It seems that 2011's hot button issue is the depiction of women in gaming. Whether it be that they seem dependant on a strong man, lack depth, or look like Victoria Secret models with bowling balls shoved down their shirts . . . it seems that people tearing apart how females are portrayed. And to an extent, I'm with them; women are portrayed unequally in gaming.
But instead of citing all the instances at which this has occurred and bemoaning the fact that sexism happens . . . I'd like to look at WHY it happens. Similar to cigarettes and Jersey Shore, I believe that dubious products/practices become popular for a valid reason. I think following sexism for the beginning could do that.
A Prince Rescues a Princess
Pretty much every fairytale we have ever encountered as children involves a man rescuing a woman; Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, even Cinderella went through a lot of trouble to snag a man she barely knew. We may have not understood the implications when we were children, but it set the stage for what video game adventures entailed.
Mario and Zelda, two of the most heralded adventures of early gaming, have this stereotype down to a T. The one obvious exception to this is Samus Aran, who shocked the world by revealing she was a female. Yet the only example of a strong female lead had no dialogue of her own, and spent 99% of the game in unisex power armor. As these franchises entered the current generation, they kept those practices to keep the story and plot canonical.
As future games tried to capitalize on established franchises' success, I believe they unintentionally copied gender biases already present. There's no definitive way to prove it, but it makes sense if you think about it. What if Doom and Quake had female protagonists? Or if Zelda was forced to save Link over and over again. I firmly believe that we would have more female leads in FPS and adventure games.
I am Man, Hear me Roar
As crass as it sounds, sex sells.
Not to be biased, but I firmly believe men are still the primary audience of the games industry. There is a reason that there are no male equivalents to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and Leisure Suite Larry. More and more women are gaming, but I don't think I'm being inaccurate when I say that men make up the majority of people who sink over 100 hours into Gears of War or Call of Duty.
To put it bluntly, making the majority of NPCs in games attractive/sexually provocative sells more than people may think. I remember playing the first Mass Effect and commenting to my friend how ugly Ashley Williams, the only female human love interest, was. I also remember how delighted I was that Miranda Lawson, the female human love interest of the second game, was modeled after Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker from Chuck).
I bought the 2nd Mass Effect because I legitimately loved the first game and was counting down for the sequel. But I KNOW there are people who were debating buying the 2nd Mass Effect before reading that Miranda Lawson was modeled after a woman who ranked #77 on Maxim's Hot 100 (yay Wikipedia).
They may be few and far in between, but every sale counts.
It's Wrong, But is it a Big Problem?
On principal, the depiction of women in games is definitely wrong. But is it actually a problem?
The games that actually depict women only as sex objects and nothing else are truly rare. They are limited to games such as X-Blades, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and Wet. None of these games have enjoyed critical or commercial success. Until Guardian of the Light, even Tomb Raider had become a joke in the gaming community. The one exception to this rule is Bayonetta, but it was lauded only for its gameplay while its hypersexualization has been mocked mercilessly.
This means that most games fall into the area of giving women a background role in games rather than outright exploiting them. I personally don't believe it's much of a problem, and here's why.
Let me pose a few questions to men.
Raise your hand if, after playing video games, you have come to value women less. Raise your hand if, after saving Zelda again and again, you've come to feel that you are the one that has to be in control in a relationship. Hell, do any of you find most women unattractive even after playing a game like Bayonetta?
I have faith that the majority of males answered no to every one of those questions.
I use video games as an escape; between balancing my job and a rigorous pre-med class schedule, my Xbox 360 all but dissolves the stress from my life. Would I refuse to buy my favorite games because of philosophical implications that don't affect my real life view of women?
The answer is a resounding: HELL. NO.
The Solution
The answer that will have the biggest long term gains is, simply put, have more women play video games. Customers control the market, so simple math dictates that more female customers will create more video games geared towards women. This will undoubtedly lead to big budget games with deep, strong willed female leads with sexy males standing in the sidelines. Honestly, the framework has already been set. Just look at some of the males in gaming today.
Resident Evil 5's Chris Redfield is a rugged, handsome soldier with biceps that would need surgical intervention to achieve. Devil May Cry's Dante is impossibly cool, collected, with flyaway hair and unbelievable marksmanship. Nathan Drake maintains a perfect 5 o' clock shadow and sculpted hair no matter how long he remains out in the wilderness.
If those games were all catering to women, it's actually quite easy to see the aforementioned characters pushed into the background to make way for strong female leads while women gamers enjoyed the handsome NPCs dancing around in the background.
I'm not saying we don't have a problem here. I'm just saying we have an easy solution.
