Once you shop, you can’t stop

Are big-brand companies producing games for girls, or girls themselves

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12232181
AutoresNaomi Rebecca Hughes (0000-0001-6160-5191, OISE, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, autor correspondente)
Ano2021
Volume34
Fascículo4
Páginas394-410
Data de publicação2021-08-04
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoGender and Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0954-0253 • E-ISSN: 1360-0516
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540253.2021.1962517
OpenAlexW3190618480
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas29

Free, online games tailored specifically for girls have carved out a burgeoning niche in a marketplace that has traditionally catered to the interests of boys. However, girls’ games may have a negative impact not only on girls’ perceptions of their gendered roles in society, but also on their attitudes towards their future career choices. Using purposeful sampling, a series of girls’ games were drawn from the Disney, Hasbro, Mattel, and Shopkins websites for investigation. Thematic analysis identified four major themes: (1) emphasis on girls’ perceived interest in clothes, make-up, and shopping, (2) promotion of idealized notions of femininity, which is wholesome, compliant, and domesticated, (3) emphasis on gender performanity and role-play, (4) reinforcement of leisure activities and frivolous over-consumption. Media messaging conveys the cultural ideologies, sociopolitical agendas, and economic interests of multinational corporations. Are big-brand companies producing engaging games for girls, or are they instead producing girls themselves

Advertising · Business · Mathematics education · Sociology · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Marketing