Derr, Thomas M.. The road to gamergate: the history of gender stereotyping in video game culture, 1970-2000 and beyond. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-q34m-0w81
DescriptionComputer technology has not always been dominated by men. Prior to 1984, women earning computer science degrees skyrocketed to nearly 37%. After this peak, the numbers dwindled down to just 17% by 2012. What happened here?
This paper tells the story of how women grew to become more and more marginalized not only from computing, but from the culture of video games that would become extremely popular as home computers became more available to the public. This story traces how gender roles and stereotypes go on to gatekeep women from participating in video game and computer culture from the 1970s and well into the 2000s and beyond. This gatekeeping is perpetuated through the attitudes and perspectives of men who were typically the developers of both computer hardware, software and video games. Public attitudes on violence and sexuality also contributed to the stereotyping of both young boys and girls, which was further reinforced through the narratives of the media. This story aims to provide agency to the voices of female gamers who were overlooked in their contemporary culture as well as in the vast history of video games.