Female Fighters: Perceptions of Femininity in the Super Smash Bros. Community

Abstract

This study takes on a qualitative analysis of the online forum, SmashBoards, to examine the way gender is perceived and acted upon in the community surrounding the Super Smash Bros. series. A total of 284 comments on the forum were analyzed using the concepts of gender performativity and symbolic interactionism to determine the perceptions of femininity, reactions to female players, and the understanding of masculinity within the community. Ultimately, although hypermasculine performances were present, a focus on the technical aspects of the game tended to take priority over any understanding of gender, resulting in a generally ambiguous approach to femininity.

Keywords

• Nintendo
• Super Smash Bros
• gender performativity
• symbolic interactionism
• sexualization
• hypermasculinity