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The Art and the Artist: Discussing Problematic Issues in D&D
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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 8532192" data-attributes="member: 7026594"><p>Yes, I think there was a change over time. In the 70s Gary was shocked when he first spoke with Lee Gold over the phone and learned that the editor of Alarums & Excursions was a woman; he was used to the overwhelmingly male wargaming crowd. But she and her husband were from the sci-fi fandom crowd, which while perhaps predominantly male, had substantial numbers of women. D&D and RPGs were apparently vastly more appealing to women than wargames were.</p><p></p><p>In period materials and advertising we definitely see a lot more women involved in the 70s and a little bit into the 80s, before, as you say, marketing seemed to turn to focus more on boys. We also see those quasi-cheesecake ads from TSR (like the one with the tagline, "Where the action is") with Elise Gygax. Those are funny. I don't know if the idea is to appeal to male gamers with the prospect of playing a game that might actually have girls and women in attendance?</p><p></p><p>In the early 80s we know D&D kind of morphed from being seen as this unusual, arcane, creative fad game, described as "cultlike" in media coverage in regards to its spread on college campuses, to being seen as nerdy and somewhat juvenile in many circles. I wonder how much of this stemmed from TSR marketing to younger kids, and the aforementioned gender segregation in toy stores.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 8532192, member: 7026594"] Yes, I think there was a change over time. In the 70s Gary was shocked when he first spoke with Lee Gold over the phone and learned that the editor of Alarums & Excursions was a woman; he was used to the overwhelmingly male wargaming crowd. But she and her husband were from the sci-fi fandom crowd, which while perhaps predominantly male, had substantial numbers of women. D&D and RPGs were apparently vastly more appealing to women than wargames were. In period materials and advertising we definitely see a lot more women involved in the 70s and a little bit into the 80s, before, as you say, marketing seemed to turn to focus more on boys. We also see those quasi-cheesecake ads from TSR (like the one with the tagline, "Where the action is") with Elise Gygax. Those are funny. I don't know if the idea is to appeal to male gamers with the prospect of playing a game that might actually have girls and women in attendance? In the early 80s we know D&D kind of morphed from being seen as this unusual, arcane, creative fad game, described as "cultlike" in media coverage in regards to its spread on college campuses, to being seen as nerdy and somewhat juvenile in many circles. I wonder how much of this stemmed from TSR marketing to younger kids, and the aforementioned gender segregation in toy stores. [/QUOTE]
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The Art and the Artist: Discussing Problematic Issues in D&D
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