Video Game Playing and Beliefs about Masculinity Among Male and Female Emerging Adults

Video games have been soundly critiqued for their depiction of gender, and emerging research has shown that playing can be associated with holding stereotypical or narrow views of gender roles and norms. Yet, rarely has past research focused particularly on correlations between video game playing and perceptions of masculinity, in particular, despite critiques of gaming content and culture as a space where a type of hypermasculinity thrives. The current study explores the relationships between the overall amount of time spent with video games and time spent with games that contain violence with beliefs that emerging adults hold about masculine gender role norms. In a sample of 244 young adult video game players from across the United States, amount of perceived violence in favorite games is shown to predict scores on the Masculine Role Norms Index-Revised and some of its subscales, even under multiple controls. Gender identity of respondent does not moderate the relationships, thereby suggesting that both men and women players with violent favorite games are likely to endorse a view of masculinity that includes aggression, dominance, toughness, and the suppression of emotions. Implications for policymakers, students and other young adults, and for society at large are discussed.