Gamers and Far Right’s Values in Australia

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Pitroso, Giulio
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2023
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Melbourne, Australia

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Whilst gamers have been object of moral panic campaigns that presented them as solely white inept anti-social teen-agers (Deshbandhu, 2016; Kirkpatrick, 2016; Kowert et al., 2014), researchers demystified such misconception and highlighted the complexity of video games cultures (Shaw, 2010). Studies show how gamers dislike the casualisation of video games (Peyron, 2019). Since the Casual Revolution (Juul, 2010) started, video games for mobile and some consoles such as Nintendo Wii targeted new markets or reached people who had abandoned video gaming. Gamers are lured to fight against this process in a conflict framed as a political struggle (Milner, 2013). Hard-core gamers represent a hegemonic group in the history of gaming communities. Advertising and gaming industry cultivated a special relationship with this sector of consumers taking control of the most important gaming reviews and websites (Pearce, 2008). In particular, such industries are believed to have forged the stereotype of the gamer ignoring female video games players (Shaw, 2012; Chees, 2017; Vanderhoef, 2013; Salter & Blodgett, 2012). The acknowledge of identities that were previously ignored even by sectorial media engendered online confrontations in gaming communities, in particular in relation to the #Gamergate (Kidd & Turner, 2016; Burgess & MatamorosFernández, 2016). The links between #Gamergate and Alt-right have been studied (Bezio, 2018; Khan, 2019). YouTube represents an important social media to connect Alt-right gamers with a wider audience (Bryant, 2020). This study strives to investigate how gamers are engaged in the Alt-right online activism, analysing the data arising from semi-structured interviews conducted in Australia. In those interviews, 20 youngsters between 18 and 30 years old discuss their point of view about the #Gamergate and their online activism. They also express their opinions in relation to the Casual Revolution. The data collected will be studied via computer assisted analysis.

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XX ISA World Congress of Sociology

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Pitroso, G, Gamers and Far Right’s Values in Australia, XX ISA World Congress of Sociology, 2023, pp. 608-608