For a little while now I have been asking myself why I continue to participate in this blog/podcast even though I am no longer in school and don’t really have a desire to be a writer/journalist. Even though the site is centered on video games, most of the topics posted focus on scholarly discourse that ranges from gender and racial stereotypes to the role of video games and education. I’m not trying to say that our audience is limited to scholars or that for one of our bloggers/podcasters to be successful on the site they have to be in school, but it does ring a small bell in my brain every time I see an amazing/smart post from one of these ladies.
If you’re a regular reader I think you’ll have noticed by now that I write more from experience than from my educational endeavors; even when I was still a student at Purdue University I never really studied the impact of games and representations within games to the extent that Sam and Alex do. When Sam first asked me to blog on the site I was totally baffled and extremely nervous because of the immense amount of respect I had (still have) for both Sam and Alex (and at the time Sarah White). One of the most difficult things for me starting out was finding things that stood out to me as unfortunate gender stereotyping or misappropriation.
I know this may sound kind of funny, but it’s 100% true. I had a very naïve and generalized view of what the video game industry was; I believed that through hard work and effort my gender would not hold me back, that the cruel experiences I had in multiplayer games were not representative of gamer’s mentalities but instead just unfortunate trolling performed by immature 12 year olds. And while a portion of those thoughts may be true, there is a much more harsh reality out there to be discovered once you open the Pandora’s Box that is gender/racial stereotypes in the video game industry.
And so, while I’ve been pondering to myself why I’m still a part of the site/podcast it hit me like a ton of bricks on my drive home from visiting my boyfriend this past Sunday night. While I could have gone my whole life without participating in this podcast/site it would have been a much more ignorant life. I have learned so much about the underrepresentation of females in video games and I would have been completely blindsided by the inequalities women experience within the video game industry. And while I have most certainly become much more educated in the past year and seven months, this educational experience only continues and furthers my awareness of the problems that are present in the industry today.
This learning experience has led me to want to be extremely vocal about this newfound passion. A lot of people see injustice in the world and keep their mouths shut for fear of rocking the boat or not wanting to add their voice to a matter that is seemingly hopeless because of the small amount of progress made. This is a large reason why progress takes so long to show results. I, on the other hand, continue to be a part of this site vocalizing my disdain for certain things and praise for others, thus furthering the cause in general.
I’m not surrounded by scholars on a daily basis, but instead by people who chose to work for a living instead of attending a university or community college. My connections to the site and to these people have led to a larger population of people being exposed to the issues we spend so much time fighting for and talking about. Isn’t that a huge part of the reason we do this in the first place? Educate the uneducated, expose the atrocities for what they are, and propose ways to move forward. My being a part of this site may not have it’s obvious reasons at first, and sometimes maintaining a life, job, friendships, hobbies get in the way of spending a large amount of dedicated time to the site, but the take back from it all is extremely worth it.
Even if you don’t think a friend, coworker, or loved one would initially be interested in a site like this, share it anyways! We love the responses, and welcome them from people of all walks of life.
One thought on “Why Do I Do It? An Introspective View into a Non-Scholar”
I’ve been listening to NYMG since the beginning, and I have to agree with Nicole. Things I wouldn’t have thought twice about before–not just in video games, but in other media as well–now stick out like a sore thumb. Why is the criminal informant Hispanic? Why is this character female? Why is that character making the choices he is and how do those choices relate to his gender or race?
And I listen to NYMG with my 15-year-old daughter, so she has learned to think about these things now–something I certainly wasn’t aware of at her age. She’s now a self-proclaimed “Angry Feminist,” not solely because of listening to NYMG, but I know listening definitely makes her feel validated. (It also makes her feel a little less bitter about growing up in West Lafayette, IN, because she knows there are at least a few kindred spirits here.)
So, keep up the good work! :)You’re raising awareness one listener/reader at a time!
Amanda