Queerness in Play

Palgrave Games in Context

by Todd Harper (Editor), Meghan Blythe Adams (Editor), Nicholas Taylor (Editor)

Queerness in Play examines the many ways queerness of all kinds—from queer as ‘LGBT’ to other, less well-covered aspects of the queer spectrum—intersects with games and the social contexts of play. The current unprecedented visibility of queer creators and content comes at a high tide of resistance to the inclusion of those outside a long-imagined cisgender, heterosexual, white male norm. By critically engaging the ways games—as a culture, an industry, and a medium—help reproduce limiting binary formations of gender and sexuality, Queerness in Play contributes to the growing body of scholarship promoting more inclusive understandings of identity, sexuality, and games.

Genres: Nonfiction, Video Games, Games, Queer

302 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2018

Reviews

[Andrew Brassington]

A helpful introduction to the breadth of queer studies in gaming. I think it's a bit limited by focusing on specific games a little too heavily (e.g. multiple chapters on LoL). Saying this, I found the chapter focusing on Sheik's gender queering particularly tantalising.

[Ben Soupy]

loved learning about the academic implications of the Schlongs in Skyrim mod