This is a report on an observation at a video arcade, considering the gender dynamics observed. The arcade was medium-sized, with perhaps 25 video machines and some other interactive games in an upstairs store in a shopping mall. The average age of those playing these machines was perhaps 15 or 16, with a few older players during the 2 hours of the observation and a number of younger people around 13 or 14. Over the two-hour period, a total of 20 players was observed. Of the 20, only five were female. The owner said this was not a particularly busy time of day and that there were usually a number of young women playing or watching, but there were only 5 during this period.
Interaction between genders took place in two ways. Three of the young women were players and pla