DigiPlay 3: Leisure Constraints, Entitlement and Access to Technologies of Leisure

Greenbank Building,
University of Central Lancashire, Preston
Weds 15th Sept 2004

'Games for Boys’? Sport, Gender and Digital Gaming’

Gary Crawford,
G.Crawford@shu.ac.uk
School of Sport and Leisure Management, Sheffield Hallam

This paper develops out of ongoing research into the associated patterns of sport and digital gaming interests and participation. Specifically here this paper presents the major findings of a questionnaire based survey conducted on just under four-hundred undergraduate students at Sheffield’s two universities, and thirty-five follow up interviews. This research is significant as it presents empirical data on the patterns of participation of adult gamers, and suggests that contrary to previous studies on school children, that women continue to constitute a small minority of adult gamers. It argues that the main reason for this is that women continue to be marginalized in their gaming patterns in both ‘public’ and ‘private’ locations, and most notably, outside of their family homes (such as at university) women are significantly less likely than their male peers to continue gaming. Furthermore, this survey finds no direct relationship (either negative or positive) between patterns of sport participation and digital gaming, but does suggest that digital gaming (for some) may increase individual’s interest and knowledge of sport.

Garry Crawford is a Senior Lecturer in Social and Cultural Studies in Sport at Sheffield Hallam University, and the author of the book 'Consuming Sport'.

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