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Journal Articles (Review Article) Education et Sociétés : Revue internationale de sociologie de l'éducation Year : 2022

Unequal agency: video games and girls’ access to public debate

Une agentivité inégalitaire : jeux vidéo et accessibilité des filles à la parole publique

Judit Vari
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Abstract

Video games have become a preferred means of expression and knowl-edge for young people. They allow them to develop the ability to speak within the family, with peers and between players, and to create social links. This article examines, based on an analysis of mainly Anglo-Saxon literature, the way in which they participate in the democratisation proc-ess of contemporary societies by developing the agency of children and adolescents and the way in which girls can claim ownership of them. It discusses the obstacles and limits of this process for girls. Girls are not very visible in the media space and are much less numerous in eSport. Sexist harassment leads them to adopt camouflage strategies –male avatars, voice modification– or to drop out of the competitions. Could eSport be a space for reaffirming male identity and domination by maintaining control of speech in a mediatised field? The voice of the female player, its consideration in the public game space, is a blind spot that needs to be questioned. Video games and leisure activities, intermediate spaces of socialisation, are significantly underestimated by researchers, educators and politicians in understanding what is at stake in the socialisation of children. Entire sections of the understanding of juvenile practices are still missing and can lead to counter-productive choices at the educational level.

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Dates and versions

hal-04250915 , version 1 (20-10-2023)

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Judit Vari. Unequal agency: video games and girls’ access to public debate. Education et Sociétés : Revue internationale de sociologie de l'éducation, 2022, 47, pp.133-149. ⟨10.3917/es.047.0133.⟩. ⟨hal-04250915⟩
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