Sexism and the videogame

Video games are predominantly male authored and oriented, in terms of the games that companies produce, the plots and points of view, and the sex of the players themselves. This has given rise to the idea that sexism is rife within the gaming sphere. It is true that sexism exists in virtually every facet of society, and video games are no different: games have not enhanced sexism but have simply adopted elements of it that exist within society and the media. In this sense, I have seen examples of blatant sexism and subordination of women in several games. The old Duke Nukem game that was released in 1996 is a prime example. The player has the option to hand strippers cash and Duke Nukem is heard to say “shake it baby,” etc. These are the only females that appear in the game and it is this portrayal of women that I find to be a real cause for concern. Nowadays, however, things are more complicated. Perhaps the most popular and well known female character in the gaming world is Lara Croft in ‘Tomb Raider’. She is a puzzle for all simplistic perspectives, because she is both sexual object and active and even aggressive main character. That contradiction is hard to address. So on the one hand, Lara Croft epitomizes everything that is conventionally considered attractive in women, from having large breasts to a perfectly shaped body. That makes her more similar to, say, Hercules, who is also scantily clad and epitomizes the perception of the ‘perfect male form.’ On the other hand, Lara Croft is independent and far from subordinate. She does not fit the mould predicted by Yi Mou and Wei Peng in “Gender and Racial Stereotypes in Popular Video Games,” in which they write that women are usually perceived as subordinate and passive dependent to men, with sexual relationships as central in life.” At the same time, her physical appearance is designed to convey the idea that she is a ‘sex object.’ Finally, what becomes even more complicated is that Croft is an avatar of a male player, who is both looking at her and gaming with her. What do we make of that?