Women’s representation in video games

Temps de lecture : 10 minutes

Women’s representation in video games

23.12.2020
Salomé Lhuillery
In November 2018, the Fortnite video game had 200 million players around the world, “an online community that would be the 7^th biggest nation on Earth^[1]Park Gene, “Fortnite Was the Biggest Pop Culture Phenomenon of 2018.”, 27 Dec. 2018, The Washington Post, WP Company, available on: … Continue reading” and was named by the Washington Post “the biggest pop culture phenomenon of 2018^[2]Ibid.”. In May 2020, there were more than 350 million players. However, no matter how popular video games are, they are still stigmatized. The image of the friendless nerd that does not go out, portrayed by many media, has stuck. Video games are also often accused of being too aggressive and some political personalities do not hesitate to put extremely violent acts in correlation with playing video games^[3]Manenti Boris, “Non, Non, Et Non, Les Jeux Vidéo Ne Créent Pas Des Tueurs De Masse »,  9 Mar. 2018,O Nouvel Obs, available on: … Continue reading.
Video games seem to be created from men’s point of view, for men and by men. They are often seen as a masculine activity, based in the idea that “girls care more about self-care, social interactions and chores^[4]Beasley, B, and T Collins Standley, “Shirts vs. Skins : Clothing as an Indicator of Gender Role Stereotyping in Video Games.”, 2002,Mass Communication and Society 5 (3):279–93, available on:  … Continue reading”. Therefore, boys have more time to dedicate to gaming. Thus, video games must be attractive to men first.
Moreover, the majority of employees in this industry are men, and very few women take part in the development of video games. This lack of diversity in the creative process leads to negative and stereotyped representations of women characters. However, video games are constantly evolving and more and more strong female characters can be seen. This article’s goal is to shed a light on the profoundly sexist history of video games, but also their evolution and how they can become an empowerment tool for women.
A historically sexist industry
The video game industry has inherited a gendered division of labor by employing mostly men, which affects the content. The first video game technology appeared in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. The first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, was created in 1971. Historically, the video game industry and the IT industry are deeply connected. In its early days, the IT industry mainly hired women for “jobs that required limited technical skills, offered low salaries and with limited possibilities of promotion to higher positions compared to their male colleagues^[5]Teresa Lynch, Jessica E. Tompkins, Irene I. van Driel, & Niki Fritz, Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years, Journal of Communication, … Continue reading”. The video game industry mainly stemmed from the IT industry, so a gap between genders persisted in STEM. Women faced a glass ceiling that prevented them from getting a better job solely based on their gender.
Research on the topic was not as popular as it is today, which implies a lack of data of the gendered demographic in the video game industry. However, a few press reports underline the fact that female developers represented barely 3% of the workforce in 1989^[6]Ibid. Even though a significant growth could be seen in the IT sector in the 1980s and 1990s, women still represented less than 30% of the workforce and mainly occupied poorly paid and low-ranking jobs.
This same logic applies today: women still are a minority in IT in higher education. In 2016, women only represented 33% of all IT workers and are even more underrepresented in France (20%)^[7]École Supérieur du Numérique Industriel, « L’informatique Serait-Elle Un Métier D’homme ? », 29 Mar. 2019, École Supérieur du Numérique Industriel, available on: … Continue reading. Moreover, as the video game industry is a male-dominated environment, most women working in it “align on gender norms or masculine norms to succeed^[8]Ibid”. Even if the number of female players has increased through the years, the number of female employees working in the video game industry has only slightly increased, to reach around 20% in 2019.
This lack of equality in video games creative development has a clear impact on the content. Indeed, the absence of feminine representation throughout the creative process leads to the creation of negative and stereotypical female characters. One of the best example is Lara Croft, the famous big-breasted heroine of Tomb Raider in 1996. At first it was a joke between colleagues, but the image stuck and is now a recognizable trait of the heroine. Video game content suffers from a blatant lack of perspective and often falls into male gazing. The male gaze is a concept introduced for the first time in 1975 by Laura Mulvey. It is the way an often white, masculine and heterosexual man’s vision influences the content of a media and transforms it into an object of desire. Women are therefore often sexualized and considered as accessories.
Gender representation in video games
Gender representation in video games can be defined in one word: stereotyped. Men are hyper masculine and women are hypersexualized. In order to understand the representation of female character, it is important to take into account male characters to understand their opposition. Male characters are represented as hyper masculine: extremely muscly, aggressive and violent^[9]AlainaBrenick, Alexandra Henning, Melanie Killen, Alexander O’Connor, Michael Collins, “ Social Evaluations of Stereotypic Images in Video Games: Unfair, Legitimate, or « Just Entertainment »? … Continue reading. They have to fit the alpha male description, which means they have to be strong and aggressive physically and in their sexuality. Men fitting these norms and standards set by society are considered “real men”. Violence is seen as a male attribute. Moreover, “real men” cannot show any emotion and must always be stoic. In video games, this description of the “alpha male” is given through the representation of male characters, they often wear extensive armor, which sometimes is twice the size of their body, with impressive and generally disproportionate weapons. However, “male stereotypes are often viewed in a better light than female stereotypes^[10]Ibid”.
Contrary to men, that are considered violent and strong, women are represented as fragile and hypersexualized. Their clothes bring attention to their bodies rather than their personalities. They are often voluptuous, thin and their clothes leave them “partially nude and ill-fitted for the tasks they have to accomplish^[11]Teresa Lynch, Jessica E. Tompkins, Irene I. van Driel, & Niki Fritz, Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years, Journal of Communication, … Continue reading”. Most female characters have “prominent breasts, accentuated butts and provocative clothing^[12]Ibid” and wear clothes such as open backs or swimsuits.
American researcher Beasley reviewed video games characters wearing a top with visible cleavage or pecs. It comes as no surprises that 87.85% of them were female. Their cleavage shows an excessive sexualization. In the video games reviewed by Beasley, 2.82% of women had flat chests, 56.34% average chests and 40.85% generous chests. Generous in video games means these female characters had abnormally large breasts. All these traits have one purpose: attract the attention of the audience to the sexual body and not to the character’s story. In fact, since this last trait is not essential, there is no importance to their story, quest or personality. All studies agree: female characters are sexually objectified in video games.
However, even though female characters are hypersexualized, they are not necessarily incompetent or submitted to their male counterparts^[13]Teresa Lynch, Jessica E. Tompkins, Irene I. van Driel, & Niki Fritz, Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years, Journal of Communication, … Continue reading. Apart from their appearance, most characters embody “characteristics borrowed from male norms (for example intelligence and strength)^[14]Ibid” and women seem as capable as men. But even if they can take on a male role, like fighting, the male gaze is always present. It is this male gaze that we can see in Tomb Raider. Even if the heroin is strong and smart, she is objectified.
Of the relative importance of female characters in video games
In video games, female protagonists are less frequent than male ones, but they also are less important. American researcher James Ivory reviewed the 100 most popular and better rated video games of 2004. Among all these games, male characters are mentioned 45% more than female ones^[15]James D. Ivory, “Still a Man’s Game: Gender Representation in Online Reviews of Video Games”,2006, Mass Communication & Society, 9, 103-114, available on: … Continue reading. The presence of female characters also depends on the type of game. In war games, such as Terrorist Hunt, there were more animals than women. In golfing games, such as Extreme Golf, characters are mainly women “in sexually suggestive poses, revealing parts of their bodies as they play golf^[16]AlainaBrenick, Alexandra Henning, Melanie Killen, Alexander O’Connor, Michael Collins, “ Social Evaluations of Stereotypic Images in Video Games: Unfair, Legitimate, or « Just Entertainment »? … Continue reading”. Most of the time, characters with an undetermined gender are more present than women^[17]Berrin Beasley, Tracy Collins Standley, “Shirts vs. Skins: Clothing as an indicator of Gender Role Stereotyping in Video Games”, 2002, Mass Communication & Society”, 5(3), 279 – 293, … Continue reading.
However, one can still encounter female characters in video games. Most of the time, when there are women in the game, they have a second role. They are “passive and non-essential [to the story of the game]^[18]James D. Ivory, “Still a Man’s Game: Gender Representation in Online Reviews of Video Games ”,2006, Mass Communication & Society, 9, 103-114, available on: … Continue reading”. The sexualization of women in video games underlines the fact that they are not main characters, since they only exist through their physique.
Therefore, if the physical appearance is the main characteristic, it will mainly be women characters. Their appearance being hypersexualized, they attract the player’s attention to their bodies. Video games accentuate how attractive secondary characters are whereas for main characters the emphasis is on qualities such as intelligence. Secondary characters are voluntarily objectified. There is a difference between male characters, often the main characters, recognizable for their skills and personalities, and female characters that are secondary and recognizable by their physical appearance not their skills.
The effects of this kind of representation on players: desensitizing and the Lara phenomenon
Video games can have effects on players, like desensitizing and the Lara phenomenon have proven. One of the most well-known and frequent effects of video games is desensitizing. This notion is often used to study how players react to physical violence in a game. There are many studies about it but in this article, we will focus on another type of desensitizing: the one concerning gender and its representation.
Indeed, the frequency at which we play can normalize sexism. People who play the most, have a tendency to accept more quickly a stereotyped and negative representation of characters, or cannot even see it. Regular players are “less susceptible to consider games with stereotyped female (or male) characters as potentially damageable^[19]AlainaBrenick, Alexandra Henning, Melanie Killen, Alexander O’Connor, Michael Collins, “ Social Evaluations of Stereotypic Images in Video Games : Unfair, Legitimate, or « Just Entertainment »? … Continue reading”.  This is a negative effect video games can have. They can normalize sexualizing and objectifying bodies. Though it is easy to condemn and forget that they can also have positive effects on players.
In 2007, Jansz and Martis mention a new concept that underlines the positive influence of video games on players: the Lara phenomenon^[20]Jansz, J., Martis, R.G, “The Lara Phenomenon: Powerful Female Characters in Video Games ”, 2007, Sex Roles, 56, 141–148, available on: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9158-0. The Lara phenomenon is named after the famous Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft. This phenomenon references the fact that seeing a competent female character in a dominant position means women can identify with her and feel empowered. In total opposition to videogame tradition, the protagonist of Tomb Raider is “very knowledgeable and adventurous, as skilled in fighting techniques as in solving puzzles^[21]Jansz, J., Martis, R.G, Ibid.”. Indeed, when Tomb Raider became popular, 30% of games showed women as damsels in distress or as sexual objects^[22]Teresa Lynch, Jessica E. Tompkins, Irene I. van Driel, & Niki Fritz, Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years, Journal of Communication, … Continue reading. As much as being constantly exposed to stereotypes can lead to their normalization by players, being exposed to strong female role-models can make them ordinary and make the image of the strong woman accessible.
Moreover, these past few years, one can see a change in how women are accepted in the video game world. It is acknowledged that women do play too and that they must be properly represented. In the past four years (2017 to 2020) several video games came out with female main characters. In February 2017, Sony Interactive Entertainment launched the Horizon Zero Dawn game which featured a woman as a main character, Aloy. The following month, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out and showed a great variety of women’s bodies from traditional fragile traits to more muscly and massive bodies. In 2018, Blizzard Entertainment started promoting World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, with the premise of a war between two factions both lead by strong female characters. In September of the same year, the new Lara Croft adventure, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, came out.
Finally, in October 2018, the famous Assassin’s Creed franchise came out with a new game, where players can choose between a male and a female protagonist. They made this inclusive choice again in November 2020. In March 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo gave the players the possibility to customize their character’s appearance freely, regardless of their gender. All these examples illustrate the same fact: women’s representation in video games is increasing and maybe even improving. The Feminist Frequency organization published a report in October 2020 analyzing the evolution of the gender of protagonists in video games. Female protagonists represented 9% of the total in 2015, 2% in 2016 and 18% in 2020^[23]“Anita Sarkeesian, Gender Breakdown of Games in 2020 ”,Octobre 2020, Feminist Frequency, available on: https://feministfrequency.com/2020/10/15/gender-breakdown-of-games-in-2020/.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it seems that video games mainly have a negative representation of women. Most of them are hypersexualized and secondary characters. Men are also very stereotyped and reduced to being “alpha males”. The main reason why women are so stereotyped in video games is because they were created with male players in mind. Consequently, making female characters sexually attractive was a marketing trick to sell more games. Women’s bodies were commercialized to answer a supposed demand from men: the male gaze, viewing women as objects of pleasure only.
However, now that the video games world is opening up more to women, progress has been made. Video games with a woman as a main protagonist are more and more numerous. We can see a turn in the gaming world as women are slowly being considered men’s equals. They are more present in the creative process, more accepted in gaming communities, but also more represented inside the games. Though, it should be noted that the video games industry is still lacking in equality and feminine representation, the latter getting better but not always in a positive way.

Sources
AlainaBrenick, Alexandra Henning, Melanie Killen, Alexander O’Connor, Michael Collins, “ Social Evaluations of Stereotypic Images in Video Games : Unfair, Legitimate, or « Just Entertainment »?”,June 2007, Youth & Society, Volume 38, N. 4, 395–419, available on: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237967956_Social_Evaluations_of_Stereotypic_Images_in_Video_Games
Berrin Beasley, Tracy Collins Standley, “Shirts vs. Skins: Clothing as an indicator of Gender Role Stereotyping in Video Games ”, 2002, Mass Communication & Society, 5(3), 279 – 293, available on: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327825MCS0503_3
École Supérieur du Numérique Industriel, « L’informatique Serait-Elle Un Métier D’homme ? », 29 Mar. 2019, École Supérieur du Numérique Industriel, available on: www.cfa-afti.com/actualite/informatique-metier-dhomme/.
James D. Ivory, “Still a Man’s Game: Gender Representation in Online Reviews of Video Games ”,2006, Mass Communication & Society, 9, 103-114, available on: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251201285_Still_a_Man%27s_Game_Gender_Representation_in_Online_Reviews_of_Video_Games
Jansz, J., Martis, R.G,“ The Lara Phenomenon: Powerful Female Characters in Video Games ”,2007, Sex Roles 56, 141–148, available on: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9158-0
Manenti Boris, “ Non, Non, Et Non, Les Jeux Vidéo Ne Créent Pas Des Tueurs De Masse », 9 Mar. 2018, O Nouvel Obs, available on: o.nouvelobs.com/jeux-video/20180309.OBS3340/non-non-et-non-les-jeux-video-ne-creent-pas-des-tueurs-de-masse/
Park Gene, “Fortnite Was the Biggest Pop Culture Phenomenon of 2018.”, 27 Dec. 2018, The Washington Post, WP Company, available on: www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/12/27/fortnite-was-biggest-pop-culture-phenomenon/.
Teresa Lynch, Jessica E. Tompkins, Irene I. van Driel, & Niki Fritz, Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years, Journal of Communication, ISSN 0021 – 9916, 564-584
Pour citer cet article : Salomé Lhuillery, “La représentation des femmes dans les jeux vidéo”, 23.12.2020, Institut du Genre en Géopolitique.