Video games are more popular today than ever. Such titles as Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) have sold millions of copies. The success of this game points to the critical role that video games play in shaping the minds of players. Given the increasing popularity of video games, the makers of these games have an obligation to safeguard the wellbeing and moral fabric of society. While the primary purpose of video games is to deliver entertainment, research suggests that what transpires in game environments have real implications. It has been shown that the sexualization of women in video games causes players to engage in self-objectification (Fox, Bailenson & Tricase, 2013). This finding underscores the need for the gaming industry to demonstrate responsibility. A review of video games reveals that they create a skewed perception of gender through unrealistic representations.
Before examining how video games are skewed in their representation of men and women, it is helpful to begin with a look at how this representation is relevant to the gaming industry. As will be revealed below, the gaming industry sexualizes women highly. This representation of women hurts the financial interests of the gaming industry. GTA V is among the games that contains highly sexualized and violent content. In response to concerns about how the game portrays women, Target decided to remove it from its shelves in Australia (Stuart, 2014). Target’s decision makes it clear that unless it embraces objectivity in its portrayal of men and women, the gaming industry risks losses. Research has shown that individuals who are exposed to sexist content in video games develop sexist tendencies (Begue et al., 2017). This finding underscores the relevance of skewed representation of women and men in video games to the gaming industry. This industry needs to take action to create a society where all individuals are respected regardless of their gender.
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The academic community has dedicated effort to understand how men and women are portrayed in video games. Thanks to the efforts of this community, it is now understood that women are represented in an overly sexual manner. Moreover, the games portray the women in a manner that allows them to comfort to traditional standards of beauty. After reviewing various studies, Laurent Begue (2017) and his colleagues observed that in at least 80% of video game magazines, women are represented as sexual objects. To better understand this observation, it is important to consider various video games. GTA V is among the games which objectify women. For example, the game allows players to visit a strip club where they can pay for private dancers and watch as scantly-dressed women dance. Rise of the Tomb Raider is another game whose makers objectified the female characters. For example, Lara Croft, the lead character in this game is scantily dressed and is designed so as to fit traditional ideals of beauty (Bell, 2017). It is important to note that men have not escaped skewed representation in video games. In most games, they are presented as macho, aggressive and heavily built. For example, in the recently released God of War, Kratos serves as the protagonist. He is a large man who possesses immense physical strength. There is no question that such games as God of War were designed to amplify the societal definition of masculinity.
Objectification of women is not the only blunder that the gaming industry has committed in its depiction of men and women. This industry also tends to present women as minor characters while men are assigned leading roles where they represent heroism (Mou & Peng, 2009). The Assassin’s Creed series and Call of Duty are among the games which present male characters in leading roles. For example, all Call of Duty games allows players to control male soldiers. It could be that this game was intended to reflect the situation on the ground where women play a limited role in military combat. However, the failure of the makers of this and similar games to empower women through lead roles cannot be ignored. In such games as GTA V, not only are women denied lead roles, they are also assigned roles that are degrading. For example, women in the game serve as prostitutes and strippers. These games do not reflect the tremendous progress that women continue to make. Today, women occupy various positions of influence and power. For example, women in the US are acquiring more doctoral degrees than their male counterparts (The International Herald Tribune, 2010).
The discussion this far has focused on the physical representation of men and women in video games and the respective roles that they play. This discussion would not be considered complete without an examination of how video games depict violence through male and female characters. Some researchers have established that women are mostly depicted as victims of violence (Beck et al., 2012). On the other hand, men are usually the perpetrators of violent acts in the games. A quick review of GTA V gameplay allows one to understand why video games are accused of promoting violence against women. In this game, players are allowed to run over female pedestrians. Moreover, concerns have been raised that this game encourages players to murder and rob prostitutes (Rodenberg, 2013). GTA V is just one of numerous other games which encourage violence against women.
It is clear that the video game industry does not share the world’s commitment to women empowerment. This can be seen in how the game portrays women. Monica Killer and Alicia Summers (2007) conducted an extensive review of video games. Their findings confirm the arguments that have been made in the discussions above. They noted that “males were more likely to be heroes and main characters, use more weapons, have more abilities, and were more muscular and powerful” (p. 733). On the other hand, “females were supplemental characters, more attractive, sexy and innocent, and also wore more revealing clothing” (p. 733). Killer and Summers shed light on how the gaming industry has failed to portray men and women fairly and accurately. What stands out most in their discussion is that while men are depicted as violent and aggressive, women are presented as being innocent. The narrative that the games present through these portrayals is indeed flawed and inaccurate. While it is true that men tend to demonstrate aggression, women are also capable to violence and aggressive behavior. Therefore, the unbalanced and inaccurate portrayal has the effect of reinforcing gender stereotypes.
It was pointed out in an earlier discussion that women have made impressive progress. Today, they are almost equally capable of performing in various tasks as men. Video games do not acknowledge the competence and talent that women possess. In many video games, women are presented as being in constant need of help and rescue. This portrayal of women is generally referred to as Damsel in Distress (Shapiro, 2013). Through the portrayal of women as needing to be rescued, video games reinforce stereotypes and traditional notions. Essentially, these games strip women of their independence and power. Moreover, they present men as powerful and assign them the role of rescuing distressed women. Super Mario Bros (1985) is among the games which promote the Damsel in Distress notion. In this game, players are required to save Princess Peach. Resident Evil 4 is another game which presents female characters as Damsels in Distress. Ashley Graham is among the main female characters in the game. Despite the prominent role that she could play, Graham has to rely on the efforts of male characters to be rescued. This game is silent on the power that women possess. For example, when the main character abandons Graham, she cries “Leon, Help Me!”. Players her this cry very many times as they play. It would not be surprising if after playing the game, players find women to be weak and in desperate need of being defended. Resident Evil 4 and other similar games clearly fail to recognize the tremendous potential that women have. If the progress that the world is making in women empowerment is to be sustained, the gaming industry needs to abandon its stereotypical portrayals of men and women.
The primary purpose of this discussion was to highlight how the gaming industry promotes stereotypes through skewed representations. One may argue that the skewed depictions of men and women are isolated and do not define the entire gaming industry. To refute this argument, an individual simply needs to point out the many other failures of the gaming industry. For example, through a thorough analysis of various game magazines, Charles Dickerman, Jeff Christensen and Stella Beatriz Kerl-McCain (2008) noted that racial minorities are severely under-represented in video games. They point out that “whereas early games had only a few representations of people of color, people of color were often depicted in derogatory and unflattering ways” (Dickerman, Christensen & Kerl-McCain, 2008, p. 20). These scholars must have had such games as GTA V in mind when they penned the article. This game presents black people as violent and belonging to gangs. There are numerous rival gangs that are made up of African Americans and Latinos. Melinda Burgess (2011) joined forces with a group of other scholars to confirm the observation that Dickerman and his team made. Burgess and her colleagues noted that apart from being under-represented, racial minorities are also depicted in unflattering light. The unfair and insulting portrayal of racial minorities suggests that the gaming industry has a culture of skewed representation. In addition to depicting minorities in unflattering light, the industry also fails to portray men and women accurately.
In the interest of creating a balanced discussion, it is important to recognize the efforts that the gaming industry is committing to promoting fair and objective portrayal of women and men. Teresa Lynch, Jessica Tompkins, Irene van Driel and Niki Fritz (2016) joined forces to examine the trends in the representation of female characters. They observed that recent games depict women in less-sexualized ways. This observation is clear evidence that the gaming industry has heard and is responding to the calls for action. The Last of Us is among the games which show that the gaming industry is changing its portrayal of men and women. Ellie is among the main female characters in the game. Despite being just 14 years old, she is active and courageous. As the game develops, Ellie matures into an intelligent and powerful character. While the efforts of the gaming industry through such games as The Last of Us are commendable, they do not go far enough in promoting objectivity and fair. Video games are overwhelmingly sexist, misogynistic and repressive of women.
In conclusion, the world is entering a new age where video games are becoming increasingly easy to access. With easy access comes the threat of moral corruption. Through the sexualization of women, video games encourage harmful attitudes and behaviors. The games erode the progress that mankind has made in the empowerment of women. There is need for the gaming industry to abandon its recklessness and display accountability. The firms in this industry have a mandate to protect players and to preserve morals. They can execute this mandate through fair, balanced and objective representation of women.
References
Beck, V. S., Boys, S., Rose, C., & Beck, E. (2012). Violence against Women in Video Games: A Prequel or Sequel to Rape Myth Acceptance. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27 (15), 3016-3031.
Begue, L., Sarda, E., Gentile, D. A., Bry, C., & Roche, S. (2017). Video Games Exposure And Sexism in a Representative Sample of Adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00466
Bell, C. E. (2017). Sexualization and Gamer Avatar Selection in League of Legends. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 25 (2), 65-87.
Burgess, M. C. R., Dill, K. E., Sterner, S. P., Burgess, S. R., & Brown, B. P. (2011). Playing With Prejudice: The Prevalence and Consequences of Racial Stereotypes in Video Games. Media Psychology,14 (3), 289-311.
Dickerman, C., Christensen, J., & Kerl-McCain, S. B. (2008). Big Breasts and Bad Guys: Depictions of Gender and Race in Video Games. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3 (1), 20-29.
Fox, J., Bailenson, J. N., & Tricase, L. (2015). The Embodiment of Sexualized Virtual Selves: The Proteus Effect and Experiences of Self-Objectification via Avatars. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 930-8.
The International Herald Tribune. (2010). Women Earning more Doctoral Degrees than Men in U.S. Retrieved May 16, 2018 from https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/education/20iht-educBriefs20.html
Killer, M. K., & Summers, A. (2007). Gender Differences in Video Game Characters’ Roles, Appearances, and Attire as Portrayed in Video Game Magazines. Sex Roles, 57 (9-10), 733-742.
Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., Van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (2016). Sexy, Strong and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years. Journal of Communication, 66 (4), 564-84.
Mou, Y., & Peng, W. (2009). Gender and Racial Stereotypes in Popular Video Games. In Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Rodenberg, C. (2013). Grand Theft Auto V Makes it Cool to Pick up- even Kill- Prostitutes. Retrieved May 16, 2018 from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/27/grand-theft-auto-v-prostitutes-killed
Shapiro, J. (2013). 3 Lessons in Manliness: Another Perspective on the Damsel in Distress Trope in Video Games. Retrieved May 17, 2018 from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/03/11/3-lessons-in-manliness-another-perspective-on-the-damsel-in-distress-trope-in-video-games/#4d2adc6b25f5
Stuart, K. (2014). Grand Theft Auto 5 Banned by Australian Chain due to Violence against Women. Retrieved May 16, 2018 from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/03/australian-store-bans-grand-theft-auto-5-violence-against-women
