Att göra kön och status i digitala spelgemenskaper : En deltagande observation inom spelmiljön Guild Wars 2

Sammanfattning

This study explores how power, social norms and identity are constructed and negotiated within online gaming communities, with a focus on the MMORPG Guild Wars 2. Using a netnographic approach, the study examines in-game interactions such as leadership roles (commander role), status symbols (legendary weapons), and gender expressions through avatars. The analysis is theoretically based around Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of capital and Judith Butler’s theory of performativity. The findings show that digital game environments function as complex social arenas where symbolic, cultural, social and economic capital shape players’ positions and opportunities for recognition. The commander role illustrates how leadership and legitimacy are constructed through a combination of economic access, in-game knowledge, and social recognition. Likewise, legendary weapons function as symbolic status markers that reinforce hierarchies based on long-term investment and cultural knowledge. At the same time, the findings suggest that capital forms within the digital game environment may become more flexible and situationally negotiated compared to the relatively stable social structures described in Bourdieu’s broader social theory. Gender is primarily expressed through visual and performative practices rather than explicit interaction. This suggests that gender norms are both reproduced and subtly negotiated within the game environment. Butler’s theory further contributed to understanding how gender expressions in the game environment become more visually and aesthetically flexible, while still shaped by social responses and norms from other players. Overall, this study highlights how online gaming spaces should be understood as social contexts where inclusion, exclusion and identity are constantly produced through everyday interaction. This has implications for social work, as digital environments represent important arenas of social life where power, recognition and belonging are shaped through digitally mediated interaction.