{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T07:33:56Z","timestamp":1775028836914,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,19]],"date-time":"2019-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1558224000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Games and Culture"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p> This article introduces the concept of the ludic bestiary, a game mechanic that the authors argue produces abject bodies. Using the \u201chag\u201d in Dungeons &amp; Dragons as a case study, the authors demonstrate how the game\u2019s bestiary, the Monster Manual, functions as a tool of patriarchal control by defining, categorizing, and classifying the body of the female other as evil, abject, and monstrous. Importantly, the ludic bestiary not only exists as a core rulebook in Dungeons &amp; Dragons but has also been remediated as a narrative-heavy submenu in several digital games. The authors find that the figure of the monstrous woman persists in games because of the widespread distribution of the Monster Manual to young men in hobby communities, the cultural influence of Dungeons &amp; Dragons, depictions of monstrosity that blend the erotic with the maternal, and the discursive categorization and objectification of the female body by ludic systems. <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1555412019850059","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,20]],"date-time":"2019-05-20T05:46:29Z","timestamp":1558331189000},"page":"730-747","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":28,"title":["The Ludic Bestiary: Misogynistic Tropes of Female Monstrosity in <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7295-5880","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sarah","family":"Stang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"}]},{"given":"Aaron","family":"Trammell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1555412019850059","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1215\/9780822389088"},{"key":"bibr2-1555412019850059","unstructured":"Alexander L. (2014, August 28). \u2018Gamers\u2019 don\u2019t have to be your audience. \u2018Gamers\u2019 are over. Gamasutra. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.gamasutra.com\/view\/news\/224400\/Gamers_dont_have_to_be_your_audience_Gamers_are_over.php"},{"key":"bibr3-1555412019850059","unstructured":"Anonymous. (n.d.). Print run estimates. Aceaum. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.acaeum.com\/library\/printrun.html"},{"key":"bibr4-1555412019850059","first-page":"1","volume":"1","author":"Blume B.","year":"1975","journal-title":"The Strategic Review"},{"key":"bibr5-1555412019850059","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/6352.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr7-1555412019850059","volume-title":"Goddesses and monsters: Women, myth, power, and popular culture","author":"Caputi J.","year":"2004"},{"key":"bibr8-1555412019850059","unstructured":"Clements P. J. (2015). Roll to save vs. prejudice: The phenomenology of race in Dungeons & Dragons (Master\u2019s thesis). Bowling Green State University. 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Wizards of the Coast."},{"key":"bibr35-1555412019850059","unstructured":"Raggi J. (2009, January 15). D&D and racism. Lamentations of the Flame Princess [Blog]. Retrieved from http:\/\/lotfp.blogspot.com\/2009\/01\/d-and-racism.html"},{"key":"bibr36-1555412019850059","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1353\/mfs.2005.0008"},{"key":"bibr37-1555412019850059","unstructured":"Sanders G. (2008, December 1). D&D and race, how problematic? Better Living through Empiricism [Blog]. Retrieved from http:\/\/gregsanders.typepad.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/race-and-dnd-how-problematic.html"},{"key":"bibr38-1555412019850059","volume-title":"Unbecoming female monsters: Witches, vampires, and virgins","author":"Santos C.","year":"2017"},{"key":"bibr39-1555412019850059","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444811410394"},{"key":"bibr40-1555412019850059","unstructured":"Stang S. (2018). Shrieking, biting, and licking: The monstrous-feminine and abject female monsters in video games. 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