Introduction: Reframing Hegemonic Conceptions of Women and Feminism in Gaming Culture

Despite the disciplinary norms and institutional investments of games studies that malign and marginalize critical perspectives (Jensen and de Castell 2009), recent history has proven feminist lenses to be an essential facet in examining games, gamers, and gaming culture. As Nina Huntemann (2013) argues, feminist game studies examine how gender, and its intersections with race, class, sexuality, and so on, is produced, represented, consumed, and practiced in and through digital games. This volume continues and extends the project of feminist game studies, examining the varied representations, practices, and institutions of games and game cultures from a feminist perspective, exploring personal experiences, individual narratives, and institutional phenomenon inherent in the hegemonic, often patriarchal, structures of gaming.