Playing in the dark with online games for girls

Article

de Rijke, V., Philips, M. and Sinker, R. 2017. Playing in the dark with online games for girls. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. 18 (2), pp. 162-178. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949117714079
TypeArticle
TitlePlaying in the dark with online games for girls
Authorsde Rijke, V., Philips, M. and Sinker, R.
Abstract

Pregnant Rapunzel Emergency is part of a series of online free games aimed at young girls (forhergames.com or babygirlgames.com), where dozens of characters from fairy tales, children’s toys and media feature in recovery settings, such as ‘Barbie flu’. The range of games available to choose from includes not only dressing, varnishing nails or tidying messy rooms, but also rather more troubling options such as extreme makeovers, losing weight, or a plethora of baby showers, cravings, hospital pregnancy checks, births (including caesarean), postnatal ironing, washing and baby care. Taking the online game Pregnant Rapunzel Emergency as an exemplar of a current digital trend, the authors explore the workings of ‘dark digital play’ from a number of perspectives – one by each named author. The game selected has (what may appear to adults) several disturbing features in that the player is invited to treat wounds of the kind of harm that might usually be associated with domestic violence towards women.

KeywordsDigital games; early childhood; feminist theory; gender; psychoanalysis
PublisherSAGE Publications
JournalContemporary Issues in Early Childhood
ISSN1463-9491
Electronic1463-9491
Publication dates
Online04 Jul 2017
Print01 Jun 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited06 Nov 2017
Accepted04 Jul 2017
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

Rebecca Sinker, Mike Phillips, Victoria de Rijke, Playing in the dark with online games for girls, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, Vol 18, Issue 2, pp. 162 - 178. Copyright © 2017 (The Author(s)). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.

Additional information

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, Volume 18 Issue 2, June 2017 - Special issue: Dark play in digital playscapes

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949117714079
Web of Science identifierWOS:000405030900005
LanguageEnglish
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