The Vagina Effect: Portrayals of Women in Video Games

by Gabriel Shelnutt, COMMUNITY WRITER

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Editor's note: As someone who studied women's issues in college, I'm also sensitive to the ways that female characters are objectified in video games. Gabriel rightly points out that -- unlike male characters -- women are more likely to be the object of the camera instead of its subject. We talk about this issue every now and then, but when will gamers finally decide to take action and refuse to endorse such characterizations of women? -Rob

Tonight, I wiggled sticks and pressed buttons. Onscreen, a raven-haired Amazon pirouetted through a mind-boggling routine of strikes, feints, and lascivious pouts while demolishing hordes of angels and demons.

After killing the final demon with a special move that disintegrated her clothing and morphed her hair into a giant dragon, she licked a lollipop and winked at the screen. Just a few years ago I could dismiss this as silly fun, but now I'm not so sure.

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I work in a field that is awash in enough testosterone to breach the levees of the mighty Mississippi. I don't agree with most of what is said, but for sanity's sake I keep my arguments to myself as the constant barrage of "fag," "pussy," and other negatively feminizing language is unleashed daily.

But I have noticed that the more I am around that attitude, the more inured to it I become. Occasionally I find myself saying the same things without even realizing what's coming out of my mouth. If this is the result of being around a certain type of person for a few years, what kind of influence have years of objectification in gaming had on me?

As we continue to argue the merits of our medium as art on the level of great film or television, can we afford to be so calloused about how this affects -- or worse, alienates -- a rapidly growing segment of our community?

It's all about marketing. Over- or underweight guys who don't get laid -- they're our bread and butter. -Holden McNeil (Chasing Amy, 1997)

This quote may describe the comic book industry, but I feel the marketing departments of video game publishers once targeted the same, large cross-section of the gaming community -- I counted myself among them.

women-nes-samus Aspects of that legacy are still with us. Booth babes are the most egregious, but it's turtles all the way down from there. Don't kid yourself -- that cosplay post on Kotaku doesn't get 15,000 hits because guys are dying to see someone's rockin' Mario costume.

I used to give the attitude a pass because I know that's not how the majority of male gamers really feel. I often giggle as I listen to the players on Xbox Live -- who were calling me several variations of women's genitalia moments ago -- turn into perfect gentlemen the second my wife speaks up.

In a way, video games predated ass-kicking roles for women in film and television. Chun-Li and Cammy were knocking men out before it was cool to have tough, capable women in films. Samus Aran saved the universe the same year that Sigourney Weaver redefined bad ass. But Chun-Li did it in a miniskirt, Cammy decimated foes with Lycra up her crack, and you didn't know Aran was a woman until it was all over.

What are women supposed to think about our medium when the majority of our games are populated with scantily clad female characters portrayed in impossible physiques? We can argue that men are similarly endowed with bulging muscles and cleft chins, but I have yet to play a game where the camera lingers lovingly on a male character's generous package. The issue isn't that women in games are attractive; rather, the problem lies in the way that many are portrayed and viewed.

There are some bright spots. Alyx Vance in Half Life 2 and Elena Fisher from the Uncharted series were excellent characters portrayed in a non-objective fashion. But, again, they were relegated to sidekick status. If a female character is expected to lead the game, market wisdom dictates that she be bodacious.

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I know this is not likely to change soon, if ever. There will always be titles like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. You can argue that I might as well go to that beach and toss more sand in the sea. But if we expect female storytelling in our medium to advance beyond more realistically jiggling breasts, we need to find a way to support less objective characterizations of women.

Tags: Bayonetta, Half-Life 2, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Metroid, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Gender Issues, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball

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Brian Shirk

January 12, 2010

Nice article, Gabriel. I wonder if this portrayal of women is an influence on real life views of women as well. Whether it is or not, I think we're going to see developers continue to exaggerate sexuality in the near future though, since that appeals to a sizable segment of the current gaming audience.

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Pete Davison

January 12, 2010

I'm actually of the opinion that Bayonetta is far less exploitative than it first appears. The game reaches a point where the "sexiness" reaches such a level that it's not sexy any more, it just becomes part of the distinctive art style of the game. Bayonetta is not there to titillate, she's there as a distinctive, memorable lead character who is comfortable in her own sexuality and takes full advantage of her womanly attributes to get her own way. Look at how she interacts with Luka, who is a "ladies' man" character, but is constantly beaten down by Bayonetta's admonishments and teases. The whole experience of Bayonetta the game is ridiculous and "cartoonish" (for want of a better word) in a fabulously camp way, and would be so with a male protagonist just as much as with our long-legged witchy friend. Nothing in it is meant to be taken seriously, least of all Bayonetta herself. In short, if anyone starts objectifying women based on their experiences with Bayonetta, they clearly haven't met a real woman before. I think this subject is going to rage and rage, though. Ever since Leigh Alexander's article on GamePro and the numerous responses around the Internet, it's a big issue at the moment. Personally, I think arguably more is being made of it than there should be, as I don't think SEGA's intention with Bayonetta was to deliberately court controversy - rather, I believe it was to produce a heavily stylised game, and part of that stylising process was designing Bayonetta to be who she is. In other words... they're not Team Ninja. :)

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Gerard Delaney

January 13, 2010

Nice article, thanks for post Gabriel. Just on the point of your bright points I think you should give Mirror's Edge a look if you want to see a great character in Faith. She is a female but not overly objectified and is also Asian but not overly Orientalized either. Faith represents a strong character that is developed as a real person not as a piece of meat with dialogue. There are other plot elements regarding her interaction with other characters but I won't avoid spoilers by going into them.

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Jeffrey Sandlin

January 13, 2010

I actually wrote a sort of similar article to this as my first post on bitmob. I personally think you worry too much about the physical aspect. I don't think theirs anything specifically wrong with women being attractive in video games. It would be rather dull to have every woman in games be an asexual girl next door style character. I don't think we would want to see every male be an average looking everyman either. I think the big problem is the writing. If a woman is only their as eye candy you can tell it in how they are written, they are either completely secondary characters or potrayed as idiotic stereotypes. They certainly are never the most capable and interesting character in the game. Bayonetta, while certainly a sexual character, is by far the most idealized and impressive character in the game. She's completely unstoppably powerful and is in control of every conversation and situation except for with her rival, who is another woman and is just as idealized as her. I would personally not consider this sexist as the entire message this game seems to be getting across is 'wow...look at how much better women are then men.' and part of that is that women are more attractive. As far as bayonetta is concerned it is basically using stereotypes and gags about female sexuality as a language to make an over the top and ridiculous character that doesn't just rival dante from devil may cry, it blows the bastard out of the water. I personally can put aside enough of my white boy pervert guilt to appreciate that Bayonetta isn't a sexist work just because it's sexy. If you stop viewing women being attractive as a negative then a lot of gaming ends up seeming a lot less sexist. It's just when those women are treated as objects that are only to be saved and protected and screwed that you get a problem.

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Gabriel Shelnutt

January 13, 2010

I started the article off with a description of Bayonetta, but it wasn't my intention to base this article on that game specifically. Playing it was what put me in the frame of mind to write this article. I state that I don't mind women being attractive at all (far from it), but that the circumstances of the portrayal is what bothers me sometimes. This viewpoint wasn't borne of my own realization, but more from my wife's observations and conversations we have about the subject. She doesn't mind it, but she does ask interesting questions about how I would feel if it were a man portrayed in the same way. Seeing things through her eyes is what makes me start to question.

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Jeffrey Sandlin

January 13, 2010

*nod nod* it's all a very worthwhile thing to consider. I just sometimes feel like their is danger of the pendulum swinging too far the other way if people read to much into things. I fear for a world where women are potrayed as blandly as they are in TV dramas in games. Female gaming characters may not always be respectful but I appreciate that a much smaller percentage of them are downright boring. I personally just tend to not worry about how a female character is potrayed visually and worry more about the writing behind their character. This is probably because I'm an anime fan. In anime women are almost universally sex symbols, but they also are much much more prominent as lead roles and driving forces in storylines dispite being sexualized. It's a weird balance between sexism and progressive thinking Japan has settled into these days, not quite right but more interesting to me then Americans who largely regulate women to the background if they aren't showing of their breasts.

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Rob Savillo

January 14, 2010

Gabriel, you make an observation that I feel needs repeating: [quote]We can argue that men are similarly endowed with bulging muscles and cleft chins, but I have yet to play a game where the camera lingers lovingly on the male character's generous package.[/quote] This is important -- I can think of two big name games (Metal Gear Solid 4 and Resident Evil 5) which introduce a female character by focusing the camera on her ass. Male characters are never so overtly sexualized. But I do want to point out that video games weren't the first medium to challenge traditional gender roles -- in fact, your examples reveal the opposite of what you write. Sigourney Weaver played a strong female lead in Alien (1979), before Cameron's sequel. Additionally, that film was a [url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=173735]major influence[/url] on the Metroid's development. One could say that Samus Aran draws from Ripley as a character, not the other way around. (And, Aliens premired two months before Metroid was released in Japan and one year before the game's release in North America.)

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Gabriel Shelnutt

January 14, 2010

Thanks for your comments Rob(and editing). I was wary of the Samus/Aliens comparison, but to be fair I said it was "the same year", not before. As far as Sigourney Weaver in Alien, I felt that while she was a strong character it was more of a traditional role in an ensemble cast. We all become tough when running for our lives. It also wasn't until after Aliens that the role of the prototypical action heroine came into vogue, and even then it was many years later. But I can see your point either way, and I didn't know about the role's influence on Metroid. Very cool.

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Rob Savillo

January 14, 2010

I disagree completely -- Ripley has always been a strong female lead. In Alien, she asserted her authority when Ash disobeyed a direct order from her to keep Kane off the ship. She challenged Dallas' judgment as well. When people started dying around her, she keep herself together (in stark contrast to Lambert, who was literally in tears by that point) and lead the remaining crew in a plan she developed to get rid of the creature. Cameron built upon what Ridley Scott has begun, but in many ways injected his own feminization into the character (Ripley's sudden maternal instincts).

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Alex Gagne

January 14, 2010

One of the games that I find rarely mentioned when speaking about female characters in games is Medal of Honor: Underground for the PS1. In that game you play as a female character who is NEVER sexualized negatively, if at all. Part of that reason may be due to the game being an FPS, but she kicks just as much ass as any other male Medal of Honor character. So she is a female character that is the main protagonist and isn't objectified. The fact that she is a woman doesn't even seem to be used as a positive or negative trait, it is just a fact. Why aren't more feminists talking about this game? (I use the term feminist in a completely positive light. Just because I have a penis does not mean I am a chauvinist!)

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Gabriel Shelnutt

January 14, 2010

As I said before, I can see your point. But strong characterization and the actions you describe (asserting authority, calm in the face of tragedy) could apply to any number of female roles in cinema that predate Alien. My thought at the time of writing was the role of action heroine--fighting, shooting, badassery, etc. I agree with your views on Cameron's feminization of the character, but are feminine and tough mutually exclusive? I feel that aspect makes her an even more formidable character.

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Gabriel Shelnutt

January 14, 2010

@Alex--Bizarrely enough the option to play as a female is available in the testosterone-fest that is Tom Clancy's Rainbox Six: Vegas 2 as well.

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Chas Guidry

January 14, 2010

I think it's up to female game designers to rectify the image problem the video game industry has given women. Male designers can definitely do a lot more to create more realistic, less objectified female characters, but no matter how hard you try, I can't shake the feeling that a character is shallow if they're not created through some first-hand knowledge of who the character really is. I discussed the treatment of minority characters in games once before where the OP suggested that designers need to start injecting minority characters into games to bring about more equality in the medium, but to me, the moment you start treating a race or gender special just because of their race or gender, then you're doing so for dishonest reasons. It'll take time, but what we need is more diversity in our video game development teams. When we have more people from different walks of life at the helm, we'll see that come through in their games.

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Bryan Harper

January 14, 2010

It's a noble cause, but women not being objectified in games anymore? Just about as likely as the pornography industry going out of business; if there's a market for it, it will be done. We're not just talking about America here.

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Joe Ganis

January 14, 2010

There is a game for you Gabriel, it's called Saint's Row 2. Make any character you want; male, female or something in between. You can set up your character any way you want while still following a good story. You should check it out.

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Juan Letona

January 14, 2010

Jameson Cameron always have "tough" woman in his movies, characters from Aliens to Terminator to Dark Angel and Avatar. In his movies we have seen, two bad ass Latina warriors, Ripley, Sarah Connor, Max Guevara and Neytiri. Bayonetta's lead does not match hardly matches up well with other strong female characters. I do doubt Bayonetta to have a long lasting effect on woman in games, porportions of a Barbie doll is never sexy.

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Gabriel Shelnutt

January 14, 2010

@Joe I've played Saint's Row 2. It's a great game. This article was more about the portrayal of female characters rather than the gender of an avatar in a gender-neutral game. Thanks for the recommendation though!

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Jason Galm

January 14, 2010

This is gonna sound odd, but I read a really good article. Well as far as what her view point was that Bayonetta's design is very similar to Dante's Design from DMC1. Over the top, and so far from reality it is not funny. Would it have been sexiest if She was realistically designed and demure? Maybe not wearing her hair as a cat suit.

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Alex Gagne

January 15, 2010

[quote]@Alex--Bizarrely enough the option to play as a female is available in the testosterone-fest that is Tom Clancy's Rainbox Six: Vegas 2 as well. [/quote] Yeah, same with Metal Gear Online. That is really just a change to the voice and the avatar, it does not really factor into the story. I thought Medal of Honor Underground is an interesting example because the character is female in the story, and you can't just change the gender to suit what you like. She is a woman, nomatter what. I should probably mention the two main characters in Portal, as well...

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Aaron Betts

January 15, 2010

One of my all time favorite games Oni (made by the halo people ironically) featured a strong female lead who kicked many an ass and did so in practical non-sexualized attire. Despite being an anime character she had realistic proportions too. Its sad that its the only game I've really enjoyed that had a female lead of its type. I really don't understand why so few developers bother making games with female leads. Why is it considered so unmarketable? If I had to guess the issue lies more with publishers and less with developers. The male space marine can be marketed, the female space marine can not, though whenever the question is asked why, no one has a decent answer. Its all straight up bs if you ask me.

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Matthew Collings

January 15, 2010

In an era where people expect and demand equal you have to take the good with the bad. Both sexes are objectified and stereotyped in ridiculous ways, there's no point getting bent out of shape about it. I for one agree with the article (I'm VERY sorry I don't remember who wrote it or where I read it) that pointed out that Bayonetta is not a character who is trivialized or portrayed as weak. She's kicking butt AND being feminine. The author who wrote the article loved it because it wasn't just a female lead who was doing what a guy could, she was doing what a guy couldn't too.

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Antonio L. Burch

January 15, 2010

I cannot say I am not guilty of viewing women in videogames in an objectionable manner,however I see most women as marvelous pieces of art that should be treated as an equal and respectfully.More so,I see the radiance of the character's personality as a standing point to finding them attractive more prominently than their sex appeal.I agree women in all mediums,and not just in videogames,should be portrayed abit better for who their are and not their "assets",and giving them more prominent roles by giving them strong characterizations of who and what they aspire to be beyond being depicted as eye candy.

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Gabriel Shelnutt

January 15, 2010

@Matthew "Both sexes are objectified and stereotyped in ridiculous ways, there's no point getting bent out of shape about it." Really? So you wouldn't feel kind of weird if the next Hugh Jackman movie featured long, slow shots of his crotch or close ups of him licking his lips? If so, then you're more man than I. But we expect our wives and girlfriends to see it as completely acceptable when Michael Bay stalker zooms in just short of a rectal exam of Megan Fox. Rob mentions above 2 games he's played *this year* that introduced female characters with an ass shot. I don't know what you're watching, but from what I've seen it's not the same.

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Not Here

January 15, 2010

One thing that really gets me is when a woman is a "strong" lead, but she doesn't do what the men can do. Instead of kicking butt and working hard, they have to be conniving or use their sexuality to get their way. (This seems to be more common in other media, not games.) At least in a video game my female avatar can do what the male avatar can do.

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Allistair Everett

January 15, 2010

WHERE ARE THE VAGINAS, BRAH? [img]http://media.photobucket.com/image/stoked/asanfo2/quinn-stoked.jpg[/img]

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Gabriel Shelnutt

January 16, 2010

@Alistair: I can argue all day, but nothing proves my point more than yours. Thank you.

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Hana Chappell

January 17, 2010

I think the portrayal of female game characters as little more than then sexual objects is related to the self-fulfilling prophecy that only young men are playing video games. While there are places for characters like Bayonetta that are cast in the sexual fantasy role, she needs to be balanced out by characters like Beyond Good and Evil's Jade. The demographics of gaming are starting to change to include many more girls and women, and eventually this change will be seen in the kind of protagonists we see.

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Michael Lenoch

January 17, 2010

This is the reason I will most likely never purchase this and any Grand Theft Auto game -- I personally do not feel comfortable with overt sexual themes. Don't get me wrong, I can deal with sex -- in fact, in modern media, whatever sector, you name it, has a substantial quotient of what would be considered sexual advertisement or otherwise content. So I am certianly well acclimated to sexual themes, it's just that when a piece of media goes far and beyond any level of sexual themes that are seen as appropriate for public consumption is when I may begin to be revolted. For example, the implied sexuality in something like Metal Gear Solid 3 is fine with me. But something like Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball simply crosses the line for me.