Women and videogames

Women and videogames: blog tasks

Part 1: Medium article - Is Female Representation in Video Games Finally Changing?

Read this Medium feature on whether female representation in videogames is finally changing. Answer the following questions:

1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames?

Women are traditionally represented as sex objects in videogames and in majority of cases used for male satisfaction rather than to give them their own identity. An example would be Lara Croft where although she is portrayed as a strong, independent women; she is structured and dressed in a very sexually appealing way and is made to do certain things that are appealing to men which is not necessary to represent a strong female character. 

2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?

A survey shows that between 2006 to 2017 42% of video game audience were female in the United States. 

3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?

In more recent games, just like Tomb Raiders the use of female protagonists can be inspirational for women to be more bold and brave in real life. Moreover, it could also attract more women to start playing their videogames.

4) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?

I agree with this point as people tend to have stronger opinions as to how they believe genders should be represented in the media as it has an impact on society and the way people get treated. Therefore, if they feel like something is incorrect, they would voice their opinion and most likely also reject the game and stop playing in order to make sure they don't support something that is bringing their gender or the opposite gender down.

5) What does the writer suggest has changed regarding recent versions of Lara Croft and who does she credit for this development?

The article suggests that Lara Croft was "saved" by Crystal Dynamics because they made some changes to her character in the rebooted version of Tomb Raider and made her more of a character that people can relate to in real life. 

Part 2: Tropes vs Women in Video Games – further analysis

Visit Anita Sarkeesian’s ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games Series 2’ YouTube playlist and watch ONE other video in the series (your choice - and feel free to choose a video from season 1 if you prefer). Write a 100 word summary of the video you watch:

Title of video: 



100 word summary: 


The video speaks about how videogames strategically use butt coverings. The main focus is on how their strategies vary according to the characters gender as a lot of video games make their female characters with a curvy figure and bring a lot of the attention to the bum whereas the male characters are strategically butt covering. This shows the binary opposition between male and female characters in videogames. 

Part 3: Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview

Finally, read this Gamespot interview with Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency and answer the following questions:

1) What reaction did Anita Sarkeesian receive when she published her videos on women in videogames? You can find more information on this on Sarkeesian’s Kickstarter fundraising page.

When she first published her videos on women in videogames she received a lot of criticism. The criticism and backclash went to the extremes of her receiving threats on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and even Kickstarter.

2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism?

"Working towards the equal treatment of women socially, culturally, institutionally, and economically."

3) Why do stories matter?

Stories matter as they are what create the world we live in and affect the things that happen around us. The way stories are told and portrayed can have a massive impact on peoples judgement and the way they see things, whether it's absolutely adoring a character or showing pure hatred. 

4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?

She views them as both positive and negative characters. The reason for liking both characters is because they're both the protagonists in their games and represent strong female characters. However a reason for her to see the characters negatively is because they also reinforce certain female stereotypes and the idea of 'itemising' females for male satisfaction with the figure of the characters being very defined and the outfits they wear being a way to lure males into playing the game. 

5) How has the videogame landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?

Although the appearance of women in videogames has expanded a lot more over the ears and we even see female protagonists in video games now. However, there are still negative stereotypes about them being reinforced in these videogames. 

6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?

They now feature women without overly sexualising them and using them for male gaze and on top of that, they also feature women of colour which shows they are also working on equality to do with race as well and not only gender. 

7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?

Sarkeesian suggests having storylines where the characters are overcoming their own personal flaws, the protagonists not being directly tied to their sex appeal, stepping outside of typical conventions, emotional depth and expression in the characters.

8) What is the impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated?

The impact of the videogames industry being mainly male dominated has resulted in most of the audience also being a male audience. Which then leads to videogame producers having to create more content that men would enjoy playing and viewing and get satisfaction out of which is the main reason why female characters often get objectified and used for male gaze in the videogames market. 

9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?

She wants to promote media literacy and give people some tools to look critically at the games we play. She wants to clearly present the issues surrounding women's representations as a systemic problem by identifying recurring patterns.

10) What media debates did Sarkeesian hope to spark with her video series?

She hoped to spark conversations about/add onto existing conversations to do with sexist representations of women in video games and wanted to let young women know that on top of the fictional issues, there are also present issues that they need to be conscious of.