Spelare som råkar vara kvinnor : Öppningar och begränsningar i genus, sexualitet och spelarnätverk i World of Warcraft

This paper focuses on the female gender position in World of Warcraft. The paper analyses the game, the gamer community and female gamers own experiences of play in a male-dominated arena. The subject is approached using semiotics, online ethnography and semi-structured interwiews. The results show that World of Warcraft is far from the worst example of stereotypical gender representations in games, although the game enforces stereotypical structures. The culture in the gaming community is extremely male dominated and heteronormative. The female respondents seem to thrive in the game via a negotiated reading of the gamer culture. Their goals and motivations in the game differ widely. <--