Girlhood Games

From hypermasculine heroes’ journeys to the boyish play cultures of modding and hacking, popular imagination has long connected video games to boyhood. Yet there has been both a long history and rapid rise of girlhood heroines and a wealth of unnoticed girls’ gaming cultures that have gone unaccounted. This book explores the evolution of gender, youth, and identity in games, from the Game Boy Color Sewing Machine to the teen girl social and identity obstacles found in games like Life is Strange. Video games are shifting away from the heroes’ journey and towards the Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age tale; uniquely representing girlhood through play and interaction. Girlhood Games: Gender, Identity and Coming of Age in Video Games unearths a reflection on gender and games culture, youth and development, storytelling traditions and historical canons, self-expression and cultural production, and the resistant possibilities unveiled through play.

Stephanie Harkin is a Lecturer at RMIT University, Australia where she researches girls’ digital cultures, feminine gaming, and digital preservation.