Reddit mentions of From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games

>links to "Barbie to Mortal Kombat"

It was the early anti-gamer book where the authors thought Virtua Fighter's Sarah Bryant was Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat, so they placed her on the cover: http://www.amazon.com/From-Barbie-Mortal-Kombat-Computer/dp/0262531682 (Sarah isn't even mentioned in the book itself).

This shit became an early bible for the Identity Politics cultists trying to invade vidya, since over 15 years ago.

>Many parents worry about the influence of video games on their children's lives. The game console may help to prepare children for participation in the digital world, but at the same time it socializes boys into misogyny and excludes girls from all but the most objectified positions. The new "girls' games" movement has addressed these concerns. Although many people associate video games mainly with boys, the girls games' movement has emerged from an unusual alliance between feminist activists (who want to change the "gendering" of digital technology) and industry leaders (who want to create a girls' market for their games).

>The contributors to From Barbie® to Mortal Kombat explore how assumptions about gender, games, and technology shape the design, development, and marketing of games as industry seeks to build the girl market. They describe and analyze the games currently on the market and propose tactical approaches for avoiding the stereotypes that dominate most toy store aisles. The lively mix of perspectives and voices includes those of media and technology scholars, educators, psychologists, developers of today's leading games, industry insiders, and girl gamers.

>Contributors: Aurora, Dorothy Bennett, Stephanie Bergman, Cornelia Brunner, Mary Bryson, Lee McEnany Caraher, Justine Cassell, Suzanne de Castell, Nikki Douglas, Theresa Duncan, Monica Gesue, Michelle Goulet, Patricia Greenfield, Margaret Honey, Henry Jenkins, Cal Jones, Yasmin Kafai, Heather Kelley, Marsha Kinder, Brenda Laurel, Nancie Martin, Aliza Sherman, Kaveri Subrahmanyam.

I don't know if this is really what you are looking for, as they are more academic in nature and focus more on gender representation and performance, but here are a couple that I have read recently:

From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games - This book is pretty old, published in 2000 and references games mostly from the mid to late nineties. However, it has some pretty awesome information on the rise of "pink" and "purple" games, and the attempt of gaming developers to tap into the female market. Some interesting interviews with women in the industry, and it uses a lot of Judith Butler's theory of performativity, which I'm a fan of.

Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming - As the title suggests, a much more contemporary discussion on gender and gaming, although still a bit out of date since the genre is changing so rapidly. Lots of discussion of women and MMO's if you're interested in that, and sections on the need and call for more diversity in games themselves. A bit too qualitative in some sections for my tastes, but still has some really interesting chapters.