In addition to my research project on violence in video games, the documentary Game Over provides great insight to how such games are constructed in terms of violence, sexuality, and race. For this post, I want to delve deeper into the sexuality aspect of video games by analyzing how men and women are depicted.
While researching the “top 10 violent video games,” I came across numerous opinions of what games are the most violent. However, the common theme in all of the lists where that the main characters in the games were all men. The women portrayed in such games were either victims or seen as sexually explicit objects. For instance, the Grand Theft Auto series has female strippers and hookers that you can get lap dances from, or kill and steal money from. Here we see females used as part of the “backdrop” in which they only add to the pornographic landscape. When individuals play such games, they become progressively desensitized to this pornography and violence, affecting their values, thoughts, and behaviors.
Retrieved from YouTube.com
Here is a scene from the game depicting sexual explicitness. Does this scene really add to the plot of the game? – No. Rather, it is only used to persuade male gamers to play by tapping into their sexual desires.
Retrieved from games.net
Take the Mortal Kombat series, for instance. While gamers can play as female characters, these characters seem to be more of sex objects than trained killers. Interestingly enough, if a real life women who miraculous had such body measurements really existed, she would in no way be able to jump around and do flips with size DD breasts.
Retrieved from http://basementdwellinggamer.blogspot.com/2011/05/girls-of-war-women-in-video-games.html
Most commonly, female characters in games are depicted as the “damsel in distress.” While this is may be considered a cute and even loving depiction of the relationship between men and women, often it degrades women as being incapable of saving themselves, leaving them to rely on a man for salvation.
Retrieved from RPGFan.com
However, when women ARE depicted as heroins, they are still made to appeal to the main audience (men). Although they seem to be empowered, they are really being exploited. Lara Croft, the heroine from Tomb Raider, for example, is depicted as having an unrealistic body type, with incredibly large breasts despite her extremely thin frame.
Retrieved from http://hellinahandbasket.net/?p=1449
Male characters, on the other hand, are portrayed as being hyper-masculine- with overexposed muscles, demonstrating aggressive behavior. Their power and control comes from violence and intimidation.
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