This article builds upon previous research into the Nintendo Wii game “We Cheer” through qualitative analysis of the lived experiences of young girls and their playing experiences. I argue here that this multi-layered approach is important as it allows for exploration of the nuances between representation and everyday lives, specifically when analyzing the complexity and contradictions related to the girls’ hetero-sexy embodiment and the process of becoming female in a (digital) culture still largely dominated by the sociocultural constitution of slenderness. Throughout the analysis, I aim to demonstrate the way in which the girls’ engagement with “We Cheer” was mediated by their own embodied sensemaking and work on the self. As such, I focus on the partial stories that the girls tell about their own embodied femininities to advance studies of media reception in ways that are arguably unique to interactive exer-games such as “We Cheer.”
