Masters Thesis

Choose your identity: gender identity formation through video game characters

This study aims to discover how individuals who are outside of the video game industry’s target audience of young, straight, heterosexual males determine their standing within the industry. The participants (n = 45) were nontraditional gamers (LGBTQ individuals, women, and individuals over the age of 30). This study used the interpretive paradigm and qualitative research method in order to determine how participants viewed themselves in the gaming world and the portrayal of characters within the games themselves. Participants were asked to complete an open-ended questionnaire about the gaming industry and how they fit within it. These questions focused on how the participants identified themselves within the confines of the gaming industry, the future of LGBTQ characters in video games, and opinions toward traditionally gendered video game characters. The largest finding in this study discovered participants’ gender did not play a part in their gamer identity. Occurrences such as dedication to gaming and not fitting the gamer mold were reasons they did not identify as gamers. Other findings include participant’s lack of faith in the gaming industry to properly create and display LGBTQ characters without potentially damaging stereotypes. This study hopes to further research of how stereotyped video game characters can affect players and their daily lives.

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