Gender representation in video games

Playable female characters were found to appear less frequently than male characters in reviews for popular games in a 2006 study from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.[9][10] A 2007 study by Melinda C. R. Burgess et al. found that men are featured much more often than women on the covers of console video games.[11]

In a sample of 669 action, shooter, and role-playing games selected by EEDAR in 2012, 300 (45%) provided the option of playing as a female, but only 24 (4%) had an exclusively female protagonist. EEDAR found in 2010 that 10% of games had a protagonist with an indiscernible gender.[12]

According to Madeline Messer writing in The Washington Post in 2015, among the top 50 endless running games for mobile devices, 98% of those with gender-identifiable characters featured male protagonists, of which 90% were free to play. As many as 46% of these games offered female characters, and only 15% offered them for free. Playing as a girl required, on average, an additional purchase of $7.53, much more than the games themselves cost.[13]

Samus Aran, the heroine of Metroid (1986) and its successors, is often cited as "the first playable human female character in a mainstream video game".[14] However, other earlier games featured female player characters, such as Ms. Pac-Man (1982), Becky from Otenba Becky no Daibouken (1983),[15] Barbie (1984),[16] PSK's ALICE (1984),[17] Papri from Girl's Garden (1984),[18] Jenny from Jenny of the Prairie (1984),[18] Toby Masuyo ("Kissy") from Baraduke (1985),[19][20] Kurumi-Hime from Ninja Princess (1985),[21] Flashgal (1985),[18] Alexandra from Lode Runner's Rescue (1985),[18] Athena (1986), [22] Chris from Alpha (1986),[23] Ki from The Return of Ishtar (1986),[22] or Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Bōken (1986).[22]

Studies of the prevalence of female characters in video games began to be conducted in sociological, educational, and cultural journals as early as the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979, researchers publishing in The Psychological Record (Vol.29, No.1. Pp. 43–48) concluded from the results of a 201-person survey that 90% of male subjects and 85% of female subjects perceived the computer as masculine (in gameplay versus the computer).[24] In 1983, professor Sara Kiesler et al. published a study in Psychology Today (Vol.17, No.3. Pp. 40–48.) finding that female characters appeared in video games at a frequency of 1 game in 7.[24] Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz suggested that the reduced presence of female characters implies a secondary status for women in video games and also suggesting playable female characters do appear in video games, they are more often scantily dressed and oversexualized than men.[25]

Lara Croft, the protagonist of Tomb Raider (1996), is among the best-known strong, fictional women in a variety of media.[26] Since her introduction in 1996, the character of Croft has been criticized for her "unrealistic" breast size; Lara was claimed to personify "an ongoing culture clash over gender, sexuality, empowerment, and objectification."[27] In a 2008 Tomb Raider title, Croft was depicted in "hot pants and midriffs" and was said to look like she was "dressed by a male".[28] However, the game's creators maintain that she was not designed with marketing in mind, and have claimed to be rather surprised at her pinup-style adoration.[29] In Tomb Raider: Legend, Lara underwent a radical redesign, ostensibly to make her less sexualized.[30]

April Ryan from The Longest Journey (1999) has been compared to Lara Croft, as she shows less prominent physical feminine attributes than Lara but more feminine psychological traits, as contrasted with Lara's masculine connotations like aggressiveness and force.[31] Contrarily, Jade, the protagonist of Beyond Good & Evil (2003), was widely recognized as a strong and confident female character lacking any overt sexualisation.[32][33]

The year 2013 featured women in leading roles in a number of award-winning games such as The Last of Us (2013), Bioshock Infinite (2013), the rebooted Tomb Raider (2013), and Beyond: Two Souls (2013). A study of these games found that although the leading female characters in these games were able to subvert predominant gender stereotypes, women were still limited by men in the narratives, in particular through benevolent sexism.[34]

In 2014, the developers' choice to omit playable women in the latest iterations of the top-tier gaming franchises Assassin's Creed and Far Cry became a focus of discussions in gaming media. This indicated, according to game industry professionals cited by Polygon, a shift in the industry's attention towards issues of diversity in gaming, in conjunction with video games as a whole growing beyond their former core audience of younger men.[35]

The announcement trailer for Battlefield V was met with a backlash from some fans of the series who were frustrated with the portrayal of women in the game, specifically with the British woman featured in the trailer as British women never participated in frontline combat during the World War II and were mostly relegated to supporting roles.[36]

Fans dressed as Princess Zelda, the eponymous character from The Legend of Zelda series, and Link, Zelda's male champion and defender

Female characters are often cast in the role of the damsel in distress, with their rescue being the objective of the game.[37][38] Princess Zelda in the early The Legend of Zelda series, the Sultan's daughter in Prince of Persia, and Princess Peach through much of the Mario series are paradigmatic examples. According to the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change, in 1981 Nintendo offered game designer Shigeru Miyamoto to create a new video game for the American market. In the game the hero was Mario, and the objective of the game was to rescue a young princess named Peach from being kidnapped and trapped in a castle by the villain Bowser. By 2013, Peach has appeared in 14 of the main Super Mario games and is kidnapped in 13 of them. The only main games that Peach was not kidnapped in were in the North America release of Super Mario 2 and Super Mario 3D World, but she was a character that can be played. Zelda became playable in some later games of The Legend of Zelda series or had the pattern altered.[39] In other research, Shanon Sherman mentioned how the illustrations on video game covers portrayed women in need of rescue.[40] She stated that these covers reinforce the existing gender stereotypes and sexual discrimination against women.[40]

A number of games feature a female character as an ally or sidekick to the male hero. Some of them, like Ada Wong of Resident Evil and Mona Sax of Max Payne, were turned into player characters in later instances of their series. Alyx Vance, a supporting protagonist of Half-Life 2, was praised for her "stinging personality" and intelligence, developing a close bond with the player without simply being "eye candy".[41][42]

Jeroen Jannsz and Raynel G. Martis conducted research on the representation of gender within video games and of the 12 games that were examined, there were 22 characters to look at. Two games did not have a second or supporting character in the intro cutscene: Splinter Cell focused exclusively on protagonist Sam Fisher, and Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness focused exclusively on Lara Croft.[43] The analysis showed a dominance of male characters in the games.[43] Thirteen of 22 game characters (about 60%) were men.[43] Among the leading characters there was an equal gender distribution (six men; six women), but supporting characters turned out to be seven men (70%) and three women (30%).[43] A difference appeared between characters who had a leading part in the game and those in a supporting role. Jannsz and Martis stated that there is a depiction of a lead role being in a commanding position and the narrative being about them.[43] This is consistent with masculinized traits such as leadership and independence that may be given to female characters along with sexualized attributes so they are "sexy" and appealing.[43]

One of the first major female villains in video games was the Dark Queen in Battletoads (1991) and its sequels.[44] SHODAN, an artificial intelligence with a female voice and a female face, was the main villain of the game System Shock (1994), praised as one of the most recognizable female characters in gaming.[45] Another prominent classic female villain is Ultimecia, the main antagonist in Final Fantasy VIII (1999).[46] Similarly, GLaDOS from Portal (2007), an insane computer with a female voice, was praised by critics as one of the best new characters of the 2000s.[47]

The portrayal of women in video games has been the subject of academic study and controversy since the early 1980s. Recurring themes in articles and discussions on the topic include the sexual objectification and sexualization of female characters, done to appeal to a presumed male audience,[37] as well as the degree to which female characters are independent from their male counterparts within the same game. The sexualization of women involves the use of female bodies in a way that renders them the object of a sexual gaze or perception by others; their bodies are objectified and they are reduced to that of a sex object.[48] Research on exposure to sexualized media representations of women in television and magazines has asked whether it reduces male compassion toward women, and reduces women's perceptions of their desire and suitability for various vocations.[11]

In their 2005 study, Karen E. Dill and K. P. Thill distinguish three major stereotypical depictions of women in gaming: (1) sexualized, (2) scantily clad, and (3) a vision of beauty. The study revealed that over 80% of women in video games represented one of these depictions. More than one quarter of female characters embodied all of the three stereotypical categories at once. Dill and Thill also note that another prevalent theme with which women were depicted was a combination of aggression and sex, referred to as "eroticized aggression".[49] According to sociology professor and researcher Tracy Dietz, women are often depicted in stereotypical roles that typically pertain to sexuality in which the woman focuses upon beauty/physical attractiveness.[50] According to an analysis conducted by Downs and Smith, playable and plot relevant characters in the 60 best selling video games of 2003 were predominantly male. Females who were depicted were frequently sexualized. The female characters analyzed were depicted partially naked or with unrealistic proportions more often than the male characters were.[51] A study of 225 video game covers found that both male and female character's physiques were over-exaggerated, but women were more "physically altered" (especially in the bust) than their male counterparts, and even more so if the female was the main character of the game.[11]

A 2011 study regarding Gender Identity and representation in Digital RPGs found that hyper-sexuality, which is often associated with female avatars, tends to negatively affect numerous types of gamers, who deeply identify with their avatar.[52] The study found that this issue reifies the idea that "a woman's power, in-game or out, comes entirely from her sexuality".

However, a 2016 study of 571 games released between 1984 and 2014[53] found that the sexualization of female characters was at its height between 1990 and 2005, and then began to significantly decline. It also determined that there was no significant difference in sexualization between games rated as "Teen" (for ages 13 and up) and "Mature" (17 and up) by the ESRB, indicating that sexualized women in games are so prevalent that they are not thought of as objectionable to children. Less sexualization was found in RPGs, which are played more often by women, than in action and fighting games.[54]

A fan dressed as Mai Shiranui, a popular fighting game character who pioneered breast physics

Many early female video game characters (such as Ms. Pac-Man) are identical to an existing male character, except for a visual marker of their femininity, such as pink bows, lipstick and long eyelashes.[55][56]

Female video game characters have been criticized as having a tendency to be subjects of the "male gaze".[57] A print ad for the fighting game Soulcalibur V received some controversy for simply being a close up of female character Ivy Valentine's breasts with a tagline.[58][59] In two sequels of fighting games Soulcalibur and Tekken that take place several years after the original issue, recurring male characters were all aged but all female characters were kept the same age or were replaced by their daughters.[60] Many games, particularly fighting games, also feature pronounced "breast physics", which make the breasts of female characters bounce or jiggle in a sometimes exaggerated manner.[61]

Women costumed as scantily armored player characters from the video game Diablo III

A recurrent representation of women in fantasy settings, originating in the 1960s, is the female warrior dressed in scanty armor.[62] They feature armor designs which have been described by such terms as "chainmail bikinis", largely consisting of small decorative plaques that reveal large portions of the body to the weather and expose vital organs, making them ineffective as protection.[63] The prevalence of this portrayal is presented as an instance of the common sexualization of women in the geek culture including video games, comic and movies.[57] In reaction to this, the art blog "Women Fighters in Reasonable Armor"[64] compiles depictions of women fighters wearing "realistic" armor.[65]

Video games have been criticized for depicting violence against women.[66] For example, the 2013 game Dead Island: Riptide generated controversy when the special "zombie bait" edition of the game included a statue of a torso of a busty, dismembered woman in a skimpy bikini.[67] While much of the Grand Theft Auto franchise has had issues with claims of violence against women, Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto V was also surrounded in much criticism; so much so that certain retailers in Australia refused to stock the game.[68]

The 1982 game Custer's Revenge was first noted for containing elements of rape and some Native American groups and the National Organization for Women have criticised this as well as alleged racism.[69] Kotaku described the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider as using rape for Lara Croft's character development;[70] the developers denied that the scene depicted an attempted rape.[71][72]

Men in games tend to be shown as muscular and big. For instance, men in video games have chests that are about 2 inches (6%) larger, heads that are about 13 inches bigger, waists that are 5 inches wider, and hips that are 7 inches wider, than in reality.[74] They are often characterized as overtly aggressive and violent.[50] Following the releases of Grand Theft Auto V, the developers were met with criticism regarding both the portrayal of women and torture, but also that of men. Two of the main characters, Trevor Philips and Michael De Santa, have since been interpreted by some as portraying men as "liars, cheats, bad husbands and fathers, and psychopaths".[75]

GamesRadar writer David Houghton, writing in an article on sexism in video games, was highly critical of many stereotypes that came with male protagonists, outlining them as "the primeval hunter/gatherer type [with] arm-cripplingly ripped biceps, necks too muscley to turn, emotion dials stuck on 'aggressive grimace' and a 50% lack of chest coverings".[76]

Jamin Warren on PBS Game/Show highlighted that video games could promote "unreasonable body expectations, or an inability to express emotion, or the pressure to 'man up' and be a leader". He also highlighted that the vast majority of characters who perform and experience violence in video games are men, while women and children are generally to be protected.[77]

The "male protagonist bingo", a 2014 thought experiment by game designer Anna Kreider,[78] is intended to show that many prominent male game protagonists match the same sort of stereotypes because it is possible to fill out a bingo card for them that contains the following attributes:[79]

Multiple critics point out the "male gaze" as the reason why male characters are not overtly sexualized in the same way as female characters are, mentioning the assumption in the video game industry that a majority of gamers are heterosexual men, to whom companies cater.[80][81]

Dante Douglas of Paste magazine identifies the "power fantasy" alongside two other stereotypes, men as gender performance and as fan interpretation:[73]

• In the interpretation as gender performance under an heteronormative perspective, a male being sexy is seen as an opposite of masculinity. In this view, depictions of males as objects of desire are coded by including feminine traits, vanity and attention to personal attires, or queer codes, often depicted as humorous.[80] The bishōnen archetype is an example of this portrayal, as well as characters like Vega from Street Fighter, Mettaton from Undertale, Maxi and Raphael from Soulcalibur, and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII.[73]
• A different way of sexualizing male characters is that performed by players and fans communities, in particular for characters open to their own emotions.[73] Douglas identifies as traits of these characters the space dedicated in the game to show their personality, shown through their interactions with other characters, and their agency through those interactions rather than pure displays of strength and power. Because of these traits, this category of characters occurs most often with non-player characters.

A 2008 study found that males reported playing more violent video games than females. This exposure was negatively correlated with men's certainty in their judgements when presented with a scenario of possible sexual harassment selected for its ambiguity. The exposure to violent video games was also correlated with attitudes supportive of rape.[101]

Canadian non-profit MediaSmarts writes that "video games have the potential to influence how children perceive themselves and others", and despite their impact on the youth, "there is not a lot of research available in this area, and few of the existing studies stand up to critical examination. This lack of scrutiny means that we know very little about the effects that video games may have on children's development and socialization."[102]

According to Dietz, video game characters have the potential to shape players' perceptions of gender roles. Through social comparison processes, players learn societal expectations of appearances, behaviors and roles.[50] Girls may expect that they be dependent victims and that their responsibilities include maintaining beauty and sexual appeal, while boys may determine that their role is to protect and defend women.[50] Thus, Dietz claims, the roles internalized by the child, including gender, become for the child, and later for the adult, a basis for other roles and for action. The gender roles internalized by young individuals have a significant impact upon their perspectives and the additional roles they assume in later life. Feminine and masculine symbols are supposed to become a part of a child's identity.[50]