More than just a game: the consumption of virtual goods by female gamers

In the contemporary context, games no longer represent a hobby adopted by children only. In fact, the gaming practice has become popular amongst people from different age groups and economic classes. This article analyses sexism and the symbolic violence aimed at women gamers in the game League of Legends. We have conducted interviews with five gamers who play League of Legends in order to explore the relationships between sexism and the motivations for the consumption of virtual goods by women gamers. We also address the possession of skins as a tool for establishing identity representations for women as they seek acceptance in a group and/or attempt to escape from the sexism that characterises such gaming environments.Os games, na lógica contemporânea, abandonaram o tom de passatempo infantil, sendo praticados por todos os gêneros de diversas faixas etárias e camadas sociais. O machismo e a violência simbólica exercida contra mulheres gamers no jogo League of Legends será o objeto do presente artigo. Observaremos, através de entrevistas com cinco jogadoras de League of Legends, a relação entre o machismo e as motivações de consumo de bens virtuais entre jogadoras mulheres, explorando de que maneiras possuir skins é uma busca por status, uma busca pela autorrepresentação identitária, uma busca para se inserir dentro do grupo ou busca para fugir desse machismo