ABSTRACT
A certain type of young male is staged as the archetype of the high-performance computer game player: He is tough and competitive; he is heterosexual (and typically white); he is lean; he performs with bravado and shows zero tolerance for flaws. He is the image of the North American digital sporting hero marketed to young male gamers engaging with electronic sports (e-sports). However, not all players or high-performance gaming scenes fit this flawless model of gender production, nor do all embrace it. This chapter explores the expert gaming scene of World of Warcraft “Arena Tournament,” one of the high-performance e-sports (competitive and organized computer gaming tournaments) situated in 2010 on the North American Major League Gaming Pro Circuit (MLG). Looking at player performances as well as the organizational structure of the MLG draws attention to the tensions surrounding the production of masculinities within one e-sports scene and the nuances of gender relations therein.
