An Investigation into the debates surrounding the objectification of female characters in gaming.

It is often stereotyped that it is men who are stereotyped as the “gamers” of the world as cultivated by constant broadcast advertisements from the institutions,  like from Game, IGN and Gamestation and a personal study proved my initial ideas that it is the majority of men that play the action/adventure etcetera. Does that mean that all female characters are designed with the male gender in mind? I’m a female gamer and although I may not fit with the hegemonic view of young women in society, I still exist in a niche community. When you look at female gaming characters we can see from their big boobs and little clothing (their iconography) that they are designed by men for men, whether they are independent or reliant on the male character, portraying them as heroes and desired objects. (Prop’s character roles)  

Lara Croft is one of the most iconic female roles in gaming history selling nearly eight million copies on its first two products.  Yet even its British, male producers (CORE Design) still objectify Lara Croft, this objectification could be the reason why the institution managed to sell so many products. The player can actually play Lara Croft in this outfit in the game, it is no special fan art add-on, and it is a feature built into the game itself.  This is again reinforcing cultivated and existing expectations of women in gaming. The large bust will not help her in battle, and she may advocate a strong and independent ideologies but she is unfortunately clichéd and designed for men. She has a thin yet curvy figure, two big guns and that big bust. It is no doubt that she was made to be both a male fantasy and a female role model. We know very little currently about the latest Tomb Raider game, but we do know that a young Lara Croft becomes a victim of rape. “Because, of course, women only develop emotional depth after being subjected to sexual violence.” Some theorists suggest that men actually enjoy scenes of rape, it gives “the male audience voyeuristic pleasure”  as said by Daniel Chandler. The fact that theory is suggesting that scenes of rape to male eye is enjoyable in new media products brings about the debate of what role do women really play in gaming.

Some statistics from the “Studying the Media”  theory book suggests that women are given film roles based on their physical attributes. It states that the slim, model or ‘ideal’ category was applied to 34% of women and only 11% of men, being attractive fitted the description for nearly 64% of women and 22% of males. Finally 21% of women were judged to be beautiful compared to a mere 4% of men who were judged. This suggests that in film women are being objectified long before games existed, and this is just a cultivated and accepted through generations of women in the media. This can also be applied in gaming roles as well, it is very rare to see a female gaming character with any physical distinctions (i.e. visible scars and tattoos) whereas a male character would be considered normal to have battle scars from previous adventures as it gives an enigma and past to the character making them seem more real. It tells us that women are always going to be considered beautiful and sexy to the creator’s eye which means that this character will become objectified by men, because in reality that is what they have designed for...that male fantasy. This theory is even proven in Tomb Raider’s “Angel of Darkness” where there is a brief scene in the middle of the game, where leading lady Lara Croft and her body becomes an icon for male fantasy. This scene includes Lara and an American male by the name of Kurtis Trent (a rumoured love interest for Lara), when in the Louvre Lara is confronted by Kurtis he provocatively unarms Lara of her “assets”. As well as attempting to touch her inappropriately, thus proving the male fantasy and brings up the debate of the objectification of women. It suggests that if the character is wearing more clothes then she must have a love interest to substitute for showing off her body. Through the objectification of women by the creators of the game they are therefore in theory creating more sales because they are giving their audiences what they want. A form of personal satisfaction and escape by providing them a fantasy and something to divert them from their problems – the uses and gratifications theory.

The most recent game franchise to feature a female support is “Uncharted” by Naughty Dog was first released in 2007 selling a total of 14.59million copies since it first began. There are two juxtaposed females in this series. First is Elena Fisher (Left) as the game progresses she learns how to handle herself in dangerous situations and has a suspected love interest for her companion and leading role Nathan Drake. Then there is Chloe Frazer, Elena’s opposite in every way, as you clearly see by just simply looking at the images. Elena stands with blonde hair and a white shirt which covers everything compared to Chloe whose shirt reveals both her cleavage and her waist. The representation of Chloe in this game fits into a more Freudian view of woman where they are referred to as “Scopophilia – the pleasure involved in looking at other people’s bodies as (particularly erotic) objects”  this relates to the debate because the Freudian view tells us how we like to look at different people, as if it is human nature. This therefore suggests that it is in fact acceptable to objectify both men and women because it is a part of human nature and therefore cannot be argued against as everyone does it. It continues informing us of being in dark cinema rooms where no one can notice you (the audience) noticing the women as a desired object, nothing more. Which leads me to think of the gamers in their own personal space, it would then be considered OK to look at women as this sexual object, as no one is around to tell you anything different, and again linking it back to the Freudian view it is also acceptable. As well as it being a form of cultivation theory as it is socially accepted! Then by a form of classical conditioning the player soon begins to believe that it is perfectly acceptable to think this way as no one else has told them any other opinion, and the creators encourage this kind of behaviour through creating these female game characters. With all these arguments supporting the objectification of women it is no wonder the creators of games, which involve women find it easy to create these female characters with a love interest in need of men or with very little left to the imagination.

Elena Fisher could be considered a more passive object to the fans as she displays herself as being more reliant on the male lead following typical female stereotypes. She is reliant on Drake as she had never fired a gun or even been placed in a life threatening situation, yet to Drake, Elena was someone who’s connections could be used to aid him; this then turned into a love interest. This makes Drake a typical Prop hero, Elena is his desired object. However, Elena still remained reliant on Drake as he became “protective”.  Another debate in gaming is how men are protective over their personal connection (in this case Elena) yet if we are introduced to a female character who can handle those situations that Elena cannot, that character in some aspects subverting what is hegemonic to the gaming community, relating to Judith Butler’s queer theory which suggests that gender should not become one fixed form in the media, that both men and women can be the same and women are not objectified as much, like men. Yet Chloe is objectified as the “rough” side, she has a bad side to her past, this would give the male members of the audience a more sexual release towards Chloe. Compare her to Elena and male audiences would want her for Elena’s innocence, Elena is a gentle subject who needs toughened up and that male audience is the target by the creators to do just exactly that as they progress through the game. Even if the creators haven’t made this tough love sexual, the way they have portrayed her innocence have made her a guilty, voyeuristic pleasure for male audiences.

This also relates to Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory. When researching the Male Gaze it talks about camera angles this can be considered in gaming as well as filming, in fact more so. This is because in gaming the producers can actually achieve camera angles which are deemed impossible or unsuitable for that particular scene. This can emphasise the character’s objectification through that single camera angle and make her more pleasurable. For example in gaming low angle shots which reveal a great deal to the audience about the woman’s personal assets which may have made actresses more uncomfortable. This follows Damien Walter’s views on how female gaming characters become a dark male fantasy. When a character breaks the fourth wall and stares into the eyes of “her” audience, the character would bring in McQuail’s theory as they feel as though the character is real, someone who they can relate to as well as be diverted to escape from their real life problems by solving her problems.

The Uses and Gratifications theory by McQuail suggests two forms of satisfaction with the gaming community, for the women it would be an attempt to find a sense of personal identity, whereas for the men it would most certainly be a form of entertainment, through relaxation and an escape from their real life problems. Damien Walter tells us the women in gaming would again provide their male audience with a fantasy. It is said by younger women that women are growing stronger in media and in reality as well and it is the media creating these stereotypes of women, as well as many others. When this was said, it was during the first release of Tomb Raider which changed the way women were depicted in leading, action roles. This suggests that women of this time felt more empowered as a new female leading role model came into the gaming community, but the debate still stands that women want to be like Lara and men want to have their alone for her own pleasures. This relates to an analysis by Helen W. Kennedy who is studying in the School of Cultural Studies in University of West of England. She tells us that “I still felt like, hey this is a representation of me, as myself, as a woman. In a game. How long have we waited for that?”  yet she was given an “aristocratic English accent” which made Lara more desirable because she seemed very traditional to her audience but her attitude allowed audiences to relate to her tough survival instincts in life and with that was typically rich, ergo she had a lot of connections that we as females still could not relate to. The analysis continues to say “Lara’s status as an object of sexual desire, a factor which the marketing/advertising of Tomb Raider was keen to reinforce” This again shows the male fantasy in the physical form reinforcing the objectifying of female characters. When it comes to the “Uncharted” franchise we can familiarise with the same story, allowing users to purchase game add-ons for the female characters which could be suggestive and provocative, therefore reinforcing McQuail’s theory as buyers have a sense of choice in their escape and can also seek personal identification through their costumes. This also brings up the debate as to why these types of costumes cannot be purchased for the male characters, where does the desire for those want to see male characters in provocative clothing.

 Finally we can also involve some liberal feminist thinking into the debate, radical feminism suggests that media reinforces the patriarchal society and restricts women’s opportunities in other areas in society. We are taught that men should be dominant over women, this can be considered true in female gaming as they are reliant on the man as earlier evidence has suggested. Liberal feminism accepts that women are still stereotyped but there is a change, as seen in the games more developed in the past fifteen years. Female characters are wearing more clothing and becoming more independent, these stereotypes will change over time and the media will reinforce the new cultivated stereotype as they change. When involving this into the debate these arguments can be reinforced, we can agree that we do live in a patriarchal society especially when it comes to gaming...”Uncharted” can prove this with the male lead as well as the male evil lead and the male love interest that they receive from their female companions. However enforcing liberal feminism and the young women mentioned earlier, we can see that there is a change in how we see women in this patriarchal society and how much stronger and more independent they are becoming in this society. We can also agree that it is being reinforced through the media again through the “Uncharted” franchise because of how supporting role Elena Fisher plays. Although feeble and the stereotypical stay at home woman in the beginning of the story she soon becomes stronger and independent before sooner or later not needing her leading man Drake advising her on what needs to be done but instead she tells him what needs to be done, because she is the second opinion and begins to command him.

In conclusion some theorists would agree that female characters are becoming stronger through their personality and spirit as well as less provocative , evidence clearly suggests that women are still objectified by men. Although women are wearing more, they are still created to have a beautiful look and have an evil side...or opposition and even become a subject of rape just to help the female character to develop emotional depth which shows the more provocative side of the institution (like Lara Croft’s new American creators Crystal Dynamics) through its products. However as said by the liberal feminists women are becoming stronger and more independent in the past fifteen years with the development of the “Tomb Raider” franchise and then onto the “Uncharted” franchise...media products that are reinforcing the new look to women in gaming.