Modding masculinities: Video game glitches and transcending gendered dress

Abstract

Gaming avatars are often confined to a predetermined set of bodies, identities and clothing options that reinforce gender norms. In response, players have participated in modifying the existing bodies and clothing choices available for their avatars to represent their experiences. This article draws on concepts of the glitch and antigender fashion to engage in a textual analysis of The Sims 4. We explore how modifications for avatars’ appearance and clothing create spaces for players to transcend dominant notions of masculinity and produce a variety of gendered-dressed embodiments. Our analysis understands video games as atmospheres and modifications as glitches that expand the gendered possibilities within virtual worlds. However, the expansion of masculinities in The Sims 4 relies on the labour of players from marginalized communities and, as such, reaffirms gender power structures. Our article introduces video games as sites where players construct, negotiate and subvert dressed masculine embodiments.