“In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.”
(Erik Erikson) Identity, therefore, has always been a matter of complexity, and the rise of Role-playing games (RPGs) – as one Asian popular culture – has provided us with a novel lens to investigate this subject. This paper studies the identity construction of players with regard to gender in two renowned RPGs – Dungeons & Dragons and War of Warcraft
– through the conceptual frameworks of Butler’s gender performativity, Gramsci’s (counter-)hegemony, and Foucault’s power and resistance. Whilst it can be argued that RPG players, through certain freedom of character/avatar creation, can perform their gender in a fluid and subversive manner, such performances may inadvertently uphold the prevailing gender norms inherent in game design and culture. The project will also discuss motivations behind gender-swapping or alternative selves, as well as proposed solutions and further research for this matter of RPG identities.
