Feminist Pinball: How Women Are Changing Competitive Play and the Industry
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| Title: | Feminist Pinball: How Women Are Changing Competitive Play and the Industry |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Ryan Banfi |
| Source: | American Journal of Play. 2026 18(1):97-130. |
| Availability: | The Strong. One Manhattan Square, Rochester, NY 14607. Tel: 585-263-2700; e-mail: info@thestrong.org; Web site: https://www.museumofplay.org/journalofplay/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 34 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Play, Feminism, Females, Competition, Games, Gender Issues, Gender Bias |
| ISSN: | 1938-0399 1938-0402 |
| Abstract: | The author investigates why some women pursue women-only pinball tournaments and how the pinball industry represents them. He argues that women are absent from the top rankings not because of their biological differences from men but rather because of problematic social environments and the pinball industry's approach to representing women in games. Thus, pinball's culture involves gender-related issues similar to those in the broader game industry. Banfi discusses pinball's popularity in general and the growth of women-only leagues in reaction to harassment by male players, characterized, for instance, by the 2014 Gamergate scandal. He draws attention to women pinball players and how they are changing the culture surrounding tournaments, which often intersect with competitive gaming. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1504313 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Url: https://content.ebscohost.com/cds/retrieve?content=AQICAHj0k_4E0hTGH8RJwT4gCJyBsGNe_WN95AvKlDbXJGqwxwEv3vbQKXnU3OOqIArbRLs_AAAA4zCB4AYJKoZIhvcNAQcGoIHSMIHPAgEAMIHJBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHgYJYIZIAWUDBAEuMBEEDGxbiQytZqac6uO3kAIBEICBm0ellZxEjVN3CHVUYFSOeOOOSM_f2NtYFDtzys4wEhXSBfATNoCsLJzNZ1iGlFWHLQIXrz3pB6O16Bq83ZmOuzILa16H3LkI_IBrsO6x8Us7ItgmPxslfNiLaGuNP6-YwbInsqiCntry7rf-Pz6Nlp8tyCJPRvmaA3dNm6YxwEjTyFGumEtUgEKe5gB9JTpYyveqLcLT1Cuphf1a Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ1504313 Name: ERIC Full Text Category: fullText Text: Full Text from ERIC |
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| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: EJ1504313 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Feminist Pinball: How Women Are Changing Competitive Play and the Industry – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ryan+Banfi%22">Ryan Banfi</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22American+Journal+of+Play%22"><i>American Journal of Play</i></searchLink>. 2026 18(1):97-130. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: The Strong. One Manhattan Square, Rochester, NY 14607. Tel: 585-263-2700; e-mail: info@thestrong.org; Web site: https://www.museumofplay.org/journalofplay/ – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 34 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Play%22">Play</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Feminism%22">Feminism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Females%22">Females</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Competition%22">Competition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Games%22">Games</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Issues%22">Gender Issues</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Bias%22">Gender Bias</searchLink> – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 1938-0399<br />1938-0402 – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The author investigates why some women pursue women-only pinball tournaments and how the pinball industry represents them. He argues that women are absent from the top rankings not because of their biological differences from men but rather because of problematic social environments and the pinball industry's approach to representing women in games. Thus, pinball's culture involves gender-related issues similar to those in the broader game industry. Banfi discusses pinball's popularity in general and the growth of women-only leagues in reaction to harassment by male players, characterized, for instance, by the 2014 Gamergate scandal. He draws attention to women pinball players and how they are changing the culture surrounding tournaments, which often intersect with competitive gaming. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1504313 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1504313 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 34 StartPage: 97 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Play Type: general – SubjectFull: Feminism Type: general – SubjectFull: Females Type: general – SubjectFull: Competition Type: general – SubjectFull: Games Type: general – SubjectFull: Gender Issues Type: general – SubjectFull: Gender Bias Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Feminist Pinball: How Women Are Changing Competitive Play and the Industry Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Ryan Banfi IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 1938-0399 – Type: issn-electronic Value: 1938-0402 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 18 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: American Journal of Play Type: main |
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