Gender & Games - Henry Jenkins Interview

Findings on Henry Jenkins interview

Lawrence Kate suggested that the reason crime rate has significantly dropped is because despite the recession, video games had been keeping the young idle and busy which were mainly male offenders as men are convicted with more violent crimes than women, this could be suggested that this is why some men play violent video games as action and violence has a significant appeal to men.




Jennifer Jenson suggests that women relate more to video games that they have done in their past childhood, for example, the sims, which is a nigh seller amongst women.Its popularity could relate to the fact that they maybe had a pet or played with dolls as a child.

Jennifer Jenson also states that women do like competitive games but at a more friendlier level than men. Women do also use competitive language when gaming like 'youre going to die'. Men are more likely to use other competativeness, for example, throwing a pad or putting another player off by nudging them. Men seem to be more taken in more by the game play.

Women are more popular with games that allow them to become designers in a game, for example, farmville on facebook, this could be down to when girls were children they used to design and dress thier barbie dolls. The sims is also popular with women due to the real life challanges they can relate to and build up thier own socail skills and emotions, it can be sugeested this may be why women write more graphic novels and love stories than men in the writting industry.




Additional Research Areas:

• More depth research into the fact does being brought up in a certain way or with computer games effect our involvement later on in life
• Could something have been done to include girls more when video gaming was introduced
• Investigate Lizzie Haynes theories

Also investigate the theory that in games women appeal to games were they work within the world and that men like to create and make the world and are more goal orientated.