Playing with the Guys

<p> A lot of work has been done talking about what masculinity is and what it does within video games but less has been given to considering how and why this happens and the processes involved. This book considers the array of daily relationships involved in producing masculinity and how those actions and relationships translate to video games. Moreover it examines the ways the actual play of the games maps onto the stories to create contradictory moments that show that while toxic masculinity certainly exists it is far from inevitable. Topics covered include the nature of masculine apprenticeship and nurturing labor fatherhood the scapegoating of women and reckoning with mortality among many others.</p>