
Posted 12/11/07 8:46 am ET by Tracey John
I had a hard time figuring out what Jane is doing right now, but it she might be working on a new game. I had better luck tracking down the "man" she discusses in her article, who is also the blog's Managing Editor, Justin Hall (hasn't posted at the blog since 2006, tho). But he, too, seems to have some real significance in the gamer world from my cursory research. I'd heard of MMORPG: Massive multiplayer on-line role-play games but his team made a "passive" version using the Firefox browser. Intriguing, but retired now. Now they've got a FaceBook based game. His bio mentioned that he "created one of the early extensive home pages, “Justin’s Links from the Underground” in January 1994. In 2004, the New York Times Magazine referred to him as “the founding father of personal bloggers.”" Suffice to say, they are both digital natives.
It is amazing to be able to do this much research so quickly. Thank you, google. Granted, far from complete, but it is so satisfying to get a picture of the author, their experiences, orientation, perspective. I consider this a critical part of the media literacy required for our young people. As digital natives it could all too quickly become just a seemingly innocuous background -- the pretty set decorations or landscaping that you take for granted until you realize that they've been so cleverly constructed to lead you one way or another, make you interested in one path or another. Which is why I always research the people behind the stuff I read. Notice my new interest in embedding the links that I find. Such a small step, but I'm proud!
Jane's criteria for evaluating genderspace were awesome - and I want to see her basic definition "The way gender is prgrammed (sic), incorporated, and manipulated describes a "gender space"" included in the media literacy guidelines in some way. And as Jane herself points out, gender is only one consideration in this genre -- race is also a prominent area of concern.
Because who creates the content matters. Content is created with purpose, content is created intentionally. There is no such thing as an innocuous background. It all has intent.
Which is why I always read comments -- someone always offers a joke or insight or snark that creates a new way to see or understand what I just read. It's a window on the temporary members of a conversation -- what they think and who they are. So many audience insights! So I find it fascinating and hilarious to read (ok, skim) that 1.5" stack of comments.
((The addition of comments to on-line news and blogs is one of my personal favorite web 2.0 innovations. I often find the comments better than the article, as if the article is just the appetizer and the comments the actual meal. Certainly this is a comment on me, my voyeurism, my love of debate, my fascination with hearing different perspectives -- my desire to understand how people frame the issue so that i can find a compelling way to sell my (product) agenda, meet my goal. So they are like mini-research projects in themselves and wouldn't it be great to find the time to quantify responses!))
And it seems that Jane's perspective is, despite it's geeky-gamer-thinker-innovator substance, still gets the largely male gamer community all riled up and so obviously in need of the tolerant and strategic Jane.
"Criticizing them (BG:DA and Tomb Raider) as if they're evidence of some pervasive air of exploitation in gaming is like holding up some schlocky teen comedy movie as an example of why American movies are immature. It's taking the rare (and rarely popular) exception and calling it a rule. They're fun to mock, but they're not really evidence of a serious problem."
Translation: We're not involved in sexism. It's not a problem in our (male dominated) society.
"I was glad to find a link to an article about women in video games that isn't just ignorant vitriol, though. It's been awhile since I've seen an article like this that doesn't make outrageous complaints, like complaining about a scantily clad girl in a video game when one of the other playable characters is an impossibly muscular young man with an intense hatred of upper body clothing
Translation: I'm equally hurt by their stereotypes/sexism. Feminists are bitchy and stupid.
"It's also nice to hear that pinup games like DOAXVB aren't a sexist male conspiracy that will send planet Earth into a vicious spiral of rape, murder, and, somehow, also racism. The world, and especially this discussion, could use more people with an "it's not my bag, but it's okay if it's yours" attitude."
Translation: I have absolutely no idea that gender = privilege. And I got nothing against you gals.
Posted by: DarkZero on April 17, 2003 01:11 PM
Sadly, DarkZero's perspective was not in the minority. Many comments qualified their defensive denials, they seem to like Jane and how she thinks, but it is not an issue for the majority and they are offended by the idea of it. I think they don't see it, don't think about it critically, just reflexively. For them genderspace is just a backdrop, scenery. I am relieved to know that Jane's voice is out there - calling attention to it by her presence and words.
Jane makes her case clearly, as do three generations of feminist scholarship on the topic. Our digital native youth know that they can create their own content at one level, but the highest levels of creative, artistic expression in this genre -- as is true in the motion picture and music industry -- are male dominated. I saw this myself at the advertising agency. Male creative teams were typically considered much stronger than the female teams, different product was expected from them -- work that was more out-there, explosive, cutting-edge, risky -- and this approach also reflected the essential value system of the agency: do what is new, edgy, ground breaking to win us awards and prestige. In trying to find Jane, I was sent to Foundation 9 Entertainment (gaming co.). Check out their staff page. Wanna guess how many women are there? Still couldn't find Jane, BTW. Spot-on humor from the comment's on Jane's article:
go play with your dolls. and make me a sandwich!
Posted by: manly mcman on April 17, 2003 01:35 PM
The concern over genderspace (who creates it? with what agenda?) in video games -- and all media -- intersects with the question of the week: Is, and if yes, and what role video games should/can/do play in the education of young people? I wouldn't consider myself a gamer, but I've played enough to have a clue. I also appreciate the magic of programming and the art that is computer graphics.
Negative perceptions of this genre abound, and most of the public discussion focuses on the dark sides (our critics document them in the health journals that are popular among my professional acquaintances). It was interesting to see the article by Jane included in our readings and identifying a "dark side" that is only tangentially attended to by the adolescent health community. We are way more interested in obesity right now, thanks.
Both of the other readings offered the sunny side, both made a compelling affirmative case, both made some practical suggestions. I share the authors' orientation and have a vest interest in the success of their advocacy. Too often we true believers are stooped in a posture of defensiveness.
IMHO, the best sell job came from the posting at Henry Jenkin's blog "Confessions of an Aca-Fan." Jenkins is Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The article is written by Scot Osterweil, creative director at the Education Arcade at MIT, part of the partnership that created the learning game -- "Labyrinth" -- which this article describes. In describing the game, there is much attention paid to learning styles, adolescent development, popular culture and classroom culture. I was particularly impressed at the developers dedication to the plight of the teacher and how clearly they made ease of incorporation in the curriculum a priority. It was satisfying, given my advocacy work, to see clear references to adolescent development. I cheer their recommendations for reversing the "teacher transmission of knowledge to student direction" as a way to further engage and empower the students, change/enhance the teacher's perspective of the student, and address the teacher's own time crunch issues.
The other article, The Classroom of Popular Culture: What video games can teach us about making students want to learn, James Paul Gee in this Harvard Education Letter outlines a good case for the inclusion of games in the classroom. Gee is an linguist with professional affiliations at Arizona State University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Apparently gaming is a relatively newer interest of his. The parallel between achieving mastery in a video game and education was well drawn and compelling. His reporting of how video game designers were so successful at creating and using strategies that allow the player to gain skill and enjoy themselves, and the idea that it could transfer over to the classroom was impressive to the teacher on my blog chat tonight.
I resonated with his idea "It is ironic that young people today are often exposed to more creative and challenging learning experiences in popular culture than they are in school" and find it both frightening and thrilling.
Frightening, because those popular culture learning experiences come with a price tag (in the form commercial motivations). Are these trappings just an innocuous background to young people? How critically do they examine it?
Frightening because even those wonderful gamer geeks have a hard time seeing sexism or racism in their community.
Thrilling because today, more than even before, young people can actively engage in creating that popular culture and it's content. And that can change everything.
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