Kyle Bikowski

KYLE BIKOWSKI, then a graduate student at University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, was approved funding in April 2024 to aid research on “”Gamer is What I do, Gaymer is Who I Am”: Identity Work, Joy, and Community Building Among Mexican Gaymers,” supervised by Dr. Brady G’Sell.KThe grantee spent one year engaging in participant observation with Gaymers in Querétaro, Mexico. Through attending a combination of one-on-one hangouts, group events, and video game conventions, it was determined that play is the underlying means of community building and maintenance among this group of Gaymers, even when no games are present. Research found that digital communication, particularly WhatsApp, was central in creating and maintaining community bonds through what might be called “playing together, but not together,” in which online exchanges — such as sharing screenshots and strategizing — extended play beyond the video games, which fostered trust, care, and mutual support in everyday life. Offline interactions further demonstrated how play permeates Gaymer gatherings, from cosplay parties to casual social events, where spontaneous games emerged when board and video games were not present. Across gay, gamer, and neutral public settings, members did not moderate their performances of their queerness but did increase their displays of geek identity through clothing in queer spaces. Ultimately, this research illustrates how play serves as the foundation for identity performance, community building, and maintenance for Mexican Gaymers within globalized, heteronormative and homonormative cultural frameworks.