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Gender stereotypes in video games
Gender stereotypes in video games
Gender stereotypes in video games
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Representation of gender stereotypes in Temple Run and Even Cowgirls Bleed
In this male driven era, women are perceived to be fragile and submissive. This, in turn, affects the purpose and outcomes of the products offered by the gaming industry. Production companies strive towards games that recognize males as alpha models that control the realms of the universe. Females, if at all included, are recognized as delicate flowers that need to be rescued or as seen as the ultimate prize. In the Sex Roles journal, the authors emphasize, “Female characters rarely appear, and that when they do, they are mostly in a submissive, secondary role” (Jansz & Martis 2007). Gender stereotypes are evident in most AAA games, such as GTA 5 and Temple Run. However, the few exceptions lie within indie games such as Even Cowgirls Bleed where women take the main lead. The representation of gender stereotypes in games is studied through the analysis of Temple Run and Even Cowgirls Bleed.
Even Cowgirls Bleed is an exceptional game published in 2013 by Christine Love using Twine, a platform originally created for lay users to create video games. The
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It focuses on a man’s journey, escaping demonic creatures and overcoming physical barriers such as rings of fires and deep pits, to collect coins. The game is highly saturated in color, but favors the common hue of gold. This is evident through the enormous trees that fill that background and the elongated bridge that takes the center of the screen. The most obvious hue of gold is seen through the coins that capture the player’s eye. The developers pay great attention to detail which allows the game to appear more realistic that the typical animated game. Without clear distinctions, it is interesting that players assume the major character is a male. The khaki attire, short hairstyle and manly bag force the player to believe that the character is
Even though I found solace in the female video game characters of my childhood as these icons of Amazonian womanhood, with age I have come to realize that many of these female characters often rely on dated stereotypes. So much so, that many of these female characters become walking tropes, displaying only the most basic of female stereotypes: a love for shopping, makeup, and shoes. Anita Sarkesian, a feminist blogger who critiques anti-woman tropes in video games, created the name of this particular trope, the 'Ms. Male ' character. The 'Ms. Male ' character is defined as a female character with little-to-no personality or defining traits outside of traditionallly regressive “female” characteristics. This allows a game designer to take
Often in videogames female roles are over sexualized and over dramatized within the limited supportive roles that they play, often playing the role of the sidekick. When their the protagonist they’re reduced to nothing but sex icons to appeal to men. Often scantily dressed and a bust size within the D cup and up range. Characters like Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider Series debutting in 1996 and Bayonetta in her own series called Bayonetta which released in 2010. Yet even though they are far apart in terms of release they both feature a lead female role whom dresses in an obscene manner. Why is this? The simple truth is that sex sells, games with female characters with mini skirts and tight shirts generally manage to sell decently well. This causes an issue in the min...
The topic of over-generalizing characteristics of a man or woman has become a controversial debate. While both sides have valid points, Monika Bartyzel, a freelance writer who created Girls in Film, a weekly feature on “femme-centric film news and concerns” at theweek.com, argues in her gender stereotype article “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with the Disney Princess Brand” Disney has gone against their own perception of a princess, leaving young girls to believe they are only worth value if they are pink, sparkling and dependent on a man.
Leaper, Breed, Hoffman, and Perlman (2002) reiterates Junn (1997) findings that compared to women, men are overrepresented (Leaper, Breed, Hoffman, & Perlman, 2002). Leaper et al. conducted a time-based structured observational study by evaluating a total of 12 different child target television shows. They selected 3 shows from each of the following categories: traditional adventure, nontraditional adventure, comedy, and educational/family (Leaper et al, 2002). In addition, Leaper et al examined the number of characters in each film while also looking at the amount of time each character exhibited predetermined behaviors (talking fear, negative, physical aggression, victim, romantic, directive, politeness, and support) throughout the show (Leaper et al., 2002). At the conclusion of the study, Leaper et al. reaffirmed that female characters are underrepresented. In addition, however, Leaper et al. found that one genre, traditional adventure (“emphasizing a central male hero”) was more likely to contain gender stereotypical behaviors (Leaper et al., 2002, p. 1655). Ultimately, Leaper et al.’s conclusion can suggest to children that male characters’ overrepresentation in child-targeted media is because men are at the top of the hierarchy and are more important in society than women (Leaper et al.,
And after many researches, it been found that men are more addicted to video games, because most of games reflects their actions and behavior, and the type of games they play are usually contains violence and, action. And the male characters are always represented as a muscled and tough men. Unlike females they are less addicted to video games, because when they found most of games contains violence, and their naturality is usually calm and soft, they stayed away, so they turned to adventure, and puzzle games. But what made arguments is the representation of females, they were often shown as a sex object, and that because game designers tend to please male players, more than females because their percentage is higher. Games industries are willing to change the representation of each character from different gender in next the generation of games. but will it be more successful than the way genders are being represented now
Since the humble origins of the video gaming industry, individuals used it as a challenge of their abilities. In modern day, this industry is just a popular as any other media which exists in the mainstream world. Video games reflect society’s changing views of the normalities of which individuals and/or groups must abide to. This is exemplified in the evolving representation of the queer individuals within the virtual world. As the video game industry came into focus, so did the LGBT rights movement. This illustrates that society’s views on the LGBT community were reflected in the video games made, however, it was rare that such characters existed as protagonists until the twenty first century. Due to the extreme lack of asexual and non-binary
In video games particularly, it is clear that a huge amount of gender bias exists, with male protagonists appearing 23% more than female protagonists, while only 9% of games feature an exclusively playable female characters. The gaming industry, much like the film industry, is evidently unbalanced in favour of the male hero. The advertising industry has not been exempt from the grasp of gender bias either. Advertisers have long used heroic archetypes to sell products and services, using the model of the dashing, handsome hero-type to appeal to the masses and to call on the human need for protection. The Old Spice guy is a typical example of this, or the famous Volvo ad in which Jean-Claude Van Damme balances on two reversing trucks. Women, on the other hand, are far more likely to be shown in traditional and stereotypical roles, such as in the home, doing laundry or cooking, or as victims who cannot protect themselves, and it is evident that this is a theme that carries through to all forms of visual media. The heroic archetype is rarely embodied by
What is stereotype? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stereotype as “believing unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same.” Stereotypes are everywhere. Stereotypes cover racial groups, gender, political groups and even demographic. Stereotypes affect our everyday lives. Sometimes people are judged based on what they wear, how they look, how they act or people they hang out with. Gender and racial stereotypes are very controversial in today’s society and many fall victims. Nevertheless, racial and gender stereotypes have serious consequences in everyday life. It makes individuals have little to no motivation and it also puts a label about how a person should act or live. When one is stereotype they
Disney is one of the largest corporations in the world, known for entertaining and having a dominant role in children’s media for over 60 years and counting (Towbin, Haddock, Zimmerman, Lund & Tanner, 2003). The purpose of this study is to analyze Disney animated films according to gender roles and gender role portrayals. Research shows that Disney animated films have highly portrayed traditionally feminine and masculine characteristics (England, Descartes and Meek, 2011). The focus of this paper is to discuss the stereotypical representation of gender role portrayal between the men and women in Disney animated films. Scholars have suggested that in Disney animated films women are portrayed as being domestic, nurturing, wanting to marry, helpless and in need of protection (Towbin, Haddock, Zimmerman, Lund & Tanner, 2003). However, men are portrayed as having a non- domestic job, use physical anger as a mean to express emotion, are naturally physically strong and are very heroic (Towbin, Haddock, Zimmerman, Lund & Tanner, 2003). My first hypothesis is whether in Disney animated films, men are playing traditional roles and women are playing traditional roles. My third second is whether stereotypical gender role portrayal in Disney animated films will become less traditionally characterized as society progressed to let go of traditional gender roles.
Within the gaming industry, whether it is within the PC gaming industry network or the general gaming industry network, sexism exists. This is supported by the findings discussed within this case study. One such example is: “60% of women in the game industry have experienced sexism... Almost 77% of women and about 55% of men have female friends in the game industry that have experienced sexism.” (Allaway, 2014)
Gender stereotypes and biasses exist in media. In most situations, women are associated with more negative stereotypes and their portrayals can “undermine their presence by being “hyper-attractive” or “hyper-sexual” and/or passive” (Smith, 2008). In The Wolf of Wall Street women are objectified. They are treated
The work's topicality is characterized by the existence of the gender stereotypes in society, having generalization, and does not reflect individual differences in the human categories. Meanwhile, there is still discrimination on the labour market, human trafficking, sexual harassment, violence, women and men roles and their places in the family. Mass media offers us the reality, reduces the distance, but we still can see the negative aspects too. TV cultivates gender stereotypes, offering ideas about gender, relationships and ways for living. Such media ideas attach importance to many people in the society. Consequently, it is quite important identify gender stereotypes in the media, in order to prevent false views relating to gender stereotypes.
Brokeback Mountain was a movie released in 2005 and was directed by Ang Lee, and based off the short story written by Annie Prouxlx in 1997. The movie depicts to midwestern men who begin their relationship as coworkers, but develops into a long-term, long-distance, and secret love affair. The sexuality of these two men has been heavily debated, as it is not blatantly said in the movie. Both men depict relationships across both genders and are married at some point during the affairs. It is probably that Jack twist is gay, however, looking through a modern lens I believe, Ennis Del Mar is a pansexual. Pansexual is a more modern term and I believe, encompasses the emotions Ang portrays through Ennis during the film.
Gaming has long been considered a male-dominated activity. There have been numerous scientific studies conducted to analyze the impact video games have on an individual and vice versa, however one of the most common discussions concerning the gaming community is sexism. With today’s growing audience and the popularity of smart phone gaming, it is a mystery as to why gaming has managed to keep its male-minded stereotypes. Most games reflect the sexist gender roles imposed upon gamers by society, however today’s response is a heated protest, some more dramatic than others. Most gamers are demanding more female protagonists, and developers are listening, but it’s a slow climb to equality in the world of pixels and fantasy. Let us discuss the surrounding influences of the video game community, some setbacks and remarkable breakthroughs in diversifying, and the ways gamers shape the games they play.
Milktea was not high up on some e-sports meritocracy totem; she was not the top performer in her game, but she still received attention because of her gender. Scarlett is still regarded as one of the most skillful female professionals in e-sports; her skill only brought more of that negative attention down on her as she was thrust into the limelight. In contrast, I could not find any substantial articles or journals detailing men being attacked for their gender. Men are the default in the world of video games; we women must accept that and move on, or challenge it by proving we have the skills. I needed to highlight that I have a minority experience when it comes to gaming; I have never been attacked, at least not since I was a child, for enjoying things that are considered a “manly” pastime. The common experience for women is hostility.