Gaming Privilege (a selection reposted below)

Being able to game is a privilege - from a 2005 Blog Post by Ariel Wetzel http://www.lake-desire.com/newgameplus/?p=36:  Being able to boycott is a privilege. I have the power to engage in the leisure activity, and try to change things about it that I don’t like. In the spirit of invisible knapsacks and unpacking them, and this blog’s themes, below I’ve listed some of the ways my situation has given me an advantage over others in relation to technology. I am an American, white, from a Christian family, middle-class, young, able-bodied, average-sized, and non-transsexual.

• I can decide what technology is valuable, and look down on those who do not have access to technology or choose not to use it.
• I can ignore my positions of power. I didn’t think to preface this post with a disclaimer of the American-centric point of view.
• I can decide what products to boycott, afford to boycott them, and criticize others for not boycotting them.
• I can have an ad-free blog.
• When I purchase a game, my payment is unlikely to be questioned because of my physical appearance or dress.
• I grew up with a computer, and was taught how to operate one and type in school. I grew up with video games and access to them.
• I can afford a cell-phone and a laptop.
• I have the leisure time to game.
• I can afford to purchase the newest games and technological gadgets.
• I can drive to the store to immediately purchase something I decide I want, and can afford to pay shipping if I choose to purchase it online.
• I can decide what others could afford or should purchase if only they didn’t spend their money on what I define as frivolous.
• Games are written in a language that is familiar to me.. Game reviews and magazines are written in a language I understand, and “experts” are usually from my race and class.
• I can use the internet as a tool to reach others like myself.
• I can determine which genres of games are valuable and which are “beneath me.”
• I can easily find games that represent members of my own race.

Race Awareness

Race Awareness http://download.cnet.com/Who-Am-I-Race-Awareness-Game/3000-20415_4-11497678.html:  Fun to play two-player game that teaches kids to think responsibly about race and diversity! Check out the great review on Slate.com titled Apps, Afros and Handcuffs: Talking to Kids About Race Developed by Dr. Michael Baran, cultural anthropologist at Harvard University, Who Am I? is a game designed to open a dialogue about human physical diversity and racial identification. In this game, one player selects a target picture and the other player asks yes or no questions to try and figure out who was picked.