29 | Girls Who Game

Girls are gamers, too. How far have we come since Ms Pac-Man? How many women play video games, and why don’t all women feel welcome? In this episode, we talk about female players of all ages, from the 80s until now.

We get into all-female esports team, Overwatch leagues, tournament play, barnacle characters in WOW, and whether Candy Crush counts.

Links and extra credit reading:

Blackgirlnerds.com blog entry on WOW:

• https://blackgirlnerds.com/world-warcraft-women-problem/

More info on GamerGate:

• https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/brianna-we-gamergate-threats/
• https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/09/new-chat-logs-show-how-4chan-users-pushed-gamergate-into-the-national-spotlight/
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/10/14/the-only-guide-to-gamergate-you-will-ever-need-to-read/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7ebda41afa1b

More about the Frag Dolls:

• https://kotaku.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-frag-dolls-a-group-that-blaze-1832991370

The “Insights into Sexism” research article abstract and media coverage:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26176699
• https://jezebel.com/no-it-s-a-macho-thing-i-know-someone-who-was-assaulte-1718615774

Profess-Hers is a podcast written and presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.

Written by Allegra Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.