Feminine Play is a curated games exhibition that celebrates femininity and subverts gendered traditions.

The public exhibition will be a free event (Oct 4–18) hosted during Melbourne International Games Week and curated by feminine games researcher Stephanie Harkin (RMIT), with Xavier Ho (Monash University, lead curator Pride at Play), Mahli-Ann Butt (University of Melbourne, AI Ally), and Jini Maxwell (curator, ACMI).

The exhibition will feature archival materials and playable games and creative works, both commercial and experimental, digital and analogue.

Feminine play has been overshadowed by traditional thinking that pairs games with boyhood, competition, and violence. The exhibition encourages a reimagining of games and play that accounts for experiences and perspectives that often go unnoticed.

IGEA’s Australia Plays 2023 Report found that Australians play games for improved wellbeing and a sense of community, and yet a decline in women players aged between 14–24 was reported. There is a need to address the cultural forces that disenfranchise girls from games at this critical point of girlhood.

Yet femininity is not strictly “for girls.” Femininity refers to traditions and values that have been assigned to girls and women in the past but can be taken on by anybody. But its long-held connection to gender has landed femininity in a position of cultural inferiority, infantilisation, and frivolousness in comparison to serious masculine pursuits. Yet games have always explored feminine themes, from dressing up digital dolls to nurturing friendships and pixelated pets. These types of play used to only be found in gendered games designed “for girls,” but today we see more and more game designers with various identities engaging with complex and radical interpretations of femininity.

By curating an assortment of thoughtful games and with video interviews of designers, this exhibition invites visitors into a meaningful dialogue around gender, culture, and games. The project offers intersectional perspectives on femininity in games from across Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia Pacific.

When

Friday 4 October through Friday 18 October

Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm
Saturday: 10am-5pm
Sunday: 10am-3pm

Where

Carlisle Street Arts Space
St Kilda Town Hall
99A Carlisle Street, St Kilda

Tickets

not required

Classification ratings for all exhibited works will be visible.

Contact

X/Twitter: @FemininePlay

Stephanie Harkin - stephanie.a.harkin@gmail.com or feminineplay@gmail.com