AD4004 Report 1

Gender and the representation of attitudes and cultural mores within visual culture

An important topic in today's gaming climate is the oversexualisation and degradation of female characters in video-games, stemming from the Feminist view of an unfair representation of their gender in this type of media. Anita Sarkeesian is a key speaker for this campaign for better gender representation, and has gained a large following over the argument of stereotyping women in games (1). There was a small amount of games

that showed a woman as the main protagonist in retro - or even early modern – video games. One of the only examples is the character Aya Brea from the 1991 PlayStation game; “Parasite Eve” (see left) (2). Even her appearance in this game was somewhat sexualised, though not to the extent of other early female protagonists, such as Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) and Athena (Athena). This means it is clear that during this time, video-game developers focused on making their protagonists strong, capable males, often moving female characters to secondary roles, or the object for the player to strive towards throughout the game.

            Anita Sarkeesian calls this the “Damsel in distress” trope (1). Characteristics typical of this trope are a kidnapped woman who is usually incapable of fighting, often dumb (or not as smart as the male protagonist), and in need of rescue – relying on the outside help of another character. The most classic example of a 'damsel' character in games, that Sarkeesian herself alludes to, is Princess Peach (Toadstool) from the Super Mario series. She constantly is kidnapped and becomes the focal point for most of Mario's adventures, typically seen locked up in a castle.

Leading on to the modern era of video games, women have seen a decrease in objectification and an increase in empowerment of female protagonists. However, with more female characters and better graphics, game developers have more opportunity to create sexually-provocative or gender-stereotypical protagonists.

            On the right is my interpretation of female objectification in modern video games, this example shows the protagonist Lara Croft, wearing revealing clohing in an anime style. This style has been used primarily in anime/manga but its traits seen on girls in this media are evident in modern video games (eg. Large breasts, slender frame, wide hips – contributing to a ‘Barbie-doll physique’). One example of this portrayal of women in games comes from 'Bayonetta' – the protagonist of which is a woman who is capable of killing godlike creatures and wears skin-tight clothing made out of her own hair (below) (3). This means that Bayonetta herself doesn't wear proper clothes, but the audience cannot see this – becoming an interesting example that balances between the empowerment and objectification of female characters.

            On the other hand, recent games and new remakes of older games have shown how game developers can create interesting and unique main characters, without the need to objectify their image. Some of these examples include one of the main characters from the 'Half-Life' series, Alyx Lynst, the new model for Lara Croft in the 'Tomb Raider' series reboot, and Faith from 'Mirror's Edge'. This proves equality in gaming is possible.

References

(1) Sarkeesian

(2) Road

(3) Shimizaki

Bibliography

Road, Brick (November 7, 2010). “Retro Heroines” [online]. [Accessed 9 March 2015]. Available from 

http://scibbe.com/?p=2321

Sarkeesian, Anita (March 7, 2013). “Damsel in distress” [online video]. [Accessed 9 March 2015]. Available from http://www.feministfrequency.com/

Shimazaki, Mari (May 17, 2009). "Designing Bayonetta". PlatinumGames, Inc. [online]. [Accessed 11 March 2015]. Available from http://platinumgames.com/2009/04/17/designing-bayonetta/