Three Waves of Awkwardness: A Meta-Analysis of Sex in Game Studies

This article critically evaluates and questions the growth and maturity of game studies as a scholarly set of related approaches to the study of games, by providing an account of studies of sexuality in (mostly digital) games from 1978 to present. The main goal of this article is to highlight overarching themes and patterns in the literature, with a focus on theories and methodologies commonly used and the way game studies is still risk aware, even awkward in its discussions of sexuality. In addition to a review of 37 years of literature, the article employs a chronological and thematic metaphor analysis of past research texts to analyze whether game studies is growing up or in perpetual puberty and whether it really is exploring sexual maturity alongside the games we study. It finds that while different periods of time can be identified in research as far as approaches to sexuality in games go, game studies is still to a large extent engaged in the management of the stigma that discussing sexuality may cause. Rather than a maturation process, the waves are shown to be manifestations of different types of environmentally influenced risk awareness, consecutive risk avoidance, and a resulting awkwardness.

本文通过阐述1978年至今（主要是数字）游戏中的性研究，对游戏研究作为一套研究游戏的相关学术方法的成长和成熟进行了批判性评估和质疑。本文的主要目的是强调文献中的总体主题和模式，重点关注常用的理论和方法，以及游戏研究在讨论性问题时仍然具有风险意识，甚至显得尴尬的情况。除了回顾37年的文献外，本文还对过去的研究文本进行了按时间顺序和主题的隐喻分析，以分析游戏研究是在成长还是处于永久的青春期，以及它是否真的在与我们所研究的游戏一起探索性成熟。研究发现，就游戏中的性研究方法而言，虽然在研究中可以确定不同的时间段，但游戏研究在很大程度上仍然在处理讨论性问题可能导致的污名。这些阶段并非是一个成熟的过程，而是不同类型受环境影响的风险意识、连续的风险规避以及由此产生的尴尬的表现。