Intersectionality in Gaming Arenas - Essay Example

INTERSECTIONALITY IN GAMING ARENAS Name Course Tutor Institution City and State Date Intersectionality is defined as the overlapping of systems of discrimination (Crenshaw 2015). The name was coined by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989 (Vidal 2014). She stated that institutions of oppression such as racism, ageism, religion oppression, class, social status among others should not be considered separately, they are all interconnected in the concept of intersectionality (Zzachi 2013). Despite laws against discrimination being in place for many decades, a new type of oppression manifests itself through everyday life such as in a gaming arena. The gaming arena, as used in this paper is a place where different kinds of games are on display for gamers. I love gaming in my free time, so I frequent the place. Evidence has shown that gaming improves mental abilities such as attention retention and decision making (Gray, 2015). The game arena has options ranging from table types such as soccer tables, table tennis, as well as pool tables. Digital types also exist such as sports games, racing games, shooter games, and also fighting games. A gaming arena is ideal since the customers are from all walks of life including kids, youth, and even mature people trying to relive their youthful days. Gaming arenas are located in shopping malls and other busy business complexes hence exposing them to all kinds of people. This diversity of clientele makes them ideal to use as a study site for intersectionality. In gaming arenas, power is determined by one's gaming prowess and extravagance. The customers who are on a winning streak and those that are hard to beat are classified to be above the rest in the social hierarchy. Many people fear playing against them for the risk of shame and disgrace. The situation gets worse when the option of "losers pay" is introduced. Losers pay is , just as the name suggest, a scenario where the candidate that loses a game pays the full gaming fee. Normally, the gaming fee is split between the two competing customers. However in losers pay option, the loser has to pay the full amount on their own. Great gamers could play for days on end without ever spending their money. This gives them huge bragging rights and an aura of invincibility. This gaming invincibility, as well as deep pockets, is what defines power in a gaming arena. The people who fall short of these two standards are met with intersectionality by the others. Being a person of color and lacking on those two metrics leads to discrimination. The discrimination is subtle and might be missed by an untrained eye, but, close examination will reveal that it actually exists. For instance, when a customer is playing then a second client, who is poor, comes along and books to play next, naturally, the second customer should get a chance to play immediately the first customer finishes his or her turn. However, if the first client is known to be a big spender, he or she can make new payments to continue playing effectively forcing the second customer wait despite having booked a slot before the rich customer. The situation gets worse if the poor customer happens to be in a minority group. On weekends when most young people are not in school, the gaming arenas are chock-full of clients. People start flooding in from as early as eight in the morning. During such days, customers are forced to book in advance, and then they are placed in a queue. Affluent customers however are not subject to this queues, they come right in and are immediately fixed -in. To make matters worse, they hog the gaming stations for hours since they can afford it and force everyone else to wait in line until these esteemed clients are satisfied. The customers that complain are sweet talked into calming down by being promised to be given a free gaming session after they are done with their playing session. These promises are not always honored. This is intersectionality being ironically practiced by a business that is supposed to be fun and recreational. The worst hit customers are those with overlapping systems of discrimination as has been supported by multiple studies done by researchers (Brah 2004). In this place, the people who truly belong are the best gamers and also the big spenders as they are favored by the owners. It is easy to see why the best gamers fit in since after all it is a gaming establishment. However, when big spenders are favored, it does not fit well with the other customers. All clients come with money to the gaming arenas. They add value to that business; therefore, they deserve to be treated with respect despite their social status. When most people think about intersectionality, the first thing that comes to mind is colored women (Carastathis 2014). Well in the case of gaming arenas, females are few, not many ladies like playing such games. Every once in a while, girls come along. Most of the time, they accompany their male friends. The lucky girls are those that have male friends who try to show them their way around the game. However, there are some male customers who think ladies have no place in such establishments; the girls are shoved aside as the boys battle it out on the arena. It is not uncommon to see ladies seated down bored waiting for their boyfriends to finish playing so that they can go home. Males are totally absorbed by the games as well as impressing their peers that they completely forget about their female company. Some argue that the games are so immersive that it becomes next to impossible to keep up with anything else around you. The argument is credible, however; the situation seems to affect girls the most, especially if they are in the minority groups. Needless to say, girls rank low in the geometries of power in such a male dominated establishment. They have no gaming prowess, and they hardly spend anything on gaming arenas. These two facts combined with the aspect of being seen as the inferior gender leads to intersectionality. I am not the only one that sees this intersectionality. Legacy gamers see it too. Part-time workers also notice it. Some try to impact change on their own, but they are caught up in a turf war with the favored groups. Many of these workers do not talk to the management for fear of losing their jobs. Some legacy gamers raise the issue, but they are simply calmed down with sweet talk. Many would think that parents would champion the end of intersectionality in gaming arenas owing to the fact that kids and teenagers make up a huge share of the customers but ironically, they are the ones that fuel it. Parents usually come on weekends with their children after church; they complain that they are in a hurry and ask for allowance to cut the line. The unfortunate children who did not bring along their parents are forced to oblige. In conclusion, intersectionality is a real problem facing us today. It is surprising that after almost three decades since the name was coined, only now that we are seeing strides towards eliminating this issue. It is commendable that President Obama called upon intersectionality of black women to be eradicated (Crenshaw 2015). As much as this is a great starting point, it should be understood that this plague affects many more minority groups and not just black women. Trans-women have it bad too, if they happen to be black, it becomes even more unfortunate for them. They are bombarded with feminism, homophobia and also racism all wrapped into one ugly bundle of intersectionality. In gaming arenas, the issue is not seasoned, it happens every day. The situation is worse on busy days such as weekends. Females, poor customers, and weak gamers are discriminated openly. Since these establishments are private, it becomes increasingly difficult to enforce change. The only way to combat this new type of oppression is by raising public awareness about intersectionality as well as enforcing appropriate policies. When the public starts viewing all types of overlapping oppressions and social phobias as one evil entity, that is when the end of intersectionality will begin. References Brah, A., 2004. Aint I a woman? Revisiting intersectionality. Journal of International Women's Studies, 5(3), pp 267-280. Carastathis, A., 2014. The concept of intersectionality in feminist theory. Philosophy Compass Journal, 9(5), pp 304-314. Crenshaw, K. 2015. Why Intersectionality can't wait. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2015/09/24/why-intersectionality-cant-wait/ Gray, P., 2015. Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201502/cognitive-benefits-playing-video-games Vidal, A., 2014. Intersectional feminism. What the hell is it? (And why you should care). The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10572435/Intersectional-feminism.-What-the-hell-is-it-And-why-you-should-care.html Zzaschi, A., 2013. Intersectionality: Theorizing power, empowering theory. Signs Journal, 38(4), pp 39-46. . Read More