![]() I critically approach the extensive literature produced by scholars interested in videogames, particularly those of ludology, narratology and cultural studies, evaluating their theoretical and methodological contributions to the field. By focusing on a critical assessment of gender and sexuality politics in the making and playing of videogames, this thesis highlights the configurative nature of interactions that inform videogames culture and discusses how the political appears in videogames content, production, consumption and media. ![]() This thesis investigates the characters, plots, and images in BioWare’s videogame trilogy Mass Effect and its transmedia universe with the aim of informing what is political about videogames and where politics is found in videogames. These discussions explore the negotiations and sways of affective powers in relationship dynamics, traditional gender roles, and the ‘hypermasculinity’ of gaming culture, conveyed in the ‘modulation’ of gender performance and gaming practices – the limited ‘modes’ in which women are afforded to express themselves in gaming. This research’s ethnographic data is analysed with the theories of ‘affective labour’ and ‘gender performativity’. This thesis uses the critical identity theory of existential feminism to shed light on the underlying heteronormative limitations imposed by the games industry, the gaming ‘community’, and media discourses. Focusing on relationship dynamics and the interplay of gender, constructs a framework that apprehends gaming as a culture which is situated within wider social contexts, rather than insulated or segregated from everyday lived experiences. This thesis critically examines the dynamics of what are otherwise considered to be positive relationships, and examines how these dynamics may impact on women’s experiences of gaming. Exploring the particular barriers in gaming faced by women, this research has conducted interviews with women who have played videogames with their partners, so as to form a more nuanced and multifaceted picture of the role of women in gaming. ![]() In its place, the term ‘Gamer Girlfriends’ gestures towards the complexity of affective relationships at the nexus of gaming, romantic relationships and the experiences of women. This thesis is an investigation of ‘Gamer Girlfriends’ and deconstructs the stereotypes surrounding this particular phenomenon by presenting the accounts of the lived experiences of those who may be labelled as a ‘Gamer Girlfriend’. ![]()
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