Girlhood Games: Gender, Identity, and Coming of Age in Videogames

This thesis unpacks a growing trend in videogames where girlhood perspectives and coming-of-age themes are increasingly featured. The term Girlhood Games is coined to describe games with girl protagonists facing identity trials. I uncover a forgotten history of girls’ gaming cultures and past Girlhood Games. I consider the transformative potential of contemporary Girlhood Games by theorising them as liminal, fictional spaces for players to perform and experiment with various forms of resistance and identity. Girlhood theory and coming-of-age structures are introduced to the ludic systems of play, offering a set of analytical tools to better understand both videogames and girlhood.