Videogames: Women in videogames & Further feminist theory

 Women and videogames: blog tasks

Work through the following blog tasks to complete our work on women in videogames and 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?

Historically, women have been portrayed in video games as either sexualized objects or damsels in distress roles that are conventional and restrictive.

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

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

Though not all of them, I believe that women will be the majority of those who reject media items due to misrepresentations.

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? 

GDC She believes that feminist voices in gaming criticism and media have been successful in making developers, publishers, and gamers answerable for their actions while also bringing about significant changes to the way women are portrayed in the industry and how games are created.

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

Although there are historical reasons for men's dominance in the video game industry and gaming culture, there are also other factors at play. 

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

Yet increasing representation is only the first step. According to Sarkeesian, it's critical to identify and address instances of sexism and harassment that occur in gaming studios of all sizes behind closed doors.

Part 2: Further Feminist Theory: Media Factsheet

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

The feminist movement promotes women's equality in the social, political, and economic spheres.

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

She claimed that these varied views had been suppressed and excluded from the core of feminism since she had noticed a lack of variety within the movement.

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

Bell Hooks emphasises that not all men are equal because of things like oppression, sexual orientation, and ethnicity, opposing the classic feminist objective of making all women equal to men.

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

When social identities overlap or intersect with associated oppressive, dominating, or discriminatory structures, it is referred to as intersectionality. It means that different identities come together to form a totality that is distinct from its individual parts.

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

Van Zoonen draws a direct connection between gender norms and the media, emphasising the ways in which the media shape observable gender identity structures in TV, movies, and advertisements. 

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?

Van Zoonen asserts that "gender is a, if not the, crucial component of culture," especially when examining how meanings are produced through mass media.

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

Women's lifestyle periodicals are seen differently by feminists. These periodicals may come under fire from some who see them as commercial platforms that promote too feminine ideals and draw women into the consumer culture. 

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?

In France during the 1800s, pink was associated with femininity and blue with masculine. But in the eighteenth century, a pink silk suit was considered proper wear for a gentleman.

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

Van Zoonen talks about communication transmission models in which media messages depict women as being oppressed by the dominant culture. This concept is related to the Marxist idea of false consciousness.

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

Stuart Hall

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?

There's a connection between this concept and Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory. Mulvey contends that women frequently passively consume media created from a male perspective, and the transmission model supports this claim.

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?