Jessica H. S. sent in this photo:
Not that there is anything wrong with any of these games or careers, per se. It’s just the constant reinforcement of these gendered ideas of appropriate roles/careers/interests that is disheartening. Many of these games focus on roles that emphasize appearances, whether of people or homes; otherwise, you can care for children.
Though I will say, Peggle is awesome. I eventually had to delete it from my laptop for the sake of ever accomplishing anything again.
Comments 43
Shinobi — October 20, 2009
Where's the "Imagine Biomedical Engineer" or "Imagine FBI Agent" games. Those could also be fun.
Mina — October 20, 2009
The "Imagine" games drive me crazy, and not just because they're enforcing stereotypical gender roles in little girls.
It's because it gives male gamers the impression that this is what female gamers want to play. I've been gaming since I was 7 years old, and even then I would have scoffed at this kind of stuff and picked up a Mario game.
thisdesertlife — October 20, 2009
Also, why do you need a video game to "imagine" being any of these things? What ever happen to just playing pretend? Drawing on a real piece of paper? Sheesh.
Lia — October 20, 2009
I don't know that I can necessarily assign any malicious intent to this.
Not long after my mom left and I was just out of college, my father approached me in a serious "let's talk" manner to explain to me that despite the fact that I was the youngest member of the household and the only one with two jobs (at the time, my father wasn't working at all and was getting his money by charging my brother and me rent) that I was now the woman of the house and thus charged with the cooking and cleaning -- not providing dinner, he specified that I was expected to cook -- and when I told him that I didn't see that happening in this world or any other, he seemed genuinely surprised. He told me that he understood most women enjoyed such activities, with emphasis on "most" because he's always felt I'm not as feminine I ought to be.
I think it's a result of a genuine ignorance.
Marci Baun — October 20, 2009
Or what about an "Imagine Architect" or "Imagine Electrical Engineer"?
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist — October 20, 2009
What about a Marine soldier? I so badly wanted to be a Marine soldier when I was a little girl.
Tintin LaChance — October 20, 2009
Imagine: Archeologist would have been my title of choice as a little girl.
Jysella — October 20, 2009
I noticed these when I was perusing the DS shelf of my FLGS, too. I don't think "imagine" games are bad at all – maybe since I was raised in a screen-free house and still associate "imagination" with "no video games" and childhood – except that they're explicitly coded for girls, and stereotypically feminine. A whole range of non-gendered "imagine" games? I would be all over it! Especially "Imagine Marine Biologist" ;).
Tangentially, it reminds me of the electronics store where I first bought computer games (in the early 2000s). They had a section for children's games, and another labeled "for girls." Needless to say, it was a sea of pink and Barbie.
Alessandra — October 20, 2009
So what do they propose as Imagine for boys? What age range are these products targetting?
Reanimated Horse — October 20, 2009
Peggle is amazing. And I am amazing at it, if I say so, which I do.
Logo — October 20, 2009
I know there's an Imagine: Soccer Captain and an Imagine: Detective, but that's two out of dozens :/
Tiffany — October 20, 2009
They should do away with the subtleties. The next titles read like the ones below.
I can't wait to grow up and be…
A. Pregnant
B. Jobless and at home
C. Without money for retirement
D. Worrying about botox injections and liquid diets
E. Baking casseroles
F. Devoid of any interests aside from domestic tasks
maggielou42 — October 21, 2009
While this doesn't exactly relate to the "Imagine" series, this makes me really mad:
The people behind "Cooking Mama" and "Gardening Mama" have created a new game called "Science Papa." As a science-loving, Nintendo DS-playing woman, I might have been in the market for "Science Mama," but there is no way I will buy a game that perpetuates these gender stereotypes.
As an aside, the description touts that you can sabotage your opponents experiments to "win." That doesn't sound like good science to me.
Marketing for Women and Girls: Just make it pink! « INFERNO OF COOL — October 21, 2009
[...] Babyz”? You’ve gotta be kidding me, as if all women just want to play with babies all the time. At least the DS commercials feature women of varying ages playing different kinds [...]
Tatiana von Tauber — October 22, 2009
Agreed there's nothing wrong w/these careers per se. I'm primarily a stay at home mom, which often equates to the "Imagine Babysitter" game. (not sure I like that) I found, however, when looking for games for my daughter, she's annoyed at all the gender based games at girls her age (preteen). She's become aware of how media and toy companies attempt to mold young girls with frivilous stuff such as fashion and appearance and has often commented there's never anything there that stimulates her interests which happens to involve more mindful creativity; but unfortunately, these types of girly topics is the center of her classmates' conversations. Is media merely feeding girls what they want or does media directly shape it? She was particularly annoyed at what's been done with Strawberry Shortcake having grown up with her back when she wasn't trying to be a teenage superficial ding-dong. Sadly, these are the kinds of visual images kids get about "being a girl" (many post-toddler cartoons are increasingly showing girls as powerful but via girly-girl fluff). My toddler loves trucks and gets happy when we pass by construction sites. My son loves the color pink. Think of how this gender based society trips me up with child-rearing! :-) What's odd to me is that I feel there's a sense of increase in the gender segregation through the youth market but I'm unsure if that's true or just my perception because my kids often don't fit typical gender behavior; they exhibit both male and female interests and I encourage that.
Good food for thought. Thanks.
Elizabeth — February 15, 2011
Old article, but has anyone noticed that Alessandra's username links to NARTH?
She's a troll!
Alessandra's cousin — February 16, 2011
No, it was because Alessandra was debating some ignorant, liberal views on sexuality at the time, and so she conveniently linked to this pedophilia scandal information, to educate the morons she was debating with. I'm sure you don't understand how cookies function in websites.
And yes, quite old article, but you are still obsessing about Alessandra? Funny!