Tom Legierse

Tom Legierse (he/him) is a PhD Research Fellow in the Understanding Male Gamers (UMG) project at the Department of Information Sciences and Media Studies. His research ethnographically explores men’s behavior and experience in videogames. Specifically, his aim is to understand how men make sense of themselves as gamers and men; how they play a variety of games in a variety of ways; and how they anticipate the future for men in games and society at large. The overall goal for this research is to rethink how men can be part of inclusive futures. 

Tom is trained as a cultural anthropologist with a specialization in gender and the digital. He obtained both a BSc and an MSc in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology from Leiden University, the Netherlands. His studies included work on identity construction in videogames, and gendered issues in (professional) competitive gaming. Tom’s current ethnographic project is an extension of this work. It serves as a continued commitment to creating more inclusive gaming spaces.