http://hcireflections.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/gender-representation-in-video-games/
The blog that our group chose focuses in on gender representation in video games and the blogger is analyzing an article that they read on the subject. People are always looking at ways that women are exploited sexually, and video games are no different. Women characters in video games are mostly shown in as little clothes as possible with an emphasis on their busts. This blog opens up the discussion about women being present in video games, but it also examines the ways that men are hyper-sexualized in video games. In video games, men are frequently displayed with unrealistically large muscles. The images of men and the few images of women that gamers are exposed to are an impossible reality and there is much controversy over both male and female representation through video game characters.
Why do you think that the majority of characters in video games are the stereotypical “buff” men?
What other ways are video games made more appealing to boys than girls?
Are men supposed to be playing video games to fulfill a “perfect” role in society that they can’t achieve in reality?
Let’s face it, in the video game world, just like the rest of the world, sex sells. There are more men playing video games than girls in the world, so what they want, they get, as you can see by how few people commented on this blog. And that means women wearing pretty much nothing, and acting the part of the damsel in distress. No, I don’t think there are more men playing video games just because of the characters portrayed in them, it’s just always been like that, and I doubt it’s going to change much in the near future. Our culture tells us it’s more acceptable for boys to sit around playing games than it is for girls, so video game companies gear their games for boys. I don’t believe that boys play them in order to “fulfill a ‘perfect’ role in society that they can’t achieve in reality” either. They play them because they’re bored, and they don’t have English 110 homework to finish.
ReplyDeleteVideo games want us to take part in a reality that we can do things that we normally can't do in real life. We play as these buff men or sexy women because in our imagination, this is what we wanna look like. You would not wanna play as yourself because i feel like you would not be able to believe the scenario that the game has put you in. Why i think women are dressed and look like they do in video games is to bring a strong male audiences to buy the game that they are selling. From the games that i have played, I feel that the role of men and women are very similar to the Disney movie blog that we did last weekend. It's always the men fighting over the women and protecting the women from danger. There is always a male dominance aspect to the story line. I would say that their are more male gamers to female gamers. The number for female gamers has definitively risen in the past fifteen years. They have added more female characters to every game so that we don't always have to play as males. They have made more female based games. I have recently seen a Brittany Spears Dance Dance Revolution game. I don't think many males would buy that game unless they were completely comfortable with their sexuality. They have also introduced alot of female characters into games like I said before. I think they are more appealing because its kind of a male bonding or hangout kind of thing. Males play multiplayer to show their dominance in the game that they are playing. Or they just play together to just have a good time. I feel that females don't have that dominance aspect to it, so maybe it doesn't attract them as much. i also feel that females think that video games are a waste of time. I cant tell you how much my sister makes fun of me for putting the microphone thing on your head for online gaming. I do believe in that last question of are men escaping reality. I think Video games are a way to do that. I can't steal a car and go postal on a town in real life, but I can in Grand Theft Auto. I can't play in the NFL, but Madden says I can. It gives us fulfillment that we can do something that will never really happen in our lifetime.
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ReplyDeleteEveryone knows how men are portrayed as buff in all sorts of video games and all women have large chests with tiny waists are in skimpy clothes. Yes, more men typically play more video games than women, but I don't think it's because of how the characters are. It's always been a part of our culture that boys play video games and girls are more into shopping and such. I think boys will always play more than girls. I don't think men treat women any differently because of video games. Video games are a guys way to escape reality when they're bored. It can make them feel good though to play the sports games when maybe they aren't so good in real life.
ReplyDeleteVideo games reflect what a “perfect” man or woman should ideally look like in real life. A woman is portrayed with a small waist and a big chest while a man is shown with large muscles. I think they use this look because truly everyone wants to look like that. Video games tend to attract more boys than girls due to their violence. Boys get a chance to take their anger out on video games instead of someone else. Ever since video games came out boys have been more prone to playing video games than girls. Society looks at video games more of a male thing, while a females would be more likely to go shopping. I don’t think boys play video games to fulfill a “perfect” role in society, but just to have fun and take a break from everything else going on in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of video games are based on gruesome, intense story lines that are placed in ravaged environments. Within this pre-defined arena of the virtual world created by the game, the idea that the strongest survive is apparent throughout. A perfect example of this can be seen in the popular video game series Gears of War. The game places a group of men in a war-torn earth facing a group of invading enemies. From the beginning of the game, it is apparent that the group of men aren't the average men we see today. Their bodies are almost twice the size of other characters in the game and their faces are beaten and scared to exemplify the already exaggerated idea of their toughness. This isn't by chance, but a way of allowing the player to attempt to merge their daily life into the over exaggerated game arena that they somewhat wish they were a part of. This allows them to feel the pressure of being in a war situation without having to worry about the actual loss of life. Video games have become a simulation software into situations that do not occur in an average person's daily life, so enabling the player to live out the situation as an over exaggerated man caters to the senses and dreams of video game players.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I do think that there are more male gamers than female gamers. I think that because the majority of the audience is male, there is more male representation in the characters of video games. It makes sense to have more males in video games if they are the primary people playing video games. The men and women in these games are both shown with exaggerated bodies to give the impression that they are strong and dominant. Since the object of a video game is to win, the characters are designed to look strong and as if they can do anything. In addition, I think these characters are all designed to look attractive in order to appeal to the people buying the games. One reason that the women are hyper-sexualized is to attract the large majority of people buying the video games, which would be the men. I do not like the way men and women are represented in video games because it gives the wrong message to the young people playing these games.
ReplyDeleteIn my perspective not all game are like this, although certain genre will market such sex appeal to grab audience. Usually these stereotypical “buff men and sexy women” you speak of is a self-projection of what we would want to be. Video games are supposed to draw you out of reality and immerse you into a different world. Although not all game portrays women and men this way, take for example the resident evil series, or sims, and so on. It will depend heavy on the general on the maker how the game is portrayed. What is in game does not necessary influence actions in real life. Most of us vent our stress and anger in video game there is however a small minority of people who cannot distinguish reality and video and that is where the real trouble comes in. I believe that there are more male gamer in certain area than female and vice versa. Take for example it is highly unlikely to see a guy in a hello kitty multi-massively role playing game and it is very unlikely to see a girl playing game geared toward guys. Games are like books and movie there are many genre. There isn’t a way to satisfy everyone hence there are varies genre to appeal to different people. I also believe that games are games and that they are nothing more than that but someone else might argue with me that there is more to it. But, to me games are just a way to vent stress and so forth.
ReplyDeleteWhile, since games are designed to entertain people, hyper-sexualized features are reasonable. Think about it. Why would we play video games and why it is so popular? From my perspective, we like video games because we want to relax ourselves and sometimes to find an escape from the real world.
ReplyDeleteSo the real problem is not that video games are exaggerating the boobs of women and muscles of men. No guess that game designers made these features to attract people. The question should be why people are amused by hyper-sexualized features? I consider the reasons as both hormones’ effect, which is totally physical reaction, and the influences from culture edification. Social problems are everywhere, no exception for video games. We build our consciousness by learning from the surrounding environment. So it’s hard to believe that hyper-sexualized video games will be popular in North Korea, where people are much more conservative than people in anywhere else, not now, not ever ( no offensive). America, on the other hand, is a place highly developed for a long time. People tend to relax and enjoy life. Hyper-sexualized video games are just a byproduct of society tendency.
I never thought about this question though I've been playing video games for like ten years or more. It is true that for most of the time characters are all hyper-sexualized in games and what is funny is that we all accept this without even notice. So let's think about the reason.
ReplyDeleteFrom my personal angle, it should be mainly attributed to the nature of video games. We play games for pleasure. Thus the game should be made to fit our aesthetic standard. Men are masculine and women are feminine thus we tend to accept the game design. Video games are generally classified into several main categories based on the plots and we may notice that video games are mostly made for guys. Role playing game, first person shooting, action game, fighting game, adventure game, real time strategy game, sports game and racing game are the most popular games and male players dominate those games. It's quite normal because women basically don't like violence and horror (stereotype?). Therefore designs of both plots and characters must satisfy male players’ appetite: they like roles they control (male characters mostly) to be handsome and fit and women appear in the game (if there are women) to be attractive. On the other hand, we can realize that girls are more and more participating on playing games only by looking at girls around us. Still, I don't think girl gamers will like character whose sex can not be distinguished at the first sight in a game. They also like beautiful girls and nice guys in the game. Therefore, no matter who are the players, as long as games are designed to please people, characters in video games tend to be hyper-sexualized.
Girls are supposedly made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. While guys are made of snakes, scabs, and scales. Video games today are designed for guys. In a way yes, they are meant to give guys that cannot fulfill a superior role in regular society, a superior role in fictional society. I have great respect for the men and women that are serving our country across the world. Call of Duty is the most well known war-like video game. I love playing that game because I can carry a gun, kill the enemy, call in airstrikes, basically do anything that I cannot, or don't the opportunity to do. Since video games are specified towards guys, most companies know what sell. They know we are not going to by a game where the end mission is to fall in love and live happily ever after, they know that lots of violence, sex, and dominance is going to sell. Like a lot of companies who come under fire for racy games say, its just business. And really that is exactly what it is. We are not forced to purchase or play video games, so if there is something that we do not like, we do not have to get it and be a part of it. What it comes down to at the end is how fun is the game? Was it worth sixty dollars to buy this game and waste multiple days and nights playing it? I personally do not buy a game just because the characters, especially the women are hyper sexualized. And let's be honest, thats what men and women like to see, is the opposite sex to the max. For guys, girls with perfect curves and tight butt and big boobs. For a girl, a guy with washboard abs, huge arms, and a big package. We can all deny it, but we know that its what we truly want in real life. We cannot run away from it with today's technology, so it is going to be around us at all times, and what we have to remember.....
ReplyDeleteits just a game.
Video games are an outlet for people to act and feel in ways they wouldn’t be able to normally. It seems logical then that gamers would take on personas and bodies they want but may not have. I think what needs to be considered is that video games actually do sell a way to act and be, just in an alternate reality. Gamers can find and be the person they want to be, the body, actions, and personality of their dreams. Some gamers want that reality to include scantily dressed women. This is why we see women portrayed this way. Our perception is that the only way to be sexy is in small clothes with big boobs and a thin waist. So maybe we need to consider that the real problem is our society’s view of perfection and happiness. We’ve become convinced that if we don’t look like those in the video games, commercials, music videos, and TV, we won’t be happy. Seems like the only way this hyper-sexualized alternate reality will ever change is if people start to have fantasies where they’re themselves, as normal average people, who can do and have it all.
ReplyDeleteMen in video games are always depicted as stereotypical "buff" men because that is what is attractive to the audience the game is intended for. The majority of video game players are boys aged preteen, to early twenties. Therefore, they have a desire to be like the characters in the games they play. Everyone wants to grow up big and strong, regardless of how practical it may be, because some people playing do not understand yet that that is impossible. Also the men in games are displayed as impractically buff because they are usually fighting someone or something and when fighting, the stronger you are the better. Lastly, for certain video games that this stereotype applies to, the characters are not actually human beings. Many of the characters are aliens or super-humans that do not actually exist and the video game makers are not implying that they exist. The situations created in most video games are the "ideal" situations meaning that the perfect man, who is big and strong, is fighting for and attempting to save, the perfect woman, who is thin and "sexy."
ReplyDeleteWhen a video game is made, its goal is to attract people to buy this game. In video games, people always want to find a status which is beyond the reality, such as to be a man with unrealistically large muscles, have the ability to jump from the top of the building without being hurt, and beat a whole army with oneself. Of course women will have the idols at the same time, having a hot body and super power, and thus a lot of characters who are obviously impossible to exist in the reality are created. Besides acting a character who is beyond the reality so much, the images in the video games is a vital joy. As a part of the images, characters should have an outstanding appearance, or a terrifying appearance which could let the charming appearances look more charming, in other words, they should never be normal. In the Heroes 6, a video game has been published recently, a lot of creatures, which are male in the past five editions, are showing with women’s appearance, both beautiful and terrifying. After all, video games are published in a commercial market, what they could do and should do is becoming more charming and satisfying, and often by a mean of attractive figure.
ReplyDeleteVideo games have always been a trend; and it has been known that men tend to play it more than women. and so to attract more females, i think they put in a lot of "hot" men with nice cut body so that they try out what the game is about and basically drool over the fictional figures. some goes for men; a good game just isn't the same without a slutty girl coming up and giving you the missions briefing or ruining your task with her mesmerizing looks. its just the way most games are built nowadays apart from a few like call of duty and first person shooter games. In call of duty, only men are illustrated, but that too with great abilities and tactics to destroy other men; another sort of empowerment over the other person of the same gender. with video games so common these days, of course almost every other child will have it, and watching these norms from when you were not even a teen, can really help you to believe that a "well built body" is the only acceptable thing in society, and everything else should be frowned upon.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of people who play video games are men, and I believe that women are always made to extremely attractive so they can sell more of them because most guys are going to be more interested in the game if it features gorgeous women.
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