Girlhood Games - Hardcover

From hypermasculine heroes' journeys to the boyish play cultures of modding and hacking, popular imagination has long attributed videogames to boyhood. Yet there is also a complex history of girlhood protagonists and a wealth of unnoticed girls' gaming practices 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 growing presence of games featuring girl protagonists and social and identity obstacles. Games are shifting away from the heroes' journey and towards the Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age tale. Investigating Girlhood Games and situating them among invisible girls' gaming histories unearths a reflection on gender and games culture, youth and transition, cultural production and self-expression, and the resistant possibilities found in the liminal realm of play.