Assistant Professor of Psychology Kristina Howansky recently gave an invited talk entitled "Fantasy World, Real-Life Impact: The Benefits of RPGs for Transgender Identity Exploration" for the LGBTQ+ Psychology Network. Hosted by University of Glasgow, the talk focused on the St. Mary's Project research conducted by Sonder Van Wert '23 under Howansky's mentorship. While video games have had their share of controversy, such as concerns over video games causing violent behaviors, Role Playing Games (RPGs) may also have an unexpected benefit: aiding in identity development. This talk explored the potential of RPGs in facilitating gender-identity exploration and development among transgender and gender-non-conforming individuals. Dr. Howansky described a series of mixed-methods studies identifying the processes by which RPGs contribute to gender identity development and argued that RPGs provide a safe and immersive environment for players to experiment with different gender identities and expressions.
