The Sexism Problem in Gaming
By: Nick Fan
Tags: Sexism, Harassment, Discrimination, Female Gamers, Gaming

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Video games have come very far as a medium of entertainment. In the past, gamers were typecast as social exiles who sat around, played video games, and ate junk food in the dark. In the modern-day, this stereotype is very much false. It is no longer perceived as an activity exercised solely by social shut-ins. In fact, video gaming has made it into mainstream media, even to the likes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. From social outcasts to pop-culture, it goes to show how far gaming has evolved. However, with one negative stereotype phased out, some still remain. Sexism against female gamers is a rampant issue in the world of video games. It may not be an issue exclusive to gaming, though it does not make it any less of a systematic problem.

There are three types of people approaching the topic of sexism in both gaming and in general. Those who are well-informed about the issue, those who are completely unaware of the issue, and those who think the issue is nothing but an exaggeration. This article is aimed at informing the latter two kinds of people, and to promote equality among gamers regardless of gender or background.

Sexism against female gamers can come in two forms. The first is unwanted flirtation and sexual harassment. This could range from minor but disturbing comments to aggressive flirtation. An example would be this YouTube clip of a girl gamer receiving crude, flirtatious comments from multiple male teammates. The second type of sexual harassment is the mindset of “You are a girl, therefore you cannot be good at video games”. These male gamers have a fixed mindset about female gamers and will take every chance to express their disappointment of having a female teammate. They will throw vulgar and sexist remarks towards the victim and may even deliberately cause their team to lose the match. For example, this clip from a YouTube video about sexism in gaming.

No matter the type of harassment, sexism both in gaming and in general is a systematic problem that threatens gender equality. To put the issue into perspective, male gamers are significantly less likely to be harassed on a gender basis, as discovered by the authors of Adolescents’ Experiences and Coping with Sexism Affect both Female and Male Online Gamers in South Korea (Para 4). This entails that this is no longer an issue of people being rude online. It is an issue of sexism and gender inequality. Most gamers play video games as an escape from the troubles of their everyday lives. Yet, female gamers do not have the same “safe-space” that male gamers do because of discrimination.

Hypermasculinity in Gaming

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According to game design experts Anastasia Salter and Bridget Marie Blodgett, hypermasculinity can be defined as exaggerated masculine stereotypes within subcultures. Video games are a common perpetrator of reinforcing hypermasculine stereotypes. Traditionally, the demographic for video games were men. This may not be true these days, but these masculine norms and expectations are still deeply rooted within gaming culture. Many games throughout the decades encourage hypermasculinity through the appearance of characters, their actions, and their perceived role within society.

A common misconception about male characters is that they are always represented as buff and strong musclemen in video games. In this day and age of video games, male characters see a lot of variety. Their body types range from scrawny to obese and their personalities could be timid or courageous. On the other hand, the portrayal of women is much different. Their body types tend to have a range of slightly chubby to voluptuous. The choice of female characters and actions within video games leaves women with few realistic, non-sexualized options.

Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game series featuring a main female protagonist, Lara Croft. While she has been a strong symbol for feminism due to her strong resolve and daring, courageous personality, she has also been a controversial character for her visual portrayal. Ever since she was first created in 1996, her character has been controversial for her voluptuous figure and breathy voice. For some, she was regarded as just a sexual fantasy for men.

Female representations in video games like Lara Croft’s are contributors and catalysts for hypermasculinity. Even if it may not be the game developer’s intention, they may encourage male gamers to develop these traits and for other game developers to carry these norms and expectations onto future video games.

Ignorance is not Bliss

In the age of social media, most avid gamers would participate in gaming-related social media platforms such as Reddit.com. Those who frequent such platforms are bound to run into users ranting about their experiences in sexism or sexual harassment every now and then. For instance, this Reddit user venting her frustrations about her sexist encounters in the team-based game Overwatch.

u/koalasarenotreal ranting about her sexist experiences, extracted from reddit.com

The comment section of the post consisted of two types of comments. The first were other female gamers coming forward with similar experiences, and the second was dismissive users telling the original poster to just mute and block the offenders then telling her to get used to it or simply ignore them. While the latter acts as a good short-term solution for the victim, it is extremely unhealthy for the long term. Failing to acknowledge sexism directly supports sexism, even if you are not an offender. Psychologists and authors of Seeing the Unseen: Attention to Daily Encounters With Sexism as Way to Reduce Sexist Beliefs Julia C. Becker and Janet K. Swim encourage women to pay more attention to social interactions relating to sexism, and for men to empathize more with victims of sexism. This may not directly contribute to the fall of sexism, but it’s a healthier step towards it rather than ignoring the glaring issue.

Education is Important

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Awareness is a powerful possession. Many might be aware that sexism exists, but they may not be aware of the impact it has on the victims. As evident in the aforementioned Reddit thread, lacking such awareness leads to ignoring the issue as a whole, and may even cause some to perpetrate.

I have recently joined a game where as soon moments after I had spoken to say hello, someone had written “Women = Lose” followed it up with “Girls can’t play just like they can’t drive”… It didn’t help that no one called him out on [it]… it’s making this game I love less fun and filled with anxiety.

This comment is of a female gamer on a different Reddit thread complaining about her sexist experiences, and how it has impacted her perspective towards a game she loves. Those who sexually harass others do so because they are unaware of the consequences of their actions. They do not know the impact of what they say or do on the victims of the receiving end.

As such, education on sexism is of great importance. Social scientist from the University of Valencia José J.Navarro-Pérez and his colleagues had proven this to be true. With the help of an anti-sexist educational app, Liad@s, they successfully reduced the sexist attitudes and beliefs in several adolescents. This goes without saying that future generations should be better educated on sexism as a long term solution. This may not only improve the female gamer experience, but reduce sexism in society as a whole.

Conclusion

Video games have come a long way. It is not to say that the gaming industry and community has made no progress on diversity and equality, but it still has a long way to go, as evident by the above sexist encounters. Ignorance is about as bad as perpetrating. As any decent human beings, we should stop being bystanders and start speaking up against sexism. On top of that, we should educate those who are younger than us.

Sexism, as a systematic threat should be dealt with, regardless if it is in the gaming world or outside of it. If you are a victim of sexism do not be afraid to speak up against your offenders. If you are a bystander of sexism, do not hesitate to call out sexist behavior.

Glossary

Hypermasculinity: the exaggeration of masculine stereotypes within subcultures such as aggression and hierarchical values.

Mute: a social feature in most games that allow players to hide messages from specific players and/or to silence voice chat messages from them.

Thread: an online discussion; a series of messages and comments posted as replies to each other.