“It's A Boy Thing”

The recent proliferation of videogame theory has opened up a body of work concerned with legitimating the videogame as a viable cultural text. However, there is still a significant gap in research around addressing the lived cultures or cultural practices of gaming as an embedded domestic leisure activity. Furthermore, research into the “cultural practices” of videogames reveals that predications to play, perceptions about, and actual play are highly gendered in ways that reveal gaming as a normalised and normalising technology. This article is the result of nearly four years ethnographic research, during which I interviewed and recorded gamers and gameplay. Six out of the eleven participatory households are represented here. The scope of the research is also expanded through the questionnaire of, at the time of writing, 118 respondents. Included in this demographic are all-female and all-male households, mixed gender, sexuality, and ethnicity and diverse geographical intake from Northern Ireland to southern England. Throughout my research and this article, I argue the political and social necessity of including gamers into research on gaming, in order to better understand the significance of gaming and gaming discourses on our social and political lives.     

“Trying to be positive in the face of the storm”: The experiences of independent college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic created multiple stressors for college students, particularly for young adults experiencing multiple forms of disadvantage. Little is known about the pandemic experiences of independent college students, many of whom are emancipated minors, former wards of the state, and other students who lack familial financial and practical support as they pursue higher education. Twenty-three independent students, ages 18–23, from one northeastern university were interviewed to understand how independent students were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their needs for support from the university during this time. Most participants were identified as Black or Latinx, and two thirds were first-generation college students. Participants reported an overall lack of support from their families prior to the pandemic. During the pandemic, they experienced compounding academic, economic, and mental health-related stressors. Students responded to these stressors in resilient and resourceful ways, by adapting to their new realities, expressing gratitude, and finding opportunities for self-growth. Participants recommend that institutions of higher education support independent students during periods of emergency through providing financial assistance, offering opportunities for connection with both adults and peers, and demonstrating administrative flexibility and understanding of their unique needs.