Efforts to close the “coding gap” between girls and boys are starting to pay off as two teens participating in the “Girls Who Code” program have released an exciting new arcade game that rips the lid off the social ignominy of menstruation.
In a society that normalizes gun violence but levies a huge stigma on menstruation, the game attempts to overcome taboos by arming the player with tampons which she can shoot at hard-hatted aggressors until she has accumulated enough points to win a resupply of tampons.
While some might scoff at the primitive gameplay, most would agree that a compelling storyline trumps graphic realism. Teen male programmers could only be depended upon to produce gratuitous violence and objectification of women. The daring victim’s narrative and empowerment exemplified by these upstart lady programmers is a harbinger of a bright future for the game industry, as more and more women reclaim gaming for feminism and produce titles that both entertain and educate gamers on sexism and other social justice concerns.
