Evaluation

I started this project with a couple of expectations; I expected to see a trend in male characters being depicted as the dominant, strong, heroes while female characters were depicted on the whole as far more passive, reliant and helpless supporting roles. Throughout my research these archetypes did seem to appear quite commonly.

When reading other peoples views on the representations of the genders in digital games most of the discussion was pertaining to the sexist connotations of the gender representations. I myself was always more inclined to agree with those that said digital games were sexist, particularly pertaining to their representation of women. Upon reading what Mark Marrow and Jon Wood had to say, I am now more inclined to agree that there is definately an "ideal" shown in a lot of game characters, quite often oriented around sexy or heroic characters. These ideals can sometimes be seen as sexist in their depiction, but it is not only women who are displayed thus, men are too and if the game is one oriented around high action then these types of characters are more likely to be in those situations anyway.

Ultimately I think that the representation of men and women in digital games is very similar to the depiction of men and women in cinema. Cinema has had around a century now to become a widely accepted and available media and the ways in which men and women have been depicted has changed with the fashions and trends of the times but seems to have always had some consistent themes of representation within it.
Games on the other hand are a far newer media, with not even half a century of history behind them. Their development, visually in particular has advanced rapidly over the last few years and so we've been able to produce better quality, more realistic looking characters. A lot of these characters fit similar archetypes to those that appear in cinema, but with a game we have the freedom to customise the appearance of the characters far more than we can with actors. This seems to have resulted in far more "idealised" representations of men and women.

I feel it is this ability to create a character to our exact specifications, and it's application in making these "ideal" characters, along with the relative age of digital games which contributes to the views that games do not fairly represent men and women. As games become more widely accepted in mainstream culture and society, perhaps our views of the representation of men and women will change, or perhaps game developers will pay more attention to other areas of the games and not focus on having such "idealised" characters.
Either way, I see little difference to the way men and women are represented in games as they are in other medias, we merely have more say on the specifics of the characters we create than the actors we have to choose from to adopt a persona in a film for example.

Game Box Art

A look at some more box art from games.

http://sonzero.com/news/wp-content/uploads/resident-evil-5-box-art.jpg

This is the box art for Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, 2009), it shows the two main characters standing back to back, guns raised and at the ready.
The predominant male archetype is very obvious here, the man has a very seroius face and a very muscular build made all the more obvious in the way he holds his gun, flexing his arm.
The woman is depicted in a rather confident manner, standing back to back with the man, with a very large gun at the ready, she has a rather confident expression and stance. This is a change from the common archetype of women being dependent on the male leads for help, she is shown here to be aiding the man, standing back to back to cover each other, rather than standing behind him, peering over his shoulder to see if it's safe.

http://loot-ninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/folklore-box-art.jpg

The box art from Folklore (SCEI, 2007) shows a collection of character, with the two main characters in the foreground.
The main male character to the right of the image is tall and well dressed, if a little untidy. His clothes make it a little tricky to determine his physical build, but I would say he appears to be rather slim. He has a very defined jaw and a slight grin on his face, overall appearing quite comfortable and at ease.
The main female character in the bottom left of the image appears to be a relatively young girl, she seems shorter than all the other characters, possibly mainly due to her positioning relative to the other characters. She has a rather round face and large eyes, adding to the image of a young, innocent girl. She seems to be wearing very casual clothes, suited to spending time outdoors.
The characters depicted here don't adhere as strongly to the archetypes we've seen in previous game characters, there seems to be little, if any, attempt to use sex appeal and neither of them seem particularly heroic or daring. The only similarities to the previously seen archetypes here may be that we see a confident, at ease male role with a young, innocent female role, possibly implying that, due to her youth and inexperience that the older, wisened man will be required to help her along her way.
A lot of this image seems to draw your attention to the creatures in the background and the world they are in, more so than the characters themselves. The focus of this game may be more on the setting and the strange inhabitants thereof rather than on daring, strong, epic heroes.

Perhaps the representation of characters within games is somewhat dependent on the games context or genre. High action games have more demand for muscle bound, gun toting characters be they male or female, more laid back and relaxed games have less need for these sorts of main characters and so these archetypes are not used.
If this is the case, then the male and female archetypes we have seen of the strong heroic male and sexy independent female may only seem so dominant due to a lot of high action games being produced rather than a concious choice to display the characters in this way regardless of the game.

Representation of the Genders and Sexism

Computer games are often criticized as being sexist.

"Are games sexist? Personally, I don't think there can be any dispute - they almost certainly are. On one level, this is hardly a surprising revelation; after all, games are toys made predominantly by boys for boys."

Leigh, Chris. "Roundtable - Sexism and Video Games". http://palgn.com.au/7234/roundtable-sexism-and-video-games/

A lot of the criticism is about the way women are often portrayed, as we've seen there appears to be a certain emphasis on sex appeal in some games, but we've also seen a similar emphasis in more recent cinema which is criticized less.

"I think that sexism is a really tough subject to define in video games, and one that people generally misperceive as being offensive despite games presenting various art forms that have been acceptable way before gaming begun. In some cases, many people feel that having females in revealing clothing is in one part sexist, but honestly it is merely an art form, and a way of showing the beauty of the human body. I think there’s a point where you can portray females as being sexy and not hurting their representation compared to how females are dressed in a way to be considered objects for viewing pleasure. "

Marrow, Mark. "Roundtable - Sexism and Video Games". http://palgn.com.au/7234/roundtable-sexism-and-video-games/

Perhaps games receive more criticism due to the developers ability to create the characters in any form they want and they often choose to create characters which match certain archetypes or "ideals". If this is the case, wouldn't male characters be just as "idealised" as female characters, and if so, would this not mean that men and women are represented in a sexist manner equally?

"the last time I logged into an MMO to make my character, I realized something. There are actually two sides to this coin. Yes, the female characters are all stereotypes of perfection. What really got me thinking was the fact that the male avatars weren't really any different.

Society worships the "ideal woman", but it also values an "ideal man". The ideal man, as it turns out is tall with well defined features, generally broad shoulders and a muscular body. Each and every one of my male options, much like the female options presented to players, was some kind of version of this ideal man.

What does this mean? I'm certainly not saying that women aren't victims of yet another unrealistic representation, but I am saying that men are just as much the victim. I'm also saying that we might want to re-examine the way that we think about this issue."

Wood, Jon. "Sexism in MMORPGs". http://home.nestor.minsk.by/game/news/2006/11/2305.html

Iconic Games and Their Lead Characters.

I'm now going to look at two games which have been very popular within gaming culture and are also widely known outside of game culture.
I will be looking at the box art for these games and how the characters are presented aswell as looking at movie posters for films adapted from the two games.

The first of these games is Doom (id Software, 1993).




















Game Image.
Film Image.

In both the image from the game Doom and from the film (Universal Pictures, 2005) we can immediately see an obvious continuation of the male archetypes we saw in movie posters from throughout the 20th century. The men in these images are depicted as gun wielding, muscular, assertive figures. In the game image in particular we can see the main character shooting at a monster with a fist clenched, his shirt ripped open to reveal a wound he seems rather unconcerned about and a very courageous expression on his face, shouting at the monsters as he shoots at them.

The second of these games is Tomb Raider (Eidos Interactive, 1996).




















Game Image.
Film Image.

The images here from both the game and the film (Paramount Pictures, 2001) are very similar. They depict the main character, Lara Croft, standing with her guns by her sides in her trademark outfit vest top and shorts. This seems to be somewhat of a change from the previously seen female archetypes in movie posters, the woman here is depicted as a strong, independent and assertive character. Her stance is confident, she has the means to protect and look after herself and doesn't appear worried or scared, but confident. There still seems to be a large emphasis on sex appeal which we saw emerging more and more throughout the 20th century in the movie posters, her clothes are tight fitting, showing off her figure, which is somewhat idealised to a desirable form.

So it would seem that some of the archetypes and trends of representation have certainly been carried over into games, particularly that of the male character. The female character still seems to retain an emphasis of sex appeal but the emphasis on a passive, reliant woman seem to have diminished as the female is being presented as the hero of the game rather than a supporting character for a male protagonist.

Both these games and their accompanying films are only one example of a male and female representation on games and are by no means definitive of gender representation in digital games as a whole. I chose them due to their popularity and fame inside and outside of game culture. Tomb Raider in particular was one of the first games with a female protagonist to become popular (many people have pointed out to me that Samus from the Metroid game series was one of the first female protagonists to appear in games, but due to these games being far less well known to the general public and Samus identity as a woman not being revealed until well into the games themselves I don't feel it carried the same weight to it as Tomb Raider did).

I will continue to look at more games box art and promotional trailers, looking at games featuring both male and female characters in the same game and wether trends and archetypes of their representation have carried on from other media.

Movie Posters Throughout the 20th Century (part 2).

http://www.impawards.com/1940/they_drive_by_night_ver4.html

This poster from "They Drive By Night" from 1940 shows a woman in a long red dress as the central piece of the poster. There is a man seemingly peering at this central figure and a couple driving in the lower corner of the poster.
The central figure is a woman wearing a long flowing red dress. She seems to be walking with a very graceful and determined walk, a stern look on her face, peering straight out of the poster toward the viewer. Overall she seems very confident, this seems to be a change from the previous trend of passive, dependent women portrayed in previous posters I've looked at.
The couple in the lower corner however, seem to follow the previously observed trends. The man is driving with a confident grin on his face, while the woman seems anxious and is seen huddling up to the man.
Overall we start to see a change in the trends of representation here, the central figure is no longer a passive woman but an assertive woman, there is also more emphasis on sex appeal with her bare leg showing from her slinky red dress.

http://www.impawards.com/1950/pagan_love_song.html

This poster from "Pagan Love Song" from 1950 shows a man and woman reclining on a beach.
Both the figures in this poster have very happy expressions, they seem to be enjoying their time together on the beach. The man is shown in a shirt with a chain of flowers round his neck, although still dressed smartly he seems to have a slightly more relaxed appearance with the addition of the flowers. The man can also be seen to be supporting the woman as she leans back against him. Overall this is another assertive man, shown helping the woman to relax.
The woman in the image is shown wearing a summery red dress, red being a colour associated with passion and lust, the colour and cut of the dress have a glamorous appearance and as in the previous poster contribute to the sex appeal of the woman. She is seen reclining against the man, relying on him for support.
Overall this poster seems to follow the trends of assertive males and passive females. Along with the last poster, there does seem to be more emphasis on sex appeal from the female characters.

http://www.impawards.com/1960/subterraneans.html

This poster from "The Subterraneans" from 1960 shows a couple as the central piece and two other figures toward the corners of the image.
The couple depicted in this image are a man and woman, the man is seen to be helping the woman up. He is wearing a shirt and trousers with his sleeves rolled up, perhaps indicating a working man. The woman appears to be somewhat distressed, her arms slung around the man for support. She is seen wearing a short pink dress, possibly a night dress, again this seems to have a slight sex appeal as her long legs are quite prominently displayed across the whole poster.
The other two figures in the poster are a man and a woman, the man playing a saxaphone while the woman in the other corner appears to be dancing. They appear to be the same two figures in the center of the poster, but this time the woman is wearing far more casual clothes, but her pose seems to emphasise her feminine figure, possibly further adding to the sex appeal of the poster.
Overall we see similar trends of dominant, assertive men and passive, reliant women, once again with emphasis on sex appeal.

It would seem that throughout 20th century movie posters there is a trend toward men depicted as dominant and assertive figures, quite often heroic. Women are often depicted as passive, reliant figures, in need of saving or help from the male heroes. There do seem to be more exceptions to this female archetype as time goes on, more and more posters depicting women as confident, independent people started to emerge and more emphasis seemed to be put on the female form and it's sex appeal.

Movie Posters throughout the 20th Century.

I'll be starting by looking at some movie posters from the 1920's onward. I'll be looking at the ways in which the actors are portrayed in the posters, how they're dressed (which will largely be relevant to their role in the film), how they are posed and how the people in the poster interact.

http://www.impawards.com/1920/two_moons.html

This poster from "Two Moons" (1920) shows a rather well dressed cowboy atop a horse with a woman cradled in his arms.
The cowboy is portrayed here as a strong person, he seems to have a firm grip on the woman in his arms, he is shown sitting upright, his shoulders broad and his square chin and solid facial features are shown in profile. His clothes are very smart and well kept, sporting a shirt and tie, along with his cowboy hat. Overall he is depicted as a very strong and dominant figure.
The woman is portrayed here as someone in distress, she is at the mercy of the man cradling her. She wears a long flowing dress, adding an element of grace to her appearance. She does however appear to be somewhat defiant, her fist is clenched at her side and she seems to be giving a defiant look to the man holding her. Overall she is presented as a rather passive figure, although there are implications of a more dominant character there, she seems restrained from acting on her desires by the seemingly more dominant man.

http://www.impawards.com/1931/cimarron.html

This poster from "Cimarron" (1931) shows a man holding a gun standing in front of a woman.
The man is shown here holding a gun in one hand, with the other outstretched as if shielding the woman behind him. He is depicted, once again, as a very square jawed, muscular man, his shirt torn open to show his defined chest. He appears calm but with very determined eyes. Overall this is another depiction of a very strong, dominant figure.
The woman is shown standing behind the man, mostly obscured by his figure. She has a look of shock or fear on her face and holds an arm over herself protectively. She is seen wearing a flowing red dress, again, adding an element of grace to her appearance. Overall she is depicted as someone defenceless and in need of help.

These posters from the earlier part of the 20th century seem to enforce some of the gender roles and stereotypes I looked into in my previous post. Male characters have been portrayed as very heroic, dominant characters while female characters have been depicted largely as submissive characters in need of protection or help.

I will continue to look at some more posters from later on in the 20th century to see if these trends in representation persist.

Gender Definitions.

Since this blog is looking at men and women in digital games, I will first set out to look at some definitions of gender. Looking at the free online dictionary, we find the following definitions:-

gen·der (jndr)

n.

1. Grammar

a. A grammatical category used in the classification of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and, in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with or selection of modifiers, referents, or grammatical forms.

b. One category of such a set.

c. The classification of a word or grammatical form in such a category.

d. The distinguishing form or forms used.

2. Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.

3.

a. The condition of being female or male; sex.

b. Females or males considered as a group: expressions used by one gender.

"Gender". Gender - definition of gender by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gender

The first definition given here shows that the word gender is not only relevant to men and women, but in categorising words within language into sets and groupings.
The second and third definitions are more relevant to what I'm looking at, they concern differentiating men and women. The third definition seems to be a purely biological one, stating that one is either male or female and that this is their gender. The second definition, however, suggests that gender is far more than just how you were born, but more to do with your identity as a man or a woman within a culture or society.

The first and third definitions are simple enough, but the second definition warrants further exploration. How does culture and society influence gender and how do they view genders?

"In the beginning there was sex and there was gender. Those of us who taught courses in the area in the late 1960's and early 1970's were careful to distinguish one from the other. Sex, we told students, was what was ascribed by biology: anatomy, hormones and physiology. Gender, we said, was an achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological, cultural and social means."

West, Candace and Zimmerman, Don H. Doing Gender. Sage Publications Inc. 1987

West and Zimmerman support the idea that sex is something we are born with and gender is something that is learned, or even achieved through interaction within a culture or society.

"Gender is a social, rather than a biological construct, and varies with the roles, norms and values of a given society or era. Being able to bear a child is, fundamentally, a function of biology, while expectations about the imperative to bear children, the nature of parenting, or the status associated with being a mother are more closely linked to gender roles and expectations."

Phillips, Susan P. "Defining and Measuring Gender: A Social Determinant of Health Whose Time Has Come". International Journal for Equity in Health. http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/4/1/11/


This quote goes a long way, in my view, to showing how we view gender in society. The mentioned expectations of being a mother and parenting and their biological link to females as the bearer of children. These expectations, I feel, contribute towards the view of women as housekeepers and people who belong in a more domestic environment where they can look after children, raise them and care for them. Along with this comes the associations of women staying at home rather than working in order to keep the home and the family within it clean, fed and well looked after while the man goes out every day to work in order to provide the financial means for the woman to maintain the home.


"Risk taking behavior is the norm amongst males throughout the world. Socially defined traits often stereotype men and women as having fixed and opposite characteristics such as active (male)/ passive (female), rational (male)/ emotional (female)"

Phillips, Susan P. "Defining and Measuring Gender: A Social Determinant of Health Whose Time Has Come". International Journal for Equity in Health. http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/4/1/11/

The above quote helps to show how our views of men and women have helped to enforce the apparent roles of men and women in society. Men being active, getting jobs and playing sports, while women remain passive, staying at home and maintaining it.
Men are seen as rational, able to think clearly and concisely while women are emotional, more prone to decisions based on their feelings rather than what is the more logical option. These views start to build up an image of men as the dominant gender, those who actively go out to get things done, those who are more capable of making the necessary decisions, while women are depicted as being submissive, reliant on the men to provide for them and make rational decisions for them.

As I continue with my research into the representations of gender, I'll be looking at how the apparent view of men as the dominant gender and women as the submissive gender is represented. Are these views expressed visually in digital games and earlier media? Have they changed within media, and if so, how?