Videogames: Women in videogames & further Feminist theory

Part 1: Reading - Is Female Representation in Video Games Finally Changing?

Read this short Medium feature on whether female representation in videogames is finally changing. Answer the following questions:

1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames and what percentage of the video game audience is female?

Traditionally women have been objectified and represented as 'damsels in distress' in videogames. 42% of females are gamers. 

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

The Walking Dead series, The Last Of Us, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Tomb Raider. 

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

I would agree with this idea to a certain extent as certain gamers may feel offended if the portrayal of them and their culture is misrepresented and will reject this media product however, certain gamers may care more about the actual gameplay the videogame has to offer rather than the representation of characters/other things within the game. 

And now read this short Protocol feature on Anita Sarkeesian's talk to the Game Developers Conference in 2022. This covered the progress in gender representation in videogames and references Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West. Answer the following questions:

1) How does Sarkeesian say things have changed in the videogames industry in the last 10 years? 

Sarkeesian talks about how much and how little gaming has changed over the years, she also mentions how feminist voices in the gaming media and criticism has succeeded in holding companies and fans accountable for their behaviour. 

2) Why is gaming still male dominated? Make sure your answer here includes the statistics quoted in the article. 

-There is a lot of harassment in the gaming industry- 38% of respondents said that their company reached out to speak out about sexism, discrimination and harassment.

-Gaming studios mainly have male employees, only 24% of staff are females. 

3) How has the conversation shifted on representation in videogames? 

That it is extremely significant to improve representations in videogames, to combat sexism, talk about abuse behind closed doors in industries. Sarkeesian also mentions that it would be a 'nightmare for gamers if developers tell stories about women as real human beings.'

Part 2: Further Feminist Theory: Media Factsheet

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or here using your Greenford Google login. Find Media Factsheet #169 Further Feminist Theory, read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?

Feminism- A movement which aims for equality for women, to be treated as equal to men socially, economically and politically. It is not there for 'hating' men or suggesting that women are superior. 

Patriarchy- Male dominance in society. 

2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?

She had identified a lack of diversity within the feminist movement, and argued that these diverse voices had been marginalised, being put outside the main body of feminism.

3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?

Here hooks argues that feminism’s goal to make all women equal to men is flawed; not all men are equal to men as a result of oppression, sexuality, ethnicity. hooks used her work to offer a more inclusive feminists theory that advocated for women within a sisterhood to acknowledging and accepting their differences. hooks challenged feminists to consider gender’s relation to sex, race,

class and intersectionality.

4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?

Intersectionality is used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. Multiple identities intersect to create a whole that is different from separate component identities. These include gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental and physical illness. bell hooks argues that experiences of class, gender, sexuality etc cannot be completely understood if the influences of racialisation are not considered. hooks argues that understanding intersectionality is vital

to gaining political and social equality and improving our democratic system.

5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?

van Zoonen concluded that there is a strong relationship between gender and communication but it is also the mass media that leads to much of the observable gender identity structures in advertising, film and TV.

6) Liesbet van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which other media theorist we have studied does this link to?

Gender being seen as socially constructed means “the conditions and the forms in which meaning and value are structured and articulated within a society.”

7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?

For many years, feminists have criticised women’s magazines as commercial sites of exaggerated femininity which serve to pull women into a consumer culture on the promise that the products they buy will alleviate their own bodily insecurities and low self-esteem. But it is difficult, when applying a feminist perspective, to reconcile the pleasure women get from consuming women’s magazines, and the political correctness surrounding hegemonic constructions of gender identities. Van Zoonen argues that women’s magazines mediate images that tell women “how to be a perfect mother, lover, wife, homemaker, glamorous accessory, secretary – whatever suits the needs of the system”.

8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas gender ideas can evolve over time. Which other media theorist we have studied argues things evolve over time and do you agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change? Can you suggest examples to support your view?

Gauntlett also talks about things evolving over time. I agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change as more likely now we see independent women who have no children focusing on their careers and men becoming stay at home dads therefore gender roles being reversed. In addition, there is more acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community within the media now. 

9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?

-Whether the institution is commercial or public

-The platform upon which they operate (print versus digital media)

-Genre (drama versus news)

-Target audiences

-The place the media text holds within the audiences’ daily lives

10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?

Stuart's Hall reception theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings. 

11) Van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’. She suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. What other theory and idea (that we have studied recently) can this be linked to?

This could be linked to bell hooks theory of women in lower classes who are also women of colour are more oppressed compared to white, upper class women. 

12) Finally, van Zoonen has built on the work of bell hooks by exploring power and feminism. She suggests that power is not a binary male/female issue but reflects the “multiplicity of relations of subordination”. How does this link to bell hooks?

This links to bell hooks intersectionality as it links to the fact that feminism has to be looked at many other different aspects than just gender such as age, social class, race, ethnicity, religion and nationality etc.