Sisterhood of the Traveling Dice: Women Finding Community Through Dungeons & Dragons
Image courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
Dungeons & Dragons has been a slowly growing cultural phenomenon since its introduction in the 70s, the satanic panic of the 80s/90s and its more recent inclusion in 2017’s Stranger Things and the award-winning Baldur’s Gate 3, plus the 2023 live-action movie “Honour Among Thieves”.
The game, which falls under the tabletop role-playing game subgenre, has seen this massive growth, but one very large group of nerds are often shunned from the game. Women.
From derogatory terms featured in Dragon magazine in 1978, which include terms such as 'hag' & 'battle-axe' (meaning an aggressive woman), to the games' continued anti-female stance until the games' 2.5th revision in 1995, women have been shunned from the hobby.
This, however, is starting to change. Six-Sided Society, a new board game and tabletop store and play space inside of Coventry’s Fargo Village which opened this October, has started to promote its women-only Dungeons and Dragons sessions.
We spoke to Katlin, the owner of the establishment and self-proclaimed portal wizard, about the establishment's focus on women and mental health.
When asked about the male dominance of the game, she said, “It is quite male dominant… we have created a quite cute and large circle of ladies, literally around the table.” This was in reference to the store’s female-only Dungeons and Dragons games, hosted every week by their professional game masters.
Image courtesy of Six Sided Society.
Since their October opening, Six-Sided Society has welcomed over 150 female adventurers through its doors to experience the hobby that was previously inaccessible to them.
When asked about the community Katlin was building, she said, “I’m quite flattered so many women especially come here, especially when making meaningful connections in context.”
But it’s not just a portal wizard that brings together something like this; the games master is the backbone of the game itself. Kit Barry, a long-time GM and the one who runs the Women’s DND games, spoke about how happy they are with the growing community.
“It feels like such a huge compliment; we have a collection of ladies who started at the women’s-only sessions and continue to come to other sessions in the space.” We also asked Kit about the spaces' inclusivity to trans women and gender nonconforming people: “Our spaces are LGBT friendly and welcoming of all representations of womanishness.” Which means all women, no matter their background, can find a home at Kit’s table.
Speaking of the people at the table, women at these sessions aren’t just sticking to “girlie” roles that were presented to them in the original editions of Dungeons and Dragons. Instead, many are choosing classes which were originally only depicted as male, such as the Fighter or Barbarian. This break from stereotypes demonstrates how at a table removed from insecurities and stereotypes, people can express themselves how they want to, which is exactly what the intention of the game is.
Kit also discussed the other games held in Six-Sided society, saying “Kat has also created an awesome space with fantastic people, my other Dungeon Master colleagues and the regular players are fantastic” so even in mixed gender sessions, that self-expression and fun can still be had. Showing that Six-Sided Society really is the friendly environment Katlin wanted it to be.
Kit and Kaitlin have constructed a safe space for women to express themselves at the table, and with attendance skyrocketing, this community is only going to grow and we should all be thankful for them.
