Contexts, gaming pleasures, and gendered preferences

In this article, the author explores computer gaming preferences of girls through observations of a games club at an all-girl state school in the United Kingdom. The author argues that gaming tastes are alterable and site specific. Gaming preferences certainly relate to the attributes of particular games, but they will also depend on the player’s recognition and knowledge of these attributes. Players accumulate these competencies according to the patterns of access and peer culture they encounter. The constituents of preference, such as access, are shaped by gender, and as a result, gaming preferences may manifest along gendered lines. It is not difficult to generate data, indicating that gendered tastes exist, but it is shortsighted to separate such outcomes from the various practices that contribute to their formation.