EN GenderAdventure - Citizen Games

Welcome to this e-learning module!

Gender Adventure: a serious game for high-school students

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Menu - Introduction

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

GAME TECHNICALITIES

CONTEXT & MAKING-OF

Game story Game instructions Quiz questions

DefinitionsConcepts in the game

Creation process

Have you seen the first three sections? Move on to the fourth part of this module!

Creation process

Three NGOs and five universities across Europe have joined forces to deliver a serious game on the topic of gender discrimination. This game is meant for high-school students and is available in six languages. A teacher's manual and this module have been created to help teachers use the game in their class as a starting point for a discussion on gender discrimination. This project was financed by Erasmus+ and the tools will remain free to use in the future.

05

04

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MANUAL

FINAL GAME

PROTOTYPE

SURVEY

MOBILITY

06/22

05-06/22

02-04/22

06-09/21

01/22

Project partner organisations:

Game story

‘Gender Adventure’ is a serious game that allows the player to experiment gender discrimination in public places. In this serious game, each student plays as Maverick, an alien that found the Pioneer Plaque in space. Two human bodies, male and female, are represented on this Plaque. All aliens being non-gendered and looking similar at birth, Maverick was intrigued by these representations. Maverick thus decided to come and visit Earth in order to do a small experiment with how gender works for humans in daily life. Maverick gets the chance to follow three humans in their daily life, one person identifying as a female, one as a male, one as non-binary.

Pioneer Plaque

Welcome to our high-school

Time for sport

Let's walk the street

For each of the three mini-games, discover the chosen scenario, and related scenery by clicking on the corresponding alien-character:

Move on to the next page to discover the game technicalities and instructions.

Have you seen the first three sections? Move on to the fourth part of this module!

Move on to the next page to discover the game technicalities and instructions.

Game instructions

INSTRUCTIONS: You will follow each of the three humans during an everyday activity. You will encounter a number of ‘situations and comments.’ Depending on your character gender some might frustrate you, and others might cheer you up. It is up to you to choose wisely! Depending on your choices your ‘frustration-meter’ will reflect how well you manage to keep your spirits up and your frustration down. You can jump using the UP and DOWN KEYS.

Discover the specificities of the different elements present in the game:

Platforms

Comments

Laser beams

Frustration meter

Hearts

Each mini-game is followed by a series of three quiz-questions. Find them on the next page! Answering these questions correctly can give extra points to the player,

Move on to the next page to discover the game technicalities and instructions.

Have you seen the first three sections? Move on to the fourth part of this module!

Quiz questions per scenario

When asked in an Irish survey carried out by upper secondary students, some 60% of young women and girls under 20 questioned said they had been the subject of ‘catcalling’ in the previous week.True or False?

According to a UK -based feminist-led charity news post, which of these two examples of ‘toxic masculinity behaviour’ is highest in their top 10 ranking?A. Being stoic.B. Being dominant.

EIGE, the European Institute for Gender Equality, claims ‘education is key for breaking gender stereotypes.’ New research indicates that a major challenge is:A. gender segregation.B. traditional career choices.

In a Luxemburg-based gender information centre, a ‘gender drop’ entitled ‘Boys will be boys,’ a Gilette video advertisement, is presented as:A. positive campaigning.B. misleading colourwashing.

By 2025, Dutch ID-cards will be gender-free. ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Europe welcomes this as a: A. first step forward towards non-binary registration. B. breakthrough in non-binary registration.

French anti-street harassment laws differ from those of many other countries. They: A. hand out stricter sentences. B. work out on the spot.

‘Catcalls of …’ is a world-wide initiative towards awareness and fight-back. It focuses on: A. making catcalling visible. B. shaming catcallers.

July 14 is International Non-binary People’s Day. UK-based Stonewall campaigns for non-binary inclusion and strongly focuses on: A. people’s experiences. B. people’s language.

Ireland’s youth information website ‘spunout’ mentions a number of ways to tackle ‘toxic masculinity.’ Most effective is:A. to talk about it.B. to challenge it.

Definitions

Sex

Catcalling

refers to a set of biological attributes at birth (chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and functions, and reproductive/sexual anatomy). Sex is usually categorized as female or male but there is variation in the biological attributes that comprise sex and how those attributes are expressed.

is “a loud shout or whistle expressing disapproval, especially made by people in a crowd”. (Cambridge dictionary)

Gender

Toxic masculinity

is a set of “ideas about the way that men should behave that are seen as harmful. For example, the idea that men should not cry or admit weakness”. (Cambridge dictionary)

refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviour, expressions and identities of girls, boys, and gender diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other.

Read details and discover more concepts in our teacher's manual!

Deepen your understanding of these concepts and how they are addressed in the game:

Gender-role socialisation: how do societies create men and women? Consequences: how do differences lead to inequalities and discrimination? Preventing and reacting: what are the solutions to limit gender discrimination?

Concepts in the game

The comments below are a selection of those that the players will be confronted with in the game. Hover over these comments to understand the real-life concepts they reflect.

Do it if you're a man

Hey good looking!

This is not a circus

Are you a girl or a boy?

Weaky weaky

Look at that ass!

All boys like football

Don't be shy

You shouldn't exist

It's OK to cry

My dress is not a yes

I like your self-confidence

Never give up

Leave her alone

Choose the bathroom you prefer

To facilitate the discussion about the different comments in the game, you can use a "pause" function by pressing "p" while playing.

Chronologically, organise your class activity!

Drag and put the elements in the correct order. Then check if you are right in "solution".

Preparing the class: introducing the game concept and instructions

Taking the focus on gender social construction and fighting inequalities

Organising two classroom set-ups: playing on computers and having space for a debate

Playing the game and encouraging students to think about its meaning

Launching the debate: understanding of different gender discrimination

Identifying existing and possible ways to prevent and react to gender discrimination

SOLUTION

Got your session correctly organised? To make sure your students get the most of the game, find possible debate questions on the next page:

Debate questions

A proposal to guide the most important part of the class activity!

Solutions

Find elements to answer these questions in our teacher's manual!

What could help winning the game with a better score?What are solutions to avoid negative situations from the game in real life?

Gender socialisation

Scenarios

Did you feel comfortable playing each character? Why? In everyday life, what influences our perceptions of each gender?

Female character Male character Non-binary character

First impressions

How would you feel sending or receiving such messages? What was the general objective of the game? What happened and what did you understand?

If you're ready to go,move on to the concluding slide!

Click on the numbers to find questions for each scenario.

Thank you for exploring this e-learning module!

Visit the project website to discover the serious game for middle-school students on cyberharrassment:

#YouToo

Send us feedback!

Downloadthe manual!

Play the game! (Chrome/Opera)

Gender Adventure

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