8 Ways Game Makers Can Portray Women Better by Evann Specht

Gaming portrays women in a highly sexualized way and are often dependent on men. Anita Sarkeesian, a cultural critic behind feminist frequency, distinguished to her audience at the NYU Game Center the difference between movies and gaming. To some this may seem senseless to point out, but in our society today it’s crucial to distinguish the impact of gender roles in different context and not over generalize their impact. In Technically Brooklyn’s article, “8 Ways Game Makers Can Portray Women Better: Anita Sarkeesianat NYU Game Center”, she explained that when you finish watching Die Hard, and Bruce Willis killing people, you walk out of the theater saying, “Wow Bruce Willis is the man”. As suppose to, finishing playing a video game and win, you may walk away thinking, “Wow I am the man”.

            Not only is this distinguished difference important to understand and share, but we must also put it in the context of the way our society portrays gender roles and gender in general differently from movies to games. In this convention Anita Sarkeesian shared eight ways game makers can make gaming “less shitty for women”:

1.     “Avoid the Smurfette Principle”: gamers limit the options for women characters in their games. It is not hard for anyone to notice the overwhelming more options for men characters then women.

2.     “Lingerie is not armor”: We had discussed in class, although gamers have become increasingly better at having women more clothed then not, women still are extremely sexualized and are still not what I would consider adequately dressed to fight and be violent.

3.     “One size does not fit all”: women generally all have the same figure and body type and look, with long legs, tiny waste, big chest etc., yet males come in all shapes and sizes in our gaming world.

4.     “Butts, Butts, Butts”: not only are their figures exaggerated and unrealistic but even the angle of the camera Anita explains, shows off so much of the female butt. Rarely is the camera shooting from an angle where the female is running toward you its most of the time shooting from behind and with the provocative clothing game makers make the female roles have, only enhances the butt even more. On the contrary to men are generally clothed with baggy cargo pants or capes.

5.     “Oh so exotic”: when women of color are featured in a game they are most likely portrayed as tribal, or close to nature in some way and indigenous like.

6.     “Something in the way she moves”: Anita notes that women generally don’t have a flat foot stance with determination and grit as they fight or run, but rather tip-toeing or gracefully running.

7.     “Something in the way she sounds”: Anita played an audio clip from a League of Legends games and when the woman fought it sounded as if it was out of a sex scene and very sexual. Her tip for gamers is to make the pain actually sound painful.

8.     “Where are all the women combatants?”: The last tip Anita gave game makers to possibly change in order to make the game less shitty for women is  gamers should change women’s’ character from generally victimized to being an equal enemy to any other character in the game.