Gender Bias in Games

http://www.slis.indiana.edu/research/working_papers/files/SLISWP-03-05.pdf

This is a study by Anna M. Martinson from Indiana University regarding gender bias in games. She attempts to explain the general male proclivity and female indifference towards video games and proposes ways to expose girls to games in ways they would enjoy. Martinson believes that video games have always been considered a male domain, and therefore women are underrepresented in every aspect of game design. Some of the examples she gives include the ridiculous ways in which female characters are often portrayed in games in terms of physical proportions and clothing selection, and the often pathetic, background roles they are given. She also claims that since game designers are mostly white, middle-class males, they unintentionally design games with themselves as the target audience. Finally, she explains how girls may look for different things in games than do boys, and that the current game market does not have much to offer to girls. Some of the things she lists as desirable to female players are “a creative component, … female player-controlled characters, realistic setting, positive, unsolicited feedback, slow or variable pace, predictable rules, clear explanation of rules, absence of violence, absence of killing, absence of evil characters” (page 15). Most of these factors are absent from most games on the market, especially the complete absence of violence, and creative component. Martinson concludes that much like sports, video games, once a male-dominated domain, could become more equal and enjoyable to both sexes, if more games are made with women in mind.

I agree with the author that most of today’s games are not made for women. Even though many games now have important female characters, and most MMORPGs and other open-ended RPGs which allow the player to make their own character have options to make characters male or female, the games’ content is generally more male-oriented. Most games are heavy in combat and competitive elements, and lack creative elements or realistic settings. There are, however, games that fit Martinson’s requirements on the market. For example, the Sims has just about everything she wants in a game. Other games, such as Final Fantasy X-2 revolve around female heroines who are anything but helpless and pathetic (though as a side note, I was only able to endure about 10 minutes of the game as it was far too feminine for my tastes, and I don’t think this is what Martinson is aiming for). Furthermore, of the girls I know, the vast majority never played video games when they were young, and it is a lot harder to pick something up and be good at it if you did not do it from an early age. I spoke with two female friends before writing this entry to ask their opinion on games. Both replied with virtually identical answers: they thought video games were cool, but had never played them when they were young and therefore were not good enough at them to really enjoy the experience. Conversely, almost every male of my age group that I know played video games from the time they were in elementary school (even though some stopped a long time ago). I believe that as time goes on and computers and video game consoles become more common household items and less of a male-only activity, there will be an increasing number of female gamers and female game designers, which in turn will bring about an increase of female-oriented video games.