Part 1: Reading - Is Female Representation in Video Games Finally Changing?:
1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames and what percentage of the video game audience is female?
People have long held the misconception that video game players are exclusively men. While this may have been the case during the arcade era, the survey "Distribution of Computer and Video Gamers in the United States from 2006 to 2017 by Gender" shows that 42% of video game players are female, proving that times have changed. Video games cannot therefore continue to exist by catering just to male consumers.
2) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?
The Walking Dead series, Tomb Raider, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and other recent blockbuster games all feature significant female characters as protagonists or co-protagonists. All of these games were released in the last five years. Characters in these games provide as inspiration for actual women since they are strong, self-reliant, wise, determined, and kind. The firms who created these games are financially secure enough to take such a risk and see it through to success.
3) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?
Since misleading nearly half of its audience results in lost sales, I contend that the video game industry is aware of this and is taking action to rectify the way it portrays women. According to Strum's article, this feeds into a cycle of exclusion because women dislike being viewed as just objects of sex. They lose interest in game content when they don't think it accurately represents. This is undoubtedly the case, and I contend that the way things are going right now indicates that some game developers are attempting to address the problem by bringing out titles that portray women more positively and emphasise their strengths rather than their flaws.
1) How does Sarkeesian say things have changed in the videogames industry in the last 10 years?
"It would be harder—not impossible, but harder—if I tried to make any of these 'Tropes' videos today using only games from the last ten years," stated Sarkeesian. "The patterns would be less severe and there would be fewer examples, and I believe that says something." Sarkeesian cited games like The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Dishonoured 2, which had strong female protagonists that avoided many of the same pitfalls her "Tropes" series had pointed out in earlier iterations.
2) Why is gaming still male dominated? Make sure your answer here includes the statistics quoted in the article.
Only 38% of responders to a poll that the GDC organisers gave to developers last year stated that their firms actively reached out to discuss harassment, discrimination, and sexism, and those conversations fell short of expectations."I think this has done two things simultaneously," Sarkeesian remarked. "Our industry has been moving towards service games, where you choose from a roster of characters, or maybe even have character creators." "There are more and a wider variety of personalities now. More players than ever before are able to view their own reflections in games. However, these are rather dead stories. There are fewer stories here.
3) How has the conversation shifted on representation in videogames?
The topic of discussion has changed. The exact things that made Sarkeesian a prime target for brutal abuse during the early days of Gamergate are now open ground for feminist critiques of video games and industry culture. Yet increasing representation is only the first step. According to Sarkeesian, it's critical to identify and address instances of sexism and harassment that occur in gaming studios of all sizes behind closed doors.
Part 2: Further Feminist Theory: Media Factsheet:
1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?
The goal of feminism is to treat women equally to males in all spheres of life, including politics, the economy, and society. This movement does not advocate for "hating" males or asserting that women are less valuable than men. Rather, the goal of feminism is to draw attention to the oppressive force of the patriarchy, or the domination of men in society. The patriarchy is viewed by feminists as preventing women from obtaining the same opportunities and treatment as males.
2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?
She had noted that varied voices were excluded from feminism and that there was a lack of variety within the feminist movement.
3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
Making men and women equal is erroneous because, as a result of sexism, discrimination, and ethnicity, not all men are created equal. Along with ethnicity, sex, and class, gender should be considered and encouraged.
4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
Overlapping or intersecting social identities with associated oppressive, dominating, or discriminatory structures is known as intersectionality. An overall identity is formed by the connections between several identities, such as sex, race, gender, ethnicity, class, and age.
5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?
She makes the case that gender and communication are closely related, but that a large portion of the observable gender identity structures in TV, films, and advertising are also products of the mass media.
6) Liesbet van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which other media theorist we have studied does this link to?
that it was made by those in positions of authority to produce a group of individuals capable of carrying out specific tasks for society. This may be connected to Baudrillard's theory of media-ization, which holds that the media shapes society and culture.
7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
Because lifestyle magazines highlight femininity and tell readers that they must overcome their body issues, feminists see them as a form of oppression. They assert that women are only taught how to be idealised as sex objects or as the ideal housewife, mother, or housekeeper in publications. To some level, I agree with this because I think that the media sexualizes and objectsifies women, which is wrong. On the other hand, I think that having a magazine that tells people how to be the ideal wife or mother is a positive thing rather than a bad one.
8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas gender ideas can evolve over time. Which other media theorist we have studied argues things evolve over time and do you agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change? Can you suggest examples to support your view?
Gauntlett further proposes that things evolve with time. I believe that gender roles are shifting because a greater number of mothers and women than ever before are employed and have careers, and a growing number of fathers are staying at home to care for their families and pick up their children from school. The emergence of the LGBTQ+ community has also led to a great deal more gender fluidity in modern times.
9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?
- if the organisation is public or commercial.
- The media platform they use (print versus digital media)
- Genre: news versus drama
- intended audiences
- The role that the media text plays in the listeners' day-to-day existence
10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?
Staurt Hall's reception theory and encoding and decoding model.
11) Van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’. She suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. What other theory and idea (that we have studied recently) can this be linked to?
Since they are being perceived differently than they typically are, this could be related to both W. E. B. Du Bois's double consciousness and Bell Hooks' theories of oppression.
12) Finally, van Zoonen has built on the work of bell hooks by exploring power and feminism. She suggests that power is not a binary male/female issue but reflects the “multiplicity of relations of subordination”. How does this link to bell hooks?
This relates to Bell Hooks because it discusses intersectionality, which holds that feminism and power must consider factors other than gender, such as class, age, sex, and ethnicity, which provides a comprehensive picture.
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