2020 was the year I discovered I was a gamer. I had always spent a lot of my time playing videogames, but in lockdown, I became acutely aware that it meant more to me than just a way to pass time after work. However, it took me a while to embrace the idea of identifying explicitly as a ‘gamer’. Although I was constantly playing games – and constantly wanting to talk about them – I bristled at the term.
In her study titled ‘Do you identify as a gamer?’, games researcher Adrienne Shaw challenges the assumption that making videogames more diverse will automatically make their audience more diverse. Through her interviews with marginalised videogame players, she found that the term ‘gamer’ carries a stigma that many marginalised people who play videogames don't want to claim. As the most recent Australia Plays Report shows, over 48% of videogame players are women and non-binary, so it’s clear that we're not absent from gaming. But we often don’t identify as gamers. Gaming isn’t serious, it’s juvenile, it’s addictive, it’s a guilty pleasure – so the stigma says. Shaw concludes that ‘‘normalising videogames for all audiences, finding ways to emphasise their ‘everydayness’ in contemporary media culture, is a more productive approach to demands for representation.”
While diverse representation in videogames is crucial, it needs to be accompanied by diverse participation in gaming spaces as well. We need to make such spaces visible, allowing them to expand the stereotypical image of the gamer. When I joined ACMI's Women and Non-Binary Gamers Club back in 2020 – a club exclusively for women, gender non-conforming, trans and non-binary people – the word ‘gamer’ took on a whole other meaning for me. Embracing a ‘gamer’ identity wasn't just about joining a community; it enabled me to take myself seriously as a gamer, and by extension, to take videogames seriously. Together we developed ways to engage with videogames critically, analysing their themes and associations, talking about their relationship to politics or their cultural context.
Talking about videogames is really hard for most people. In conversation, we usually resort to explaining the story – because how do you describe something you experienced firsthand? Like a book club, the Women and Non-Binary Gamers Club selects a game each month and we gather to chat about it. Few members actually play the game first; it’s a chance for them to preview a title before buying it, or just an opportunity to meet other gamers. As host, I play the game live, while chatting about things I’ve read about it, opening up avenues of discussion and reflection. Having the live playthrough means we respond together to what we see and hear and feel, developing a language and vocabulary for discussing videogames as we play.
I don’t talk about [games] much - a lot of people around me don’t see videogames as art - they just think it’s all Fortnite and Minecraft! (Not that there’s anything wrong with those!)
Most club members find that the Women and Non-Binary Gamers Club is the only place for them to discuss videogames with others. In Club sessions – both in-person and online – the simple question ‘what has everyone been playing?’ activates everyone – eyes light up, chins wag – as though the desire to talk about games has been burning inside, close to overflowing. In our online sessions, we each sit in our own living spaces – bedrooms and living rooms – though some of us are out and about, listening like it's a podcast. Some members stay off-camera and off-mic, sharing their comments in the chat. Maybe they’re cosied up in bed, low on spoons or not feeling camera-ready, but they still want to be with us, in that digital space.
I have a pretty small number [of friends to talk about games with] but most don’t live in Melbourne (I grew up in Canberra) and don’t always like to unpick them like I do. Or aren’t as into the indie scene as I am. Big part of what brought me to Gamers Club.
Though we’ve returned to having in-person sessions every few months, we’ve been careful to ensure our virtual club space hasn’t changed too much. For those with disabilities, virtual events are essential, and many club members live regionally, interstate, or even overseas (shoutout to our member in New Zealand!). Instead of converting some virtual clubs into in-person events, the ACMI team has invested in additional in-person events, so as to not take away virtual events from those who rely on them to engage with the club.
In the Discord channel where we meet, the conversation continues outside of the club session. Though we’re talking online, we still have a sense of being together. Someone is typing, their fingertips hitting the keyboard, those three dots appearing. Someone waves hi as someone else enters the server. A club member is playing Overwatch, another is listening to Spotify. It’s a constant stream of sharing, reacting and connecting. Inhabiting the server together, we are club members even when a session isn’t live. We are taking up space.
– Claire Osborn-Li
Claire delivered this speech at 'Taking Up Space: A Networking Event for Women & Gender Diverse Game Developers', which took place at ACMI on Sunday 6 October 2024 as part of Melbourne International Games Week (Thur 3 – Sun 13 Oct 2024).
Learn more about ACMI's Women & Non-Binary Gamers Club
Reference
Shaw, A. (2012) 'Do you identify as a gamer? Gender, race, sexuality, and gamer identity', New Media & Society, 14(1), 28-44.