Researchers have discovered that the more inferior males find themselves compared to women the more likely they are to abuse women online, and the misogynistic aspects of popular video games may be to blame.
The 2015 study, published in the PLOS journal, focused on the relationship between skill level and the frequency of comments made to an opponent. The team of researchers from the university of New South Wales and Miami University observed the way in which two male players interacted verses the interaction between a single male and female player.
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| Source: PLOS Journal |
“Skill did not moderate focal player positivity towards a male-voiced teammate,” said Kasumovic and Kuznekoff. “In addition, when performing poorly, [male] players increased the number of positive and neutral statements, and were generally less negative towards a male-voiced teammate.”
However, males reacted differently when playing against a female opponent.
Overall, “the female-voiced manipulation experienced a greater frequency of negative comments” said the researchers, but found that the better a male participant preformed, the less negative his comments became to the female opponent (see chart).
The results suggest that while comments to male opponents remained neutral, underperforming males are more hostile towards females, but higher-skilled males are more supportive to their female counterparts.
Both Kasumovic and Kuznekoff acknowledge that the traditional male ego and social hierarchy are to blame for the mistreatment of female gamers. Females who outperform male players threaten men. In a response to the insecurity a male may utilize hostility to claim dominance over his female opponent. On the other hand, if a woman underperforms her male counterpart he will reassure her and act as her guide or even hero.
Reported in an article on the Washington Post, as of 2014 48 percent of America’s gaming population is female.
In fact a study from professor Danielle Citron found that roughly 70 percent of those women played as male characters online to avoid discrimination and harassment.
Video games have historically perpetuated a theme of male dominance and emphasize the “damsel in distress” stereotype of women
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| Source: Anita Sarkeesian |
“Video games have long been known as a male-dominated media, including in the terms of market audience, player base, and character representation in game” said Michele Zorilla.
An avid gamer herself, undergraduate researcher Zorilla believes that the problem with male dominance and misogynistic themes in video games is a direct response to male gamer expectations.
Anita Sarkeesian is an online media critic and focuses on feminist concerns in media. In 2013 Sarkeensian released a video campaign titled “Tropes vs Women” in which she examined the impact of female discrimination in video games.
Sarkeensian highlights a typical scenario in many games involving a maiden or hopeless damsel who is captured by an evil villain, and it is up to the male hero to save her. Ultimately, the player will succeed in saving the victim, and the role play reinforces the perception of male dominance. She did note that there are a select few games which host females as the lead character, however, even their missions are trivial to a male’s.
Sarkeensian highlights a typical scenario in many games involving a maiden or hopeless damsel who is captured by an evil villain, and it is up to the male hero to save her. Ultimately, the player will succeed in saving the victim, and the role play reinforces the perception of male dominance. She did note that there are a select few games which host females as the lead character, however, even their missions are trivial to a male’s.
“Princes Peach’s [of the Super Mario franchise] powers are a simple mockery of PMS emotional swings in women” said Sarkeenisan.
The role play reinforces the importance of male dominance, and is personified in the personality of the individuals who engage in heavy video game activity. The effect is parallel to the “nice guy” phenomena, and can have ramifications in life beyond the monitor.
Although the gaming industry is working to become more gender neutral, women continue to be objectified and neglected in the field
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| Source: Erik Kain |
“The most common portrayal of women was actually the complete absence of women at all,” said Dietz. Many of the video games lacked any presence of female characters as a protagonist or even a supporting character.
In June of 2015 gamers from around the world flocked to the E3 conference. The electronic entertainment expo hosts gamers, developers, and media samples for all attendees to participate in.
Sarkeenisan believes that if given the option men will not choose to play as a woman, and only recognizes video games with a sole female role as progressive. Whereas Kain reminds it is important that game developers allow both genders to avoid bias.
Although video games are more progressive today, and developers work to appeal to a greater female audience there is still room for improvement. The sexualization of women in video games is another topic of interest for feminism activists.
It is a long road ahead for gender equality in multimedia, and video games are no exception. The effects of misogynistic themes and gender stereotypes have disseminated into the personalities of heavy video game participants, and may impact the communication and perceptions between genders.
I feel like this article is a well written analysis of how the portrayal of women in video games has room for improvement. I think that noting the lower percentage of female leads in games, along with the stereotypical "damsel in distress" roles that females typically have in video games are both strong points that women are often reduced to minor roles in video games to make room for men, which are commonly thought to be the target audience. However, I also saw that the Washington Post article you cite states that 48% of America's gaming population is female, which makes me question how come the gender divide of players is nearly equal but the disparity between the genders' representations is so distinct.
ReplyDeleteLooking into the topic further, I see there is a divide in the genders regarding how many people play video games 5 days a week or more, as well as the genres played. A separate Washington Post article (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/10/17/more-women-play-video-games-than-boys-and-other-surprising-facts-lost-in-the-mess-of-gamergate/) notes that 4 times as many women say they play at least 5 days per week in 2014 than in 2011, but this is still lower than the proportion of men who do the same in each time period. Additionally, the genres girls play more than boys (listed in the same article) often feature less intense gameplay, as seen in the popularity of The Sims and Wii Sports. This makes me wonder if the negative stereotypes of women adversely affect the number of women who play specific genres, rather than video games as a whole medium.
One thing I would have found interesting if it was included in your blog post is how female main characters are perceived by men. Video game series like Metroid feature female protagonists that aren't intended to appeal sexually to men, and studies show that these characters' gender impacts how men perceive the game (http://www.researchgate.net/publication/235745133_A_sociological_exploration_of_a_female_character_in_the_Metroid_videogames_series). By analyzing the differences between how men interpret less sexualized female characters and how they view trope-oriented women protagonists, maybe we could see further how these games impact players' views of women outside of the game, and this blog post is a great starting point.
Thanks for making such an interesting post!