Nitel Sosyal Bilimler
Yazarlar: ["Ecenur TEMELLİ", "Neylan ZİYALAR", "Y. Tunç DEMİRCAN"]
Konular:-
DOI:10.47105/nsb.1189549
Anahtar Kelimeler:Çelişik cinsiyetçilik,Çevrimiçi oyunlar,Cinsiyet temelli ayrımcılık,Toksik davranış,Ambivalent sexism,Online gaming,Gender-based discrimination,Toxic behavior
Özet: Valorant is an online game played in teams of 5, where the goal is to kill all the players of the opposing team and defend your own team. It was decided to work on this game because it has different graphics and female characters than similar war games, it is preferred among young people, and it is free. Accordingly, in-depth interviews were conducted with 19 people (12 female, 7 male) who played Valorant for at least 1 month, reached through Valorant communities on social media, between June and October 2022. Only the in-depth interview form prepared by the researchers was used in the study. In the in-depth interview form, there are questions about the demographic information of the participants, as well as questions about their game history, Valorant habits, positive and negative situations they encounter in the game, their reactions to these situations, the effects of these situations, and possible judicial processes. The data obtained were divided into sections and examined, after the coding process, the common aspects of the codes were determined, and themes were created. 21 categories under 5 themes emerged. The themes are the situations faced by the female players, female players’ reactions, the effects of these situations on female players, the players that triggered the sexist and negative situations, and the players’ approach to the judicial process. Situations faced by female players are discussed under 7 categories. There are themes such as supportive behavior aggressive behavior including insults, threats, swearing, and harassment flirting coercive including coercive behaviors in communication and interaction violent sexism condescending and women as “normal" players. Gamers are exposed to ambivalent sexist attitudes just because they are women, and these experiences have short to medium-term effects. Gender-based discriminatory behaviors include insults, swearing, threats, sexual harassment, blocking the gameplay, constantly asking questions, excessive compliments, offering help, trying to talk about non-game matters, belittling, and mocking. In the study, the strategies developed by female gamers to avoid and deal with sexist behaviors are examined. Women's reactions to negative and discriminatory attitudes are divided into 5 categories: Trying to ignore, reporting, quitting the game, taking precautions, and giving verbal and behavioral responses. The triggers of negative reactions towards women were grouped under 4 categories being a woman, the success of the female gamer in the game, making suggestions, and responding. Being a woman can be enough reason for being discriminated against during the game. The negativities during the game have some effects on female gamers. This theme is grouped under 3 categories as psychological effects, game-related effects, and normalization/accustoming. The effects can last for a short to medium term, depending on the intensity, the current psychology of the gamer, and the total gameplay duration. Finally, questions were asked about the judicial dimension of the events experienced by the participants, and it was seen that none of the participants applied to the judicial authorities and it’s seen that their knowledge of the judicial subject was insufficient. It has been observed that women playing Valorant are exposed to various gender-based discriminations during their gaming experiences, and this situation is frequently experienced. All findings were discussed and discussed within the framework of international and national publications, and it was noted that the findings were in parallel with the literature.