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research:game widows: |
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A game widow (also known as a 'gamer widow' or 'gaming widow') is a term for those romantically involved with a gamer who feels that his/her partner plays video games more often and for longer than he/she would prefer, perhaps to the extent that he/she feels as if the partner is no longer present in the relationship. Although the term is often associated with video game addiction, it is a purely descriptive term for the relationship between a gamer, his/her significant other, and the time, money and energy devoted to gaming. A self-described game widow may feel two hours a night on EverQuest is too much, while another would be grateful if his/her partner ONLY played two hours a night. This term is not unique to gaming. Football widow or sports widow is a common term for partners of devoted sports fans. in the beginning... My interest in studying game widows stems from my experience on World of Warcraft where I gamed several nights a week for hours at a time this past summer and fall. While I was not involved in a relationship at the time, many in my guild were. As we leveled and evoked chaos among the humanoids, I heard many of my guildmates talk about their wives and girlfriends, who were complaining about how much time my guildmates spent on WOW. I became interested in learning more about gaming effects on significant others and why more partners did not play along with their sweeties. on the question of the sexes Though the first phase of my research focuses on the wives and girlfriends of male gamers, my full research project will also include the husbands and boyfriends of female gamers, as well as the partners of gay couples. Furthermore, I will also request participation from male and female gamers to talk directly to them about how they negotiate gaming within a relationship. However, it is worth noting that the majority of game widows I have encountered online and in real life are women. In my fairly large guild on WOW, I was the only woman who gamed regularly, and I never heard a female gamer mention her boyfriend or husband. I know, of course, that the widow phenomenon is not unique to male gamers and their female partners. However, a glance at online 'support' groups for game widows reveals that most members appear to be female. Why is this so? Certainly the game industry and community have been accused, fairly and unfairly, of being a 'boy's club'. Is the widow phenomenon a 'symptom' of a greater 'cause' related to notions of male space? Do women feel uninvited by the industry? Uninvited by their partners? Or, perhaps women simply voice their concerns more publicly than male widows. more questions Below are some of the questions guiding my research. What I have listed here is hardly the extent of my inquiries. More questions occur to me daily as I think about this project and hear the personal accounts of game widows and their gaming partners.
This spring I will conduct several small group interviews in the Boston-area with the wives and girlfriends of avid gamers, particularly (but not exclusively) MMORPG players. If you or someone you know would like to participate in this project please email me. web press, blogs, and sites related to game widows: Confessions
of a Game Widow - BBC News |