Sexism in Gaming

Brooke Shafranek

Lauren Clark

English 101

11 November 2010

Sexism in Gaming

Video games have been a big part of American culture since the early 1970s, with the introduction of the Atari. From Pong to Guitar Hero, the development of the gaming industry has created a growing universe of virtual entertainment its player. However, the rising popularity of video games has exposed that, despite the many victories of feminists, female characters are not portrayed as equally as males.

There have been few female characters in the video gaming world that resemble Tomb Raider’s Laura Croft in that they are equally strong as males. An example of such a character was Samus the bounty hunter of the Metroid game series. Samus’ first game ended with the removal of her suit’s helmet, revealing that she was female to the audience. “The power of the first game was that you didn’t know [Samus was female], because it didn’t matter” (Lepore). The latest game in the series, however, Metroid: Other M, portrays Samus as a weak female. In the game, Samus is often seen “looking longingly through a window with rain, thinking about a guy” (MacNiel). The dynamic switch from her earlier outspokenness to a feeble, quiet character is “implying that being a woman is looking longingly through a window and wanting a man” (MacNiel). The new version of Samus shows how females are made “weak” without any story-based or other reason behind the change (Lepore). For example, Samus is entirely subservient to her commanding officer Adam. In long, monotonous monologues, Samus expresses herself as a weak female with things like “I was a girl, I was alone and scared. Adam was there for me, even if he didn’t express it” (Lepore). Samus’ insecurities were portrayed as a weak feminine quality. “Everyone is allowed insecurities, but they [game developers] made is such a big deal to the point where it’s degrading” (Lepore). Because Samus is a female, she feels alone and scared and needs to feel the security of having a man to protect her. “In short, the characteristics of the powerful, whatever they may be, are thought to be better than the characteristics of the powerless—and logic has nothing to do with it” (Steinem). Because men believe they are powerful and tend to have less emotion than women, Samus is portrayed as weak. Samus’ portrayal is defining a woman in an “inherently sexist tone. It’s a guy defining what a woman is” (MacNiel).

Samus is not the only victim of gender discrimination. Princess Peace from the Mario Brothers game series was created to be the damsel in distress, as Mario is “saving her in every game” (Lepore). Also seen in the Mario Kart racing game series, Peach’s defense is a feminine shield with hearts on it. “She can’t have a normal shield, she has to have a heart shield” (Lepore), which shows the discriminatory ideals put into the creation of the game. She also has her own video game, targeted at young girls, called Super Princess Peach. The player has a parasol as a weapon, and Peach’s powers are “all based on her emotions because she’s a woman who is fragile” (Lepore). Peach is seen in a feminine role “based upon appearance, such as wearing pink, long dresses and the like, and characterization, such as playing supportive roles to men.” (Dietz 433). Characters like Peach, “such as depictions of “Princess What’s Her Name”…demonstrate the value, or lack of, given to women in [modern] society” (Dietz 438). Along with Peach, Mada of Dragon Quest V is kidnapped and is the subject of her son’s quest as he rushes to save her. Using other such video games, Dietz says:

In one example, The Adventures of Bayou Billy (1989) , the beginning of the video game shows a woman in a low-cut, red dress. This woman has large, well-rounded breasts. A man is holding her and has a knife placed at her throat. Apparently, this man has kidnapped Annabelle and Billy’s mission is to save her. In another similar example, Double Dragon (1985), a woman, also depicted with large breasts and wearing a mini-skirt, is walking down the street when a man hits her, knocking her down on the sidewalk. He subsequently throws her over his shoulder and carries he r away. Once again, the goal of the game is to fight your way through the stages of the game to rescue her. Other example s of this victim or damsel in distress depiction include the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) in which the Ninjas’ friend April is standing in a room screaming and crying when the Ninja Turtle finally saves her (435).

Women will “continue to be victims and needy and that their responsibilities include maintaining beauty and sexual appeal while boys may determine that their role is to protect and defend women and to possessive them even through the use of violence [seen through beating enemies to save the females]” (Dietz 446). The portrayals of women as damsels in distress are superfluous in video games, and it is discriminatory to show female characters as completely dependent upon a male hero.

Soul Calibur IV, a Japanese-style fighting game, also manipulates the sex appeal and beauty of its female characters. The character Ivy is barely wearing any clothing at all, and has a chain whip as a weapon. “She’s an S&M dominatrix” (Lepore) that is an example of how women are seen as “sex objects or prizes (based upon physical appearance such as wearing revealing clothing or body shape...)” (Dietz, 432) in video games. The representation of Ivy shows that “female video game character portrayals [are]…sexually objectified” (Ivory 104). Dietz says,

In other instances, women are shown as visions of beauty with large

breasts and thin hips. This is the case with football game s Tecmo Super

Bowl (1993) and Madden 95 (1994) as well as King of the Ring (1991), a

pro-wrestling game. The cheerleaders in Tecmo Super Bowl and the women

in the parade after the championship game in Madden 95 as well as the

female audience members in the wrestling game are shown wearing skimpy

clothing (435).

James D. Ivory sampled one hundred video games. Of those reviewed with female characters, forty-one percent contained sexually suggestive imagery of females, and only four of the reviews with pictured men included sexually suggestive male representations (110). Particularly, feminists have criticized portrayals of women and girls as an attempt to normalize sexist and unrealistic expectations (Botta, 293). “A feminist theory of sexuality would locate sexuality within a theory of gender inequality, meaning the social hierarchy of men over women” (MacKinnon 316). In a male-dominated culture of video games, the location of sexuality is evident. But simply because video games are male-dominated does not mean that they are exempt from gender discrimination.

The sexual objectification of women is seen in various other video games. Left 4 Dead had a new update in which the female character Zoey fights zombies with her shirt off for entertainment purposes only. God of War I, III and III blatantly display female concubines that are held captive by the gods. “Men are strong and work in jobs that require excessive amounts of physical strength” (Dietz 428). The game includes “sex mini games [that are] bad, misogynistic” ( Lepore) representations of women that show women as lustful, such as Aphrodite seducing the hero Kratos, which, as a part of the mini game, offers scenes of nude females.

In the video game Assassin’s Creed II, female prostitutes walk the streets. “There are concubines, and [the player] can use them as cover” (Lepore) when hiding from the guards. The prostitutes think that the main character is good-looking, and are glad to let him exploit them. Alpha Protocol offers an achievement called “Ladies Man”, which is awarded if the male main character has sex with every female in the game. If it was a female main character, it would be called the “slut achievement”, and shows the double standard in society (Lepore). “…Emancipation stood only for a reckless life of lust and sin; regardless of society, religion, and morality. The exponents of woman's rights were highly indignant at such representation, and, lacking humor, they exerted all their energy to prove that they were not at all as bad as they were painted, but the very reverse” (Goldman). It has yet to be proven in the video gaming world.

“The portrayal of female characters in popular video game s is overwhelmingly stereotypical…the females portrayed in [video] games, even when they occupy the role of a hero, are often depicted as subordinate to male characters or are presented in terms of their sexuality (Dietz, 438). Females in games are repeatedly shown as nonessential, passive characters, and are often depicted wearing revealing and provocative clothing (Ivory 104). Because video games are prominently male-oriented, the portrayals of women can be seen as consumer marketing (Lepore).

However, the fact that more males play video games than females does not exempt video games from sexism. “Feminist theory becomes a project of analyzing that situation in order to face it for what it is, in order to change it” (MacKinnon 316). It has been socially acceptable for women to be portrayed in such ways for decades, and there has been little progress to get female characters to get out of discriminatory representations.

Works Cited

Botta, Renée. "Media Analysis Book Offers Insightful Perspective on the Portrayal of Women." Sex Roles (2008): 293-295. Web. 7 Nov 2010..

Dietz, Tracy L. "An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior." Sex Roles 38.5/6 (1998): 425-441. Web. 7 Nov 2010.

Dolbeare, Kenneth M., and Michael S. Cummings, eds. American Political Thought. Washington, DC: CQ P, 2010. Print.

Goldman, Emma. "The Tragedy of Woman's Emancipation." Anarchism and Other Essays 1917: n. pag. Web. 7 Nov 2010.

Ivory, James D . "Still a Man’s Game: Gender Representation in Online Reviews of Video Games." MASS COMMUNICATION & SOCIETY, 9.1 (2006): 103-112. Web. 7 Nov 2010.

MacKinnon, Catherine A. "Pornography, and Method: Pleasure under Patriarchy." Ethics 99.2 (1989): 314-346. Web. 9 Nov 2010.

Lepore, Rich, Tim MacNiel, and Brooke Shafranek. "Episode 9 - Metroid: Other M and women in gaming." The Joy of Gaming. The Technician, 12 Sept 2010. Web. 2 Nov 2010. .

Steinem, Gloria . "If Men Could Menstruate , Ms. Magazine, ." Ms. Magazine 1978: n. pag. Web. 7 Nov 2010.