Women and Videogames: blog task

 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 have traditionally been represented in videogames as "the damsel in distress" and this perpetuated through sexism, heteronomativity, and misrepresentation in many video games. 

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

The percentage of gamers that are women would be 42%.

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

The recent games that have signaled a change in the industry would be "Tomb Raider, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and The Walking Dead series", and the qualities that the female protagonists offer would be strong, intelligent, willful and compassion, they would be seen characters for real women.

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

I would say yes to an extent because if audiences feel as though they're being stereotyped or misrepresented in the media product they consume they would automatically dislike which would affect their sales and bring a bad image to the company. 

However, a rebuttal point would be that it depends on how the character is portrayed and how the media product makes the audience feel.

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

The writer has suggested that the video game writer Rhianna Pratchett for the development of the latest Lara Croft character for Tomb Raider. This is because the rebooted model gave Lara croft a story which captured the struggle within herself and represented women in a modern way. 

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 the video: 

Sinister seductress 

100-word summary: 

In this video, Ms. Sarkeesian talks about how video-games use feminity as a trait that would be considered repulsive, this means that the characters/villains the protagonist must defeat are seen as unsettling as killing them is a gateway to success into the new chapter in the game. The example given would be from DOOM 3, as one of the monsters from hell that the protagonist must defeat is "the vagary" who had the upper half of a naked woman and the lower half of a giant spider who is pregnant with a demon fetus. This blends female sexuality and fertility with elements of horror and disgust. 

Part 3: Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview


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.

The reaction that was received when she published her videos on women in video-games was pretty bad in terms of harassment, hate comments, death/rape threats. 

2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism?

She would summarise feminism as being seen as the "Very core it's really about working towards the equal treatment of women socially, culturally, institutionally and economically"

3) Why do stories matter?

Stories matter because the narrative they portray is what humans make sense of the world and what we collectively learn from each-other. Each message carries myths and messages that will be perceived into the world by many as either somewhat fact or fiction.

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

Sarkeesian's view on Lara Croft and Samus Aran would be even though Lara Croft is seen as a independent and capable she is still objectified for the pleasure of men. 

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

The video-game industry has changed with regards to the representation of women through more female characters and those characters playing protagonists. 

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

They are held as examples of more progressive representation for women because they portray women as they both have strong and they're women of colour that are protagonists.

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

The qualities for these female characters would be to avoid any gender stereotypes and clinches. 

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

The impact that the male-dominated has on video-games would be that they create the narrative for characters which can be the reason for the portrayal of women. This means that the means for change would depend on having women working on these female characters for the games. 

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

Sarkeesian hope to achieve media literacy and think critically in the video-games audiences consume.

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

The media debates she hoped to spark with the video series would be to point out problematic representations in video games regarding any gender, race and ethnicity.