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The Border House is a blog for gamers. It's a blog for those who are feminist, queer, disabled, people of color, transgender, poor, gay, lesbian, and others who belong to marginalized groups, as well as allies. Our goal is to bring thoughtful analysis to gaming with a feminist viewpoint and up-to-date news on games, virtual worlds, and social media.Discussion Policy
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Tag Archives: women
“That girl is kicking our asses!”: Tomb Raider’s (Lack of) Gendered Power Plays
The firefights in Tomb Raider are intense and brutal. There are many scenes where Lara is pinned down behind a splintered barrel or crate, shooting and ducking and shooting again at upwards of ten armed enemies, half of whom are … Continue reading
Posted in Console Games, Virtual Worlds
Tagged characters, female characters, feminism, lara croft, sexism, tomb raider, women
7 Comments
No Excuses: It’s Time for More Female Protagonists
If the game design of 2009′s Velvet Assassin were half as interesting as its history, I might be able to bring myself to play beyond the first mission. Velvet Assassin is loosely based on the story of Violette Szabo, a … Continue reading
Posted in Console Games, General Gaming, PC Games
Tagged assassin's creed, character design, characters, diversity, game industry, gears of war, gender, grand theft auto, Velvet Assassin, women
67 Comments
Girl Gamers, Female Gamers, and Labels: A Twitter Recap
Lately I’ve been a Twitter-argument magnet, which I blame on being more active on the League of Legends Twitter scene and picking up a number of new followers who aren’t familiar with my “evil man-hating feminist side”. Snark aside, I’ve … Continue reading
I’m bored of hearing about your wife
@shayhowe “when I think of cleaning up my code, I think of my wife doing the dishes…” #html5devconf — Chris Smith (@startsequence) October 15, 2012 Almost every time I go to a tech- or gaming-related conference, I hear middle-aged white … Continue reading
Posted in General Gaming
Tagged ageism, classism, conferences, digital divide, heteronormativity, industry, sexism, women
15 Comments
Assassin’s Creed 3 Multiplayer Trailer Makes Me Cringe
Last week, Ubisoft posted a trailer for the multiplayer mode of upcoming game Assassin’s Creed 3. Predictably, it features whites and Native Americans, both men and women, killing each other with rifles, hammers, daggers and the like. Standard procedure for … Continue reading
Posted in Console Games
Tagged advertising, assassins creed 3, female characters, marketing, misogyny, Ubisoft, women
9 Comments
A Small Aside from the NY Games Conference 2012
The following is a guest post from Jillian Schaar: Jillian Scharr is a recent graduate of Vassar College and a lifelong daydreamer. She floats between jobs and cafes in the greater NYC area, writing about videogames and computers and fictional … Continue reading
Posted in Casual Games, General Gaming, Mobile Games
Tagged conventions, ny games conference, sexism, women
1 Comment
Lara Croft Reboot Link Roundup
Trigger warnings: discussions of rape. I quickly wrote my post last week, Lara Croft Reboot: Vulnerability Galore!, in order to make a quick assessment of the new Tomb Raider trailer and now widely sited Kotaku E3 interview with the game’s … Continue reading
Posted in Console Games
Tagged Kotaku, lara croft, linkspam, rape, rape culture, tomb raider, women
23 Comments
Lara Croft Reboot: Vulnerability Galore!
Trigger warnings: rape, violence against women. Tomb Raider holds a fond place in my heart as a cultural icon, if only for the sexual awakening I shared with many other teen girls when I found myself infatuated with Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft. … Continue reading
Posted in Console Games
Tagged chivalry, female protagonists, gender, lara croft, rape, rape culture, tomb raider, violence, vulnerability, women
80 Comments
Tell The Oatmeal What It’s Really Like to Game as a Woman
Edit: Since this post was made, creator of The Oatmeal, Matthew Inman, made a much better apology post and actually donated to the Women Against Abuse organization. It pains me to make this post, because I’ve been reading The … Continue reading
The Type of Woman I Want Others to See: Why I Wore Heels to PAX East
It was probably 40 degrees American and windy. Being from South Florida, I tend to lose track of how different the temperature feels after I get goosebumps on my knees. I spent my first night in Boston clinging to the … Continue reading
Posted in General Gaming, Off-Topic, Social Media, Uncategorized
Tagged career, fashion, game industry, gender, Passing, transgender, women
16 Comments