Femininity in Gaming - Laney Bootz

Femininity in gaming

START

Laney Bootz

CONTENTS

women + games = :)

01.

Game Characters

02.

Multiplayer Games + Harassment

03.

The Gaming Industry

04.

Toxic Masculinity

05.

Endgame Issues

Girls in the gaming space is a hot topic, as it tends to be dominated by men.There seems to be no room for change in the community, but someone should not be excluded from a hobby solely on their gender.

INTRODUCTION

with assertiveness, skill, and knowledge, i think that it is possible that femininity will be more accepted in the space within the future.

+INFO

"41% of all female characters were shown wearing sexually revealing clothing compared to 11% of male characters"

(JOHN, 2006) ( DOWNS & SMITH, 2010)

The other common way women are portrayed in video games is as 'eye candy', or in a way that sexualizes them. Characteristics include:-little to no clothing-unrealistic bodily porportions- no plot purpose in game (other than violence or sex)

OVERLY SEXUALIZED

DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

One of the two most common ways women are represented is as a damsel in distress. Characteristics include:- object of saving- helpless, clueless-codependency

Female Representation

Why does this matter?

(Osborne, J. W. (2006) (Heeter, 2014) (Berlett & hariss, 2008)

+INFO

+INFO

+INFO

Body Image

Learned Helplessness

(Heeter, 2014)

The idea that women need men to save them from just about any situation is present in media.

(Barlett & Harris, 2008)

After playing a game that emphasized the female body, female players felt significantly worse about their own bodies.

Other Real Life Impacts

Sociality is learned from what is around us, meaning young girls can see this and believe that certain things are normal/right

(Heeter, 2014)

Multiplayer + Harassment

the presence of femininity

demeaned mentally and physically

Women are more likely to be...

Women are more likely to face malicious or threatening behavior in online lobbies than men.

Harassed or stalked

Simpy existing as a female is enough for men to take it as an invitation.

Threatenedwith rape

Male players are quicker to make these threats if the game character is female. They are even more willing when a women players voice is attatched to that character.

Threatenedwith violence

A female voice is seen as an invitation for degrading comments about intelligence or appearence, even with no evidence.

Men will masquerade as woman characters to be a part of an oppressed community, even if it is a community they actively work to put down.

REASON TWO

Why?

reason one

Many reports have found that men who participate in degrading women online do so because it gives them a higher self-esteem. A struggle of power and control, not just random violence.

THE GAMING INDUSTRY

ANOTHER MALE DOMINATED SCENE

(GAME CAREER GUIDE, 2012)

producers

QA testers

artists/ animators

gamedesigners

programmers

WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY

3%

11%

13%

13%

16%

Other male dominated industries include sports, business, and management.

Male Dominated Spaces

(Salter,2017)

Video games have been a male dominated industry since their inception and journey into our homes.This ends up discouraging women from trying to join, due to harrassment and unsettling comments.

TOXIC MASCULINITY

toxicity in male spaces

TOXIC MASCULINITY

(Salter, 2017) (Stets & Burke, 2006)

Below are some of the things or personality traits that tend to be associated with toxic masculinity, defined as the need to aggressively dominate or insert yourself into any situation you may be in, wether its work or your social life.

Physical Fitness

Sexual Prowess

Large Income

Dominant Attitude

Large Group of Real Life Friends

Mainstream Masculine Interests

GEEK MASCULINITY

(SALTER, 2017) (Taylor, 2012)

Geek masculinity is defined by Salter as contradictory from toxic masculinity, in ways of actions, feelings and emotions. The common theme between the two is the dominance and need for control.

Technological Power

Large Group of Online Friends

Creative Skills

Computer and coding skills and information

COUNTER-ARGUMENTS

THE OTHER SIDE

Counterarguments

(Heeter, 2014) (Salter, 2017)

one

+INFO

+INFO

+INFO

two

three

SPECIAL TREATMENT

BODY EXPECTATIONS

(HEETER, 2014)

It should be noted that men are occasionally given unrealistic body standards.Who is designing these games?

(SALTER, 2017)

Some men theorize that women are getting special treatment in game. Who is giving that treatment, and why?

MARKETING

It is commonly mentioned that video games are only marketed to men and young boys.I argue that games these days tend to be ungendered, and are marketed to age instead.

(HEETER, 2014)

Conclusions

This research is important. Here's why:

The root of this issue goes deeper than video games, it goes down to a taught misogyny that is going to impact future generations to come unless something occurs that changes the way these male dominated spaces operate.

Main takeaways:

• Overall hatred of women in male dominated scenes
• Unrealistic societal and beauty expectations.
• Threats for no apparent reason
• General belittmenent of women

SOURCES

thank you

01.

Heeter, C. (2014). (PDF) femininity and video games. Femininity in Video Games. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303544372_Femininity_and_Video_Games

02.

Salter, M. (2017) From geek masculinity to Gamergate: The technological rationality of online abuse. Crime Media Culture, forthcoming.

03.

John, S. (2006). Un/Realistically embodied: The gendered conceptions of realistic game design.

04.

Taylor T (2012) Raising the Stakes: E-sports and the Professionalization of ComputerGaming. Cambridge & London: MIT Press.

05.

Bègue L, Sarda E, Gentile DA, Bry Cand Roché S (2017) Video Games Exposure and Sexism inRepresentative Sample of Adolescents. Front. Psychol. 8:466.

06.

Game Career Guide (2012). Game developer salary survey 2012.

07.

Osborne, J. W. (2006). Gender, stereotype threat and anxiety: Psychophysiological and cognitive evidence.Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 8, 109–138

08.

Barlett, C. & R. Harris (2008). The impact of body emphasizing video games on body image concerns in menand women. Sex Roles, 59 (7/8), 586–601.

09.

Stets, J. & Burke, P. (2006). “Femininity/Masculinity.” An entry from Macmillan Reference USA’sEncyclopedia of Sociology, New York: Macmillan

10.

Downs, E. & Smith, S. (2010). Keeping abreast of hypersexuality: A video game character content analysis.Sex Roles, 62: 721–733

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