'Absolutely beautiful': Albertans line up at U.S. border for COVID-19 vaccinations

 Tue., May 18, 2021

CARWAY, Alta. — Linda Neilson had waited a long time to get her second COVID-19 vaccination and thanks to the generosity of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana her wait ended at the Canada-United States border on Tuesday.

Neilson, who is from nearby Cardston, Alta., was in one of hundreds of vehicles lined up at the Carway crossing in southern Alberta.

The Blackfeet Tribe, based 150 kilometres south of Lethbridge, Alta., had an abundance of vaccine and decided last month to share it with Canada rather than let it go to waste. Initially it was just open to First Nations, but the tribe soon decided to offer it to everybody.

"I'm going to be all done, finally. It feels great. It's been a bit of a wait, but it's worth it," said Neilson, who received her first shot of Moderna in March.

"I was amazed and grateful because it's too slow getting it any other way. We're just glad they were able to help us."

Albertans who attend the clinic are given exemptions from having to quarantine for 14 days. They line up in their cars, drive through a loop that takes them just across the border, receive their shots through the window, are monitored for 15 minutes and return home.

Health workers from the Blackfeet Tribe and members of the Montana National Guard administer the vaccine.

Tuesday marked the second offering of shots. The lineup was more than a kilometre long by 9 a.m. Some people slept in their cars on the highway and on road allowances to ensure they got a turn before supply ran out.

That's what happened to Ken Sawatzky when he drove from Calgary a couple of weeks ago. He wanted to get his booster shot because his wife is a cancer patient.

He drove down again Tuesday.

"She's fully inoculated. This will make sure we're both safe, because I'm her caregiver, too. I think it's a great thing," said Sawatzky.

"I'm looking forward to getting this done. I'll sleep better."

Bonnie Healy, health director for the Blackfoot Confederacy, helped co-ordinate the vaccination clinic. She said the response has been overwhelming.

"I had a hard time believing it was that hard to get a shot in Canada. A lot of people are coming for a second dose," Healy said.

One man flew in from Toronto the last time around, drove to the site, got his shot and flew home, she said.

"We had a car full of 18-year-old girls and another car full of 18-year-old boys," Healy said.

"They were all coming to get their first vaccination. They were all celebrating it."

Catherine Bechard, regional Indigenous Affairs adviser for the Canada Border Services Agency, said she jumped at a chance to help out at the clinic.

"It's just an amazing thing what they're doing and a gift they're giving to Canadians," Bechard said.

Dave and Cathy Goodbrand also drove the 260 kilometres from Calgary to get their second shots.

"We're happy to get down here. It's a relief. Four months is too long to wait in between vaccines," said Cathy Goodbrand.

"It's absolutely beautiful. The Blackfoot Indians are just coming through (for us)."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2021.

Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Controversial Quebec singer who denied COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, dies

\
Elianna Lev
Mon., May 17, 2021, 

Bernard Lachance, Quebec singer who denied HIV/AIDS treatment, dies.


A controversial Quebec singer who used his platform to share conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS, has died.

Bernard Lachance, originally from Montmagny, Quebec, garnered fame for his ambitious pursuit of performing. He would rent out theatres with his own money and sell his CD and tickets to his concerts on the streets, regardless of not having any representation.

In 2009, he rented out the Chicago Theatre, despite being virtually unknown. After posting a video asking Oprah to come to his show, the talk show host sent a crew to invite him to make his American debut on her show. There, he sang "The Impossible Dream” in both French and English.

More recently, he became known for sprouting various conspiracy theories around COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS, despite having the virus. After appearing on journalist Denis Lévesque's show last year under the pretence of talking about HIV, he instead used his time to make claims about the virus, and its connection to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pre-taped segment never aired, Lachance posted the video to his YouTube channel, which garnered over 441,000 views. In his Twitter bio, he referred to himself an “HIV = AIDS fraud whistleblower."

His sister Marie-Claude Lachance told La Presse that her brother, who was 46, had stopped taking his HIV/AIDS treatment years ago and instead was using natural products. His exact cause of death is not known.

“Recently he did some sort of purge to disinfect his body of all the drugs he had taken,” she told the outlet. “He had diarrhea for weeks. When I saw him for the last time a few days ago, he was skeletal.”

His mother Andrée Côté told Le Journal de Quebec that her son would have likely had a chance to live if he’d continued taking his medication.

"If he had not stopped his treatment, he would be alive like everyone else," she said.

Higher counts of returning Atlantic salmon stir hope after years of decline

Wed., May 19, 2021

A recent report suggests the number of returning adult Atlantic salmon increased in 2020, but some of the usual river counts weren't done because of COVID-19. (Kelsey Taylor/Atlantic Salmon Federation - image credit)More

As the leaves started to change last fall, divers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans slipped into the clear waters of the Restigouche River in northern New Brunswick, their eyes on the river bottom, looking for salmon.

Since 1999, the Restigouche snorkel count has been tallying the adult Atlantic salmon spotted during spawning season.

But last year, divers counted about 10,500, more than twice as many as they counted the year before.

In 2019, the total count was about 4,200 large salmon, and since 1999, the highest tally of any year was 8,000.

Last year's increase wasn't limited to the Restigouche River. Biologists are reporting greater salmon populations throughout the region.


Seeing the numbers decline over the years is very sad. Seeing the numbers rise is a glimpse of hope." - Lyndsay Jay-Keating, biologist

According to the Atlantic Salmon Federation, a recent population report showed returns of adult salmon from the ocean were up around 70 per cent in Labrador last year, 27 per cent in Quebec and 20 per cent in Maine.

"All year, we were hearing from anglers that they were seeing more fish, they were seeing bigger fish," said Neville Crabbe, spokesperson for the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

COVID-19 kept the Maritime provinces from collecting the data they typically would. Some rivers did hold counts, but other major systems, including the Miramichi, did not, leaving data sets incomplete.

But Crabbe said tallies such as the Restigouche snorkel count suggest a similar upward trend of salmon numbers is happening in the Maritimes overall.

Neville Crabbe with the Atlantic Salmon Federation says the data suggesting an increase of returning Atlantic Salmon last year is encouraging.(Pierre Richard/Radio-Canada)

The increases in returning salmon were published in a report released this month by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Also known as ICES, the collective is made up of scientists and researchers from 20 member countries, including Canada, focusing on marine and ocean studies.

The ICES report points out that in the Maritimes, "population-monitoring activities were limited, and the status of some stocks could not be reported to ICES."

And the numbers the group did tally are still a far cry from the salmon numbers of a few decades ago.

"In the late 1970s it was estimated there were 1.9 million returning adult salmon to all of the rivers in North America," said Crabbe. "And for the last year of which we have data, that number was 435,000. That's a very steep drop."

In the Miramichi River alone, adult salmon numbers decreased from 112,000 in 1992 to 15,300 in 2019, according to federation numbers.

Still, having the population numbers go up even a bit, instead of plummeting, is enough to give some biologists a small bit of cautious optimism.

Lyndsay Jay-Keating grew up on the Miramichi River. Despite hearing her grandparents tell story after story about the mighty salmon of the Miramichi, she'd never seen one in the wild.

Only when she took the job as a biologist working with the Miramichi Salmon Association did she get to encounter a wild salmon in the river she was raised on.

"Seeing the numbers decline over the years is very sad," said Jay-Keating. "Seeing the numbers rise is a glimpse of hope."

Lyndsay Jay-Keating, a biologist with the Miramachi Salmon Association, says it will take several years to even come close to the salmon populations of the 1970s.(Pierre Richard/Radio-Canada)

This spring, Jay-Keating has been working to tag smolt, juvenile salmon working their way to the open ocean. Every day she and a team of students check their spinning traps on the Miramichi to get an idea of how many young salmon are in the river.

Growing up along the Miramichi River, she said, she learned that when the salmon don't return, people don't either, leading to shrinking rural communities. But she says a boost in the fish population could change that.

"I believe that if the salmon come back, the people will come back," said Jay-Keating.

But it will take several years of increasing numbers before the region sees population numbers close to those of the 1970s and 1980s.

"Some of the populations are at, or near, some of the lowest levels on record," said Crabbe. "But any year where there is more fish coming back than the year before, and in some cases more fish than the five-to-10-year average, that's definitely encouraging."

Can monthly cash payments cut child poverty by nearly half?

Wed., May 19, 2021



ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The check won't arrive until mid-July, but Katrina Peters already knows what she’ll do with her Child Tax Credit payments. The 20-year-old mother of three has applied to work as a driver with a food delivery app, and the extra cash is earmarked for repairing, registering and insuring her car.

“I just need to make sure it's 100% and then I can start working and get an income,” Peters said, cradling her 3-week-old son, Armani. “That's where it starts.”

The payments are a key part of Democrats' COVID-19 aid bill passed in March, but for policymakers they are more than just an attempt to help families recover from the pandemic. The monthly checks of up to $300 per child for millions of families are part of an ambitious attempt to shrink child poverty and rethink the American social safety net in the process.

With an emphasis on direct, no-strings cash support, the payments are a deliberate departure from a system that for decades has tried to control how Americans spend their government assistance by funneling it to food, housing or child care. Peters is as free to use the cash on her car as she is to spend it on diapers.

“There’s something huge happening with the idea that the lowest-income people need cash assistance the most,” said Teague Gonzalez, public benefits director with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. “The pandemic opened up a connection to the idea of giving people cash and letting them decide how to use it.”

The expanded CTC payments, which are due to begin going out July 15, are only meant to last a year, but architects and proponents aren’t trying to hide the fact that they want to make this permanent. The coronavirus pandemic, they say, laid bare the inadequacies of America’s support system and provided the political momentum to make lasting changes.

“If implemented well, this could be transformative,” said Emma Mehrabi, director of poverty policy at the Children’s Defense Fund. “This could cut child poverty in nearly half.”

Part of the American Rescue Plan, the Child Tax Credit provisions will increase the payments and greatly expand the number of families eligible. The practical result will be direct payments for each child to families ranging from impoverished to solidly middle class — $3,600 per year for children under age 6 and $3,000 per year for older children. Roughly 39 million households will receive at least partial payments, covering an estimated 88 percent of American children.

Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy estimates the cash infusions could lift 45% of children living in poverty above the poverty line — cutting Black child poverty by 52%, Hispanic child poverty by 45% and Native American child poverty by 62%.

In places like New Mexico, a state with one of the highest rates of children living in poverty, this is a potential crossroads. One in 4 New Mexican children is considered impoverished, compared with 1 in 7 nationally.

With three kids under age 6, Peters is due to receive up to $900 per month, and all of it is welcome. Her construction worker boyfriend has been out of work due to the pandemic, she said, her government subsidized housing voucher has expired and only the national eviction moratorium has protected her. Armani requires a special kind of baby formula that she can’t buy with her government nutrition program benefits.

“Sixteen dollars a can, and he goes through it in two or three days,” she said.

Democratic New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich said the philosophy behind the payments is to treat child poverty as an avoidable traumatic event — one that has been proved to impact future academic performance, emotional stability, earning power and legal record.

“It affects your ability to have positive relationships, both professionally and in your home life. ... The more of these stack up, you’re more likely to have problems with the legal system, unsuccessful relationships, lower lifetime income,” Heinrich said.

Besides a basic acknowledgement by the government that raising children is expensive for almost anybody, advocates said the payments are an expression of faith in the judgment of struggling families.

“It's an issue of trust. We need to trust these families to do what’s right,” said Jeffrey Hoehn, executive director of Cuidando Los Ninos, an Albuquerque charity that provides housing, child care and financial counseling for mothers transitioning from homelessness. “We find that our single moms, they know where every single penny goes. It’s just that they don’t have enough pennies.”

Hoehn said different families will have shifting needs and resources from month to month, putting the cash toward rent, utilities or even therapeutic leisure activities. In a sprawling town like Albuquerque, it’s hard to find work without a car, and Hoehn said many families his group works with are looking to the extra cash to acquire or fix a vehicle.

For Margarita Mora, the money is earmarked to help cushion her family's transition to stability. The 36-year-old mother of three had been staying in an Albuquerque motel converted into a family shelter and would soon be getting her own subsidized apartment through Cuidando Los Ninos.

“I'll be able to pay my utilities and basic supplies, plus gas to go look for work,” said Mora, an unemployed caregiver. “And I need to work on my debt. My credit score isn't so great.”

The money isn't only going to the neediest. Carissa Oswald, a stay-at-home mom in Albuquerque whose partner works with the local railroad, counts herself as middle class. But having given up her work as a caregiver to raise her 11-month-old daughter, she finds that money is frequently tight.

"Kids are expensive, right? It would let us breathe a little bit easier,” she said. “The tension is real. The stress is real.”

New Mexico state Rep. Javier Martinez, a Democrat from Albuquerque, calls the CTC a “philosophical shift from mid-20th century programs” like Medicaid and food stamps.

“And I don’t think we’re going back,” he said.

Martinez highlights the fact that CTC payments will be monthly, instead of some annual balloon payment, as a crucial distinction. The smaller monthly boosts, he said, are more likely to be incorporated into the household budget and “create certainty in a family.”

The expanded CTC expires in 2022, although President Joe Biden has proposed extending it through 2025. Whether that happens may depend on whether advocates can demonstrate a positive impact — and whether opponents, primarily Republicans, find evidence of waste.

Heinrich said he expects that opponents will have no problem gathering examples of parents spending money on things deemed unnecessary and he is braced for a revival of the Ronald Reagan-era “welfare queen” trope. The future of the program may well be riding on the outcome of the 2022 congressional elections, when Democrats will seek to retain their slim majorities in both the House and the Senate.

For now, CTC supporters are counting on enough positive examples to counter the criticisms, plus the fact that monthly cash should be popular with both Democratic and Republican families up and down the income ladder.

“There will be plenty of compelling anecdotes on either side of it,” Heinrich said. “At the same time we will have the data by then to show what a difference it has made. I want to see the data, and I suspect that in New Mexico, this will have an enormous impact.”

___

Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan contributed to this report.

Ashraf Khalil , The Associated Press

IRELAND 1921
War of Independence: A podcast series with Mick Clifford

Councillor Joe Kavanagh, Lord Mayor of Cork, laying a wreath at St. Finbarr's Cemetery, Cork, to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Terence MacSwiney who was Lord Mayor of Cork and died in Brixton Prison. Picture Denis Minihane.

MAR, 2021 -

To mark the War of Independence, the Irish Examiner is publishing a four-part podcast series focussing on some of the events from those turbulent times.

Today we publish the third part of the series in which host Michael Clifford talks to UCC historian Dr John Borgonovo about the war which was an early example of guerrilla warfare, fought with the co-operation and consent of the native population.


But how intense was the war? What kind of people were the volunteers and how did they operate and engage with the native population and how did they deal with informers?

Over the series, Michael Clifford also talks to a variety of historians in a series of enlightening and informative conversations.

Episode 1 - 'A Tale of Two mayors' with Gabriel Doherty

War of Independence Part One: A Tale of Two Mayors - Gabriel Doherty. by The Mick Clifford Podcast (soundcloud.com)

Tomas MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney both served as lord mayors of Cork in 1920. Both tenures in office were very short as Mac Curtain was murdered in his home two months after taking the mayoral chain and MacSwiney, his successor, died in Brixton Prison at the end of a 74 day hunger strike.

Historian Garbriel Doherty sketches out the lives and deaths of these two close friends, their respective roles in the War of Independence and how each of them is regarded within Cork and beyond.

The funeral procession of Terence MacSwiney. Picture: Cork public Museum.

Episode 2 - 'The Burning of Cork' with Kieran McCarthy

War of Independence Part Two : The Burning of Cork - Kieran McCarthy. by The Mick Clifford Podcast (soundcloud.com)

The burning of Cork in December 1920 was one of the seminal events of the War of Independence. Major damage was done to the city centre and to the psyche of the population in what was an wanton act of violence and destruction. The event had a major impact on the city and its populace for many years after. Historian Kieran McCarthy discusses what led up to the fateful night, how it unfolded and the drawn out aftermath.


Episode 3 - 'The War of Independence' with John Borgonovo

War of Independence Part Three : The War - John Borgonovo by The Mick Clifford Podcast | Free Listening on SoundCloud

The War of Independence was an early example of guerrilla warfare, fought with the co-operation and consent of the native population. But how intense was the war? What kind of people were the volunteers and how did they operate and engage with the native population and how did they deal with informers?

Dr John Borgonovo is the guest on this week’s podcast, one of the Irish Examiner’s series to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the revolutionary period.

The bodies of British officers killed in Dublin during the Irish War of Independence are taken back to England for burial on the destroyer 'HMS Seawolf. Picture|: FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Part 4 - 'Woman of Their Time' with Helene O’Keeffe
War of Independence Part Four: Women of their Time - Helene O'Keeffe by The Mick Clifford Podcast (soundcloud.com)
The role of women during the revolutionary period had, until recent decades, not so much been written out but not written in at all. That is beginning to change with greater research into the roles played by women both inside and outside Cumann na mBan. Helene O’Keeffe speaks here about a number of the women who made serious contributions during that period.

MORE #WAR OF INDEPENDENCE ARTICLES

Teams working 'around the clock' to assess 80,000 HSE devices hit by cyberattack

Staff in the HSE and Department of Health have been left without access to their emails.

WED, 19 MAY, 2021 - 06:30
ELAINE LOUGHLIN, CIANAN BRENNAN

Specialists IT teams are working "around the clock" to assess 80,000 HSE devices that have been impacted by the cyberattack.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has detailed the significant impact the cyberattack continues to have on everything from radiotherapy services to dental care and audiology services. Staff in the HSE and Department of Health have also been left without access to their emails.

Mr Donnelly said it will take “several weeks” to get the entire system back online as experts go through computers and other devices “one by one”.

'Utterly contemptible'

He described the criminals behind the assault as "utterly contemptible".

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan told the Dáil that the hackers gained access to the HSE system long before the attack was noticed in the early hours of Friday last.

Mr Donnelly said experts are now assessing around 2,000 IT patient-facing systems, each supported by infrastructure and multiple servers and devices.

Meanwhile, it has emerged the cyberattack could see the HSE fined €1m for GDPR failings, the maximum penalty allowable under Irish law.

Under the GDPR Act, data controllers such as the HSE must encrypt and preserve personal data as confidential and be able "to restore the availability and access to personal data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident”.

The Data Protection Commission will not officially make a decision on whether to initiate an inquiry into the HSE breach before next week at the earliest.

However, experts say an investigation is inevitable given the extent to which the HSE’s technology and systems have been compromised.

'Is it for a boy or a girl?' in "Gender in Science and Technology 2017 (e-book)"

Line Boye Danielsen

2018, Fysiska institutionen, Lunds Universitet

82 Pages

2 Files ▾

Gender Studies,

Performativity of Gender,

Gender stereotypes,

Advertisements,

Science and Technology Studies

 ...more ▾

Show more ▾

Using television advertisements from Dexter’s Laboratory, Bob the Builder, and GoldieBlox, we investigate how traditional gender roles and stereotypes affect the presentation of technologically advanced/science themed toys for kids. We analyze initial observations and field notes noted by each researcher from subjective screen shots taken from each of the three advertisements. Within the past three decades, gender norms and stereotypes are still highly relied upon in how toys are presented to children through advertisements of toys. It still boils down to two options: girl toys or boys toys. Keywords: gender, science, technology, toys, advertisements, gender performativity, gender stereotypes, color.

https://www.academia.edu/37668424/Is_it_for_a_boy_or_a_girl_in_Gender_in_Science_and_Technology_2017_e_book_

Preschoolers' mathematical play and colour preferences: a new window into the development of gendered beliefs about math

Jesús Paz-Albo

Aránzazu Hervás

Dario Cvencek

Andrew Meltzoff

94 Views11 Pages

1 File ▾

Gender

In play, children often explore mathematical ideas that are vital for future learning. Children's play also reveals gender differences in both colour and toy preferences. The authors examined how gender-related colour preferences of 5-year-olds are related to preferences for math-specific games/toys and gendered beliefs about math. Spanish preschoolers (N = 143) completed a self-report measure of gendered beliefs about math. Children then indicated their favourite colour and were given five math-specific games/toys in that colour. Play times for each game/toy were recorded. Three findings emerged. First, girls preferred games/toys of particular colours (pink/purple) that differed from boys' preferences (blue/red). Second, play time with math games/ toys did not differ between girls and boys. Third, 5-year-olds of both genders thought that girls liked math more than boys did. This is the youngest age at which these gendered beliefs about math have been shown, and suggests new theorizing about stereotypes, gender, and math.

https://www.academia.edu/32776346/Preschoolers_mathematical_play_and_colour_preferences_a_new_window_into_the_development_of_gendered_beliefs_about_math

NERD/GEEK MASCULINITY: TECHNOCRACY, RATIONALITY, AND GENDER IN NERD CULTURE'S COUNTERMASCULINE HEGEMONY

 A Dissertation

Eleanor A Lockhart

287 Views181 Pages

1 File ▾

Communication,

Composition and Rhetoric,

Online Communities,

Video Games,

Science Fiction

 ...more ▾

Nerd and geek culture have become subjects of increasing public concern in recent years, with growing visibility and power for technical professions and increasing relevance of video games, science fiction, and fantasy in popular culture. As a subculture, nerd/geek culture tends to be described in terms of the experiences of men and boys who are unpopular because of their niche interests or lack of social skills. This dissertation proposes the concept of nerd/geek masculinity to understand discourses of hegemonic masculinity in nerd/geek culture. Examining three case studies, the novel Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, the neoreactionary political ideology, and the #GamerGate controversy, the dissertation suggests that nerd/geek masculinity responds to a perceived emasculation of men who identify as nerds or geeks by constructing the interests, skills, and behaviors of nerd/geek culture as inherently male traits. In this way, nerd/geek masculinity turns the very traits nerds and geeks are often mocked for into evidence of manhood – as the cost of excluding women and queer people from nerd and geek culture.

https://www.academia.edu/35596237/NERD_GEEK_MASCULINITY_TECHNOCRACY_RATIONALITY_AND_GENDER_IN_NERD_CULTURES_COUNTERMASCULINE_HEGEMONY_A_Dissertation?pls=RWLSxnqyad

#MasculinitySoFragile: culture, structure, and networked misogyny

Sarah Banet-Weiser

2015, Feminist Media Studies

5 Pages

1 File ▾

Feminist Media Studies

Show less ▴

Publication Date: 2015

Publication Name: Feminist Media Studies

https://www.academia.edu/20813541/_MasculinitySoFragile_culture_structure_and_networked_misogyny

What is a True Gamer? The Male Gamer Stereotype and Marginalization of Women in Video Game Culture

Benjamin Paaßen

2017, Sex Roles

573 Views27 Pages

2 Files ▾

Video Games,

Gender stereotypes,

Gamers,

Gender and Video Games,

Video Gamer Culture

 ...more ▾

Show more ▾

Women and men play video games in approximately equal numbers. Despite this, video gaming is still strongly associated with the male gender. A common justification for this stereotype is that, while women might play games, they should not be considered "true" or "hard-core" gamers because they play more casually and less skillfully compared to their male counterparts. In this contribution, we review the existing literature on gender and gaming to investigate the male gamer stereotype in terms of its accuracy, persistence, effects, and future perspective. We conclude that the stereotype varies in accuracy depending on the definition of "gamer". We further argue that the persistence of this stereotype can be explained by the fact that almost all professional and highly visible figures in gaming culture are male. On the other hand, female players who achieve a moderate level of competence are rendered invisible or are actively marginalized. We argue that the effects of the male gamer stereotype can be harmful to women, precluding them from the positive outcomes of video game play, such as limiting their access to fields of science, technology, and engineering.

https://www.academia.edu/28407183/What_is_a_True_Gamer_The_Male_Gamer_Stereotype_and_Marginalization_of_Women_in_Video_Game_Culture

Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years

Niki Fritz

Jessica E Tompkins

Irene I van Driel

21 Pages

1 File ▾

Video Games,

Sexualization,

Objectification

We analyzed in-game content from titles released between 1983 and 2014 (n = 571) featuring playable female characters. Results indicate that sexualization has diminished since an observed height in the 1990s. Traditionally male-oriented genres (e.g. fighting) have more sexualized characters than role-playing games. Games rated Teen or Mature did not differ in sexualization and featured more sexualization than Everyone games. Despite an increase in games featuring playable female characters, games still depict female characters more often in secondary roles and sexualized them more than primary characters. A positive relationship emerged between the sexualization of female characters and their physical capability. Critical success of games was unrelated to sexualization. We discuss these findings in light of social identity and objectification theories.

https://www.academia.edu/26782008/Sexy_Strong_and_Secondary_A_Content_Analysis_of_Female_Characters_in_Video_Games_across_31_Years

McLean, L. & Griffiths, M.D. (2019). Female gamers experience of online harassment and social support in online gaming: A qualitative study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, Epub ahead of print.

Mark D Griffiths

320 Views25 Pages

1 File ▾

Video Games,

Coping (Social Support),

Social Support,

Sexual Harassment,

Casual Games

 ...more ▾

Female gaming is a relatively under-researched area, and female gamers often report experiencing harassment whilst playing online. The present study explored female experiences of social support while playing online video games, because of the previous research suggesting that females often experience harassment and negative interactions during game play. Data were collected from an online discussion forum, and comprised posts drawn from 271 female gamers. Thematic analysis of the discussions suggested that a lack of social support and harassment frequently led to female gamers playing alone, playing anonymously, and moving groups regularly. The female gamers reported experiencing anxiety and loneliness due to this lack of social support, and for many, this was mirrored in their experiences of social support outside of gaming. The female gamers frequently accepted the incorporation into their gaming of specific coping strategies to mitigate online harassment, including actively hiding their identity and avoiding all forms of verbal communication with other players. These themes are discussed in relation to relevant research in the area, along with recommendations for future research and consideration of possible explanations for the themes observed.

https://www.academia.edu/38074497/McLean_L_and_Griffiths_M_D_2019_Female_gamers_experience_of_online_harassment_and_social_support_in_online_gaming_A_qualitative_study_International_Journal_of_Mental_Health_and_Addiction_Epub_ahead_of_print

Video Game Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles: Young People's Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media Depictions

Karen E . Dill-Shackleford

Sex Roles

1,802 Views14 Pages

1 File ▾

Social Psychology,

Video Games,

Media psychology,

Feminism,

Sex Roles

Show more ▾

Video game characters are icons in youth popular culture, but research on their role in gender socialization is rare. A content analysis of images of video game characters from top-selling American gaming magazines showed male characters (83%) are more likely than female characters (62%) to be portrayed as aggressive. Female characters are more likely than male characters to be portrayed as sexualized (60% versus 1%), scantily clad (39% versus 8%) and as showing a mix of sex and aggression (39 versus 1%). A survey of teens confirmed that stereotypes of male characters as aggressive and female characters as sexually objectified physical specimens are held even by nongamers. Studies are discussed in terms of the role media plays in socializing sexism.

https://www.academia.edu/7918958/Video_Game_Characters_and_the_Socialization_of_Gender_Roles_Young_Peoples_Perceptions_Mirror_Sexist_Media_Depictions