Women in Gaming: Defining Proper Representation

== Introduction ==
Representation can help enforce certain stereotypes and therefore must be crafted in a tasteful manner by the creator in order to have a positive image. Unfortunately, women throughout all fields of media are poorly misrepresented, with the gaming industry being the worst offender. While in recent years there has been a push to create well-written female characters, it's still good to look back at the past and understand how some characters portray negative stereotypes. In this piece a variety of gaming’s most iconic female characters shall be dissected and compared to one another to show how women can be represented.
== Outbreak Survivors: Ellie Williams vs. Juliet Starling ==
Ellie Williams from The Last of Us and Juliet Starling from Lollipop Chainsaw share only one common trait, that being both are female survivors in a zombie apocalypse. So when the end of the world is occurring, what do you think these characters might be wearing? If you happen to say a skimpy high school cheerleader outfit that provides no protection whatsoever, then you would be correct for Miss Juliet! Her entire outfit screams objectification, as practically her entire body is showing for the world to see. An especially egregious detail is that when Juliet first wakes up at the beginning of the game, it is her 18th birthday.https://www.thegamer.com/resident-evil-4-anniversary-ashley-graham-annoying-underrated-re4-capcom/ This barely makes her of legal age and allows men to think about their twisted fantasies without the shame of the character being a child. If you believe the age issue might just be a plot coincidence, if you attempt to look up the character’s skirt, the player will be rewarded an achievement for their pervertedness, implying the creators knew exactly what their audience type was.https://lollipopchainsaw.fandom.com/wiki/I_Swear!_I_Did_It_By_Mistake! In comparison, Ellie Williams always wears appropriate clothing for the locations she is in and never once is painted to be sexually objectified. In fact, most outfits cover her entire body, leaving no space for creeps to gaze upon her.https://thelastofus.fandom.com/wiki/Ellie_Williams While both characters are in fictional worlds in which anything can happen, Juliet’s outfit is purely an excuse to appeal to the male gaze while Ellie’s represents realism and how an actual female might dress in that scenario. 
== Impact of an Angle: Jill Valentine vs. Lara Croft ==
Another example of the blatant misrepresentation of women can be used when comparing Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil series and Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. Similar to the last two females, Lara’s design is obviously oversexualized while Jill maintains a level of realism, but the clothing is not the only difference between these two characters. The camera angle is a huge factor when it comes to playing a game, with first and third-person perspectives completely changing what a player looks at when gathering information. Unfortunately, when it comes to females in third-person games, the camera is usually at a lower spot or the character model seems to have certain advanced “features”.https://www.indieretronews.com/2022/07/tomb-raider-rather-special-action.html This obviously pushes the player’s focus towards wherever the camera is directed at, meaning even if the player might not have the intent with focusing on the player model, the game developers did, which reveals that these developers seemingly have ulterior motives. The combination of Lara’s skimpy outfit all while having a camera that is centered near her butt oversexualizes her and removes much of her actual character, leaving her just as an object for sex appeal. Jill Valentine however is treated like another male counterpart, with the camera instead being placed higher up with no emphasis on her body.https://arnoldkhan.medium.com/resident-evil-3-7cd5622ad14e Even without the visual representation of an outfit, something as small as the camera can entirely change how we perceive a character and what the player should focus on. 
== Characterization: Heather Mason vs. Ashley Graham ==
Past the obvious visual cues, proper representation of a character can come through their actions and words. Both Heather Mason from Silent Hill and Ashley Graham from Resident Evil are young women placed in terrifying worlds of horror, and yet their reactions could not be more different from one another. Heather remains incredibly calm and rarely shows fear even in the face of the most grotesque foes as she is extremely driven to succeed in her goal. However, once the deed is finally done, she breaks down, showing a level of vulnerability after carrying such a strong sense of power.https://silenthill.fandom.com/wiki/Heather_Mason This makes Heather a perfect balance of character, with her strength being shown in a positive light that makes her seem believable. Ashley Graham on the other hand is criticized by many fans for how extremely annoying she is. In context, Ashley is the daughter of the president and has no formal training on how to protect herself, but this leads to the stereotypical damsel in distress. She is known to scream the name of Leon (her savior and lead character of Resident Evil 4) anytime she is in danger, and constantly depends on her for any and all issues. In most missions you can find her trailing behind Leon as she makes no effort to try to protect herself, even needing help with simple tasks such as hopping off of a structure.https://www.thegamer.com/resident-evil-4-anniversary-ashley-graham-annoying-underrated-re4-capcom/ Even if a female is not sexualized, there can still be serious issues of the character being conveyed in a negative light based upon their actions and dialogue within a story. It is not only the visual but rather the full complexion of a character that tells the audience who they are and what they represent.
== References ==