Women in Video Game
Video games are the games that are played against a computer. History of video games may go back to the year 1940, when a computer game, “Nim” was designed by Edward Condon. The game had the ability to be played by one player (Kondrat 171). In the recent times, video games have covered a huge market. It has been reported that about $16.6 billion were spent on video games in the U.S. in the year 2012, and the worldwide video game market was at about $67 billion (Fox, and Wai Yen Tan 314).
The representation of men and women in the video games is a subject of research in different gender studies. Usually, research on the gender representation concentrates on some of the points such as frequency, playability, role in the game, physical abilities, and physical representation (Zorrila, radford.edu). Studies about the prevalence of women in video games started to be published in as early as the late 1970s. Those studies started appearing in different journals including educational, sociological, and cultural journals. It has been reported that in the start of video gaming industry, i.e. during the 1980s, only about 2% of arcade games represented females (Rajkowska 15). However, “Tomb Raider” in the year 1996 was the first game representing a female protagonist. The game was among the most popular games in the history of video games (Kondrat 172).
Female versus male representation in video games
Studies show that females are underrepresented in video games as compared to males. In a study conducted in the year 1998, it was reported that about 30% of games had no women at all (Rajkowska 16). Underrepresentation of females is probably due to the better playability of males as compared to females. Moreover, game designers and developers say that females are often difficult to animate due to their bone structure, which is different from males. On a further note, due to more expressive nature of females as compared to males, it is often difficult to animate more expressive facial features (Charleston, huffingtonpost.com.au).
Most of the times, females appear in the games as secondary characters. It has also been reported that in the passive roles the number of men and women is almost same in the video games. However, even in the passive roles, males have an important role as compared to females as they work as guide, protector, or actually perform most of the important actions in the game. However, recent findings are showing the number of female characters in video games is increasing in the present games as compared to earlier games (Zorrila, radford.edu).
Representation of women in video games
Earlier studies on video games showed that women were mostly identified as the most oppressed group (Rajkowska 15). It has been found that women cast as a main role of the game are usually represented as independent and strong, whereas women as support characters in games are usually represented as dependent and weak. This is probably due to the association of lead role with more skills and capabilities, and increased tolerance to violence (61).
“Stereotyping” is among the huge criticisms faced by video games. Stereotyping is the representation of a set of fixed as well as non-truly based image or information for someone or something. Some video games are constantly stereotyping female characters, and this stereotyping is in the form of sexual objectification and “damsels in distress” (Kondrat 172).
Studies are also showing that women are mostly represented in a sexualized manner in video games. This representation of attractiveness and sexuality in women is more than men. Sexiness of females is shown by their physical structure and attire, and their clothes are more revealing either by tighter clothing or by less clothing. Researchers have also found that sexuality of female characters is so much prevalent that the games with humanoid characters also represent females in such way (Zorrila, radford.edu).
Females are usually shown having the age of less than 30 years (Kondrat 172). Studies also show that larger heads of females are shown in video games, and the smaller waist and hips are shown that is probably in confirmation of thin-ideals as represented in other media (Zorrila, radford.edu).
Some video games, especially violent games, also represent violence against women, and this violence is referred to as “virtual violence against women” (Turner, Brittany Walters, and Robyn Borgman n.d.). In a study conducted in 1998, it was reported that about 21% of the games having female characters represented violence directed at them (Beck 3019). Research showed that those female characters were presented with unimportant roles as they were non-active characters and had no participation in video games. Moreover, they had no other role besides just being lulled or locked (Kondrat 172). Studies show that out of top 10 video games from the midyear 2010 (New Super Mario Brothers; Battlefield: Bad Company 2; Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare; Final Fantasy XIII; Wii Fit Plus; God of War III; Pokemon Soul Silver; Mass Effect 2; Wii Sports Resort, and Pokemon Heart Gold Version) games had violent content including violence showed against women. Some of the games also had sexual objectification of women (Beck 3026).
Improving the representation of women in video games
Several people and organizations are working on improving the positive image of female characters in video games. For example, the French government has taken several steps to fight against sexism and violence in video games. The French government has also placed financial incentives and bonuses for portraying the “positive image of women” in games and labels. The government is also trying to promote equality between women and men in video games. The government is also working on improving the involvement of women and minorities in the industry of video games (Toor, theverge.com).
Concluding Remarks
Video games are among the most entertaining areas of the world. They attract people from almost every age group and society. However, the characters represented in the video games are not accurately representing the actual human society, i.e. there is an under- and/or over-representation in race, gender, and age as, for example, female characters are under-represented in video games. Moreover, sometimes, representation of game characters, especially female characters, is not according to ethical values.
Governments and organizations have to develop strategies to deal with the issue of female representation in video games. In this regard, the example of French government can be presented. With the help of special policies, games showing a diverse nature of women’s lifestyles, identities, and interests have to be developed. Such games would have a larger audience as, for example, “Tomb Raider: Lara Croft” was developed with such a mindset that it showed not only positive image of a woman but also attracted both female and male players equally. Furthermore, policies have also to be developed regarding the representation of women on labels and advertisements.
Works Cited
Beck, Victoria Simpson, et al. "Violence against Women in Video Games: A Prequel or Sequel to Rape Myth Acceptance?" Journal of interpersonal violence (2012): 0886260512441078. Print.
Charleston, Libby-Jane. “The Slow Evolution Of Women In Video Games”. The Huffington Post. 15 Jul. 2016. Web. 19 Jul. 2016 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/07/10/the-slow-evolution-of-women-in-video-games/>.
Fox, Jesse, and Wai Yen Tang. "Sexism in Online Video Games: The Role of Conformity to Masculine Norms and Social Dominance Orientation." Computers in Human Behavior 33 (2014): 314-20. Print.
Kondrat, Xeniya. "Gender and Video Games: How Is Female Gender Generally Represented in Various Genres of Video Games?" Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology.1 (2015): 171-93. Print.
Rajkowska, Paulina. "Roles of Female Video Game Characters and Their Impact on Gender Representation." (2014). Print.
Toor, A. “France considers cracking down on sexism in video games”. The Verge. 04 Jun. 2016. Web. 19 Jul. 2016 <http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/4/11857930/france-sexism-video-games-label-women>.
Turner, Amber, Brittany Walters, and Robyn Borgman. "" She Asked for It": Can Violence against Women in Video Games Cause Increased Rape Myth Acceptance?" (2015). Print.
Zorrila, M. "Video Games and Gender". Radford University, n.d. Web. 19 Jul. 2016 <http://radford.edu/~mzorrilla2/thesis/gamerepresentation.html>.
