Although video gaming is becoming a more widespread activity beyond its historically core demographic of young males, participation in competitive gaming remains largely male dominated. Addressing this issue, this research examines the experience of female players in one of the world’s most popular games, League of Legends . Two studies—one qualitative (with 15 participants) and the other quantitative (with 16,821 participants)—confirm that although female players accrue skill at the same rate as males, there remains a dearth of female players in this community. Moreover, those females who play with a male partner are less confident in their skills and often focus on supporting their partner’s advancement, not their own. This work suggests that one way to address the gender gap in gaming is to better understand and improve the social dynamics within popular games.

References

Alloway, N., Gilbert, P. ( 1998 ). Video game culture: Playing with masculinity, violence and pleasure . In Howard, S. (Ed.), Wired up: Young people and electronic media (pp. 95 – 114 ). London, England : UCL Press .

Google Scholar

Bandura, A. ( 1977 ). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change . Psychological Review, 84, 191 . doi:10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Bergstrom, K. ( 2012 , 5 ). Virtual inequality: A woman’s place in cyberspace . Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games, ACM , New York , 267 – 269 . doi:10.1145/2282338.2282394

Google Scholar

Bryce, J., Rutter, J. ( 2003 ). The gendering of computer gaming: Experience and space . In Fleming, S., Jones, I. (Eds.), Leisure cultures: Investigations in sport, media and technology (pp. 3 – 22 ). Eastbourne, England : Leisure Studies Association .

Google Scholar

Carlson, P. ( 2013 , 9 12 ). New League of Legends video uses stats to show how “rage doesn’t win games.” PC Gamer. Retrieved from http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/09/12/new-league-of-legends-video-uses-stats-to-show-how-rage-doesnt-win-games/

Google Scholar

Carr, D. ( 2005 ). Contexts, gaming pleasures, and gendered preferences . Simulation Gaming, 36, 464 – 482 . doi:10.1177/1046878105282160

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Carr, D., Oliver, M. ( 2009 ). Tanks, chauffeurs and backseat drivers: Competence in MMORPGs . Eludamos, 3, 43 – 53 . Retrieved from http://www.eludamos.org/index.php/eludamos/article/viewArticle/56/107

Google Scholar

Connolly, T. M., Boyle, E. A., MacArthur, E., Hainey, T., Boyle, J. M. ( 2012 ). A systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games . Computers & Education, 59, 661 – 686 . doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.03.004

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Consalvo, M. ( 2012 ). Confronting toxic gamer culture: A challenge for feminist game studies scholars . Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, No. 1. doi:10.7264/N33X84KH

Google Scholar

DiSalvo, B. ( 2012 ). Glitch game testers: the design and study of a learning environment for computational production with young African American males. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, GA .

Google Scholar

Entertainment Software Association . ( 2007 ). Essential facts about the computer and games industry. Retrieved from http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2007.pdf

Google Scholar

Entertainment Software Association . ( 2013 ). Essential facts about the computer and games industry. Retrieved from http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2013.pdf

Google Scholar

Feng, J., Spence, I., Pratt, J. ( 2007 ). Playing an Action Video Game Reduces Gender Differences in Spatial Cognition . Psychological Science, 18, 850 – 855 . doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01990.x

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Gaudiosi, J. ( 2012 , 7 11 ). Riot Games’ League of Legends officially becomes most played PC game in the world . Forbes. Retrieved from http://forbes.com/technology

Google Scholar

Gray, K. L. ( 2012 ). Intersecting oppressions and online communities . Information, Communication & Society, 15, 411 – 428 . doi:0.1080/1369118X.2011.642401

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Griffiths, D. N. ( 2012 , 2 20 ). The changing face of games: Feeling angry and ignored, fans look for someone to blame. Forbes . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2012/02/21/bioware-hepler-harassment/

Google Scholar

Griffiths, M. D., Davies, M. N. O., Chappell, D. ( 2003 ). Breaking the stereotype: The case of online gaming . Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 6, 81 – 91 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Jenson, J., de Castell, S. ( 2008 ). Theorizing gender and digital gameplay: Oversights, accidents and surprises . Eludamos. Journal for Computer Game Culture, 2, 15 – 25 .

Google Scholar

Jenson, J., de Castell, S. ( 2010 ). Gender, simulation, and gaming: Research review and redirections . Simulation & Gaming, 41, 51 – 71 . doi:10.1177/1046878109353473

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Jenson, J., de Castell, S. ( 2011 ). Girls @ play . Feminist Media Studies, 11, 167 – 179 . doi:10.1080/14680777.2010.521625

Google Scholar Crossref

Kahn, A., Ratan, R., Williams, D. ( 2014 ). Why we distort in self-report: The effects cognitive dissonance and balance theory on self-report errors . Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19, 1010 – 1023 . doi:10.1111/jcc4.12056

Google Scholar Crossref

Kennedy, H. ( 2002 ). Lara Croft: Feminist icon or cyberbimbo? On the limits of textual analysis . Game Studies, 2. Retrieved from http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/

Google Scholar

Kennedy, T. ( 2007 , August ). Women’s online gaming communities: Don’t hate the game, hate the players. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociology Association , New York, NY .

Google Scholar

Lewis, H. ( 2012 , 12 7 ). Anita Sarkeesian and the gamification of misogyny . New Statesman. Retrieved from http://www.newstatesman.com/helen-lewis/2012/12/anita-sarkeesian-and-gamification-misogyny

Google Scholar

Lingard, L., Albert, M., Levinson, W. ( 2008 ). Grounded theory, mixed methods, and action research . BMJ: British Medical Journal, 337, 459 – 461 . doi:http://dx.doi.org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/10.1136/bmj.39602.690162.47

Google Scholar

Lucas, K., Sherry, J. L. ( 2004 ). Sex differences in video game play: A communication-based explanation . Communication Research, 31, 499 – 523 . doi:10.1177/0093650204267930

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

McWhertor, M. ( 2012 , 10 13 ). The League of Legends team of scientists trying to cure ‘toxic behavior’ online . Polygon. Retrieved from http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/17/3515178/the-league-of-legends-team-of-scientists-trying-to-cure-toxic

Google Scholar

Moore, O. ( 2012 , 7 11 ). Woman’s call to end video game misogyny sparks vicious online attacks . Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/womans-call-to-end-video-game-misogyny-sparks-vicious-online-attacks/article4405585/

Google Scholar

Nardi, B. ( 2010 ). My life as a Night Elf priest: An anthropological account of World of Warcraft. Ann Arbor, MI : University of Michigan Press .

Google Scholar

Nguyen, H.-H. D., Ryan, A. M. ( 2008 ). Does stereotype threat affect test performance of minorities and women? A meta-analysis of experimental evidence . Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1314 – 1334 . doi:10.1037/a0012702

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Richard, G., Hoadley, C. M. ( 2013 ). Investigating a supportive online gaming community as a means of reducing stereotype threat vulnerability across gender . Proceedings of Games, Learning & Society 9.0, ETC Press , Pittsburgh, PA , 261 – 266 .

Google Scholar

Riot Games . ( 2012 ) Our games. Retrieved from http://www.riotgames.com/our-games

Google Scholar

Schreier, J. ( 2012 , 2 29 ). This is what a gamers’ sexual harassment looks like . Kotaku. Retrieved from http://kotaku.com/5889415/this-is-what-a-gamers-sexual-harassment-looks-like

Google Scholar

Shaw, A. ( 2009 ). Putting the gay in games: Cultural production and GLBT content in video games . Games and Culture, 4, 228 – 253 . doi:10.1177/1555412009339729

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Spencer, S. J., Steele, C. M., Quinn, D. M. ( 1999 ). Stereotype threat and women’s math performance . Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 4 – 28 . doi:10.1006/jesp.1998.1373

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Steele, C. M., Aronson, J. ( 1995 ). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans . Journal of personality and social psychology, 69, 797 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Steinkuehler, C., Duncan, S. ( 2008 ). Scientific habits of mind in virtual worlds . Journal of Science Education and Technology, 17, 530 – 543 . doi:10.1007/s10956-008-9120-8

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Stone, J., Lynch, C. I., Sjomeling, M., Darley, J. M. ( 1999 ). Stereotype threat effects on Black and White athletic performance . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1213 – 1227 . doi:10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1213

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Taylor, N. ( 2012 ). “A silent team is a dead team”: Communicative norms in team-based Halo 3 play . In Voorhees, G. (Ed.), Guns, grenades and grunts: First person shooter games (pp. 251 – 275 ). New York, NY : Continuum .

Google Scholar

Taylor, N., Jenson, J., de Castell, S. ( 2009 ). Cheerleaders, booth babes, Halo hoes: pro-gaming, gender and jobs for the boys . Digital Creativity, 20, 239 – 252 . doi:10.1080/14626260903290323

Google Scholar Crossref

Taylor, N., Jenson, J., de Castell, S., Dilouya, B. ( 2014 ). Public displays of play: Studying online games in physical settings . Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19, 763 – 779 . doi:10.1111/jcc4.12054

Google Scholar Crossref

Taylor, T. L. ( 2003 ). Multiple pleasures: Women and online gaming . Convergence, 9, 21 – 46 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Taylor, T. L. ( 2006 ). Play between worlds: Exploring online game culture. Cambridge, MA : MIT Press .

Google Scholar

Thornham, H. ( 2008 ). It’s a boy thing: Gaming, gender, and geeks . Feminist Media Studies, 8, 127 – 142 . doi:10.1080/14680770801980505

Google Scholar Crossref

Trepte, S., Reinecke, L., Behr, K. M. ( 2009 ). Creating virtual alter egos or superheroines? Gamers’ strategies of avatar creation in terms of gender and sex . International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations (IJGCMS), 1, 52 – 76 . doi:10.4018/jgcms.2009040104

Google Scholar Crossref

Vermeulen, L., Núñez Castellar, E., Van Looy, J. ( 2014 ). Challenging the other: Exploring the role of opponent gender in digital game competition for female players . Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17, 303 – 309 . doi:10.1089/cyber.2013.0331

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Wakeford, N. ( 1999 ). Gender and the landscapes of computing in an Internet café . In Crang, M., Crang, P., May, J. (Eds.), Virtual geographies: Bodies, space and relations (pp. 178 – 202 ). New York, NY : Routledge .

Google Scholar

Williams, D., Consalvo, M., Caplan, S., Yee, N. ( 2009 ). Looking for gender (LFG): Gender roles and behaviors among online gamers . Journal of Communication, 59, 700 – 725 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Williams, D., Ducheneaut, N., Xiong, L., Zhang, Y., Yee, N., Nickell, E. ( 2006 ). From tree house to barracks: The social life of guilds in World of Warcraft . Games & Culture, 1, 338 – 361 . doi:10.1177/1555412006292616

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Williams, D., Kennedy, T., Moore, R. ( 2011 ). Behind the avatar: The patterns, practices, and functions of role playing in MMOs . Games and Culture, 6, 171 – 200 . doi:10.1177/1555412010364983

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Williams, D., Martins, N., Consalvo, M., Ivory, J. ( 2009 ). The virtual census: representations of gender, race and age in video games . New Media & Society, 11, 815 – 834 . doi:10.1177/1461444809105354

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Witkowski, E. ( 2013 , 8 ) Following Ms_Fabulous: Women, live-streaming, and do-it-yourself visibility in e-sports. Paper presented at the meeting of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) , Atlanta, GA .

Google Scholar