As a consequence of the age-old perception that there are “girl” and “boy” toys, many video game companies decided to market their games to boys and Nintendo naming their first handheld console “Game Boy.”
It’s caused by the assumption that video games are a male-dominated hobby — which couldn’t be further from the truth.
According to Statista, a 2020 survey of Canadian gaming audiences found that 50 per cent of gamers in Canada were female, and 50 per cent identified as male.
Despite females making up half the gaming audience, “video game design teams sexualize female characters to make them look appealing to men instead of giving them a practical design,” said Adrienne Shaw, an associate media studies and production professor at Temple University who specializes in media and game studies.
In a 2007 video game character study by Karen E. Dill and Kathryn P. Thill, it showcased that female video game characters are typically represented as either sexualized, scantily clad, or a vision of beauty.
The study revealed that more than 80 per cent of women in video games are represented by one of these depictions.
Female characters are typically designed with big breasts and butt, slim waist, dressed in skimpy clothing, and very small compared to the male characters.
Male characters treating female characters as objects for sexual pleasure, or characters acting in overtly sexual ways, has also been seen in many games.
This is seen in the game God of War 3, where a female character trades information for sex with Kratos, the main protagonist.
As a result of exposure to sexualized media characters, female players are at risk of self-objectification and decreased body satisfaction, according to the objectification theory.
Yet change is on the horizon.
From 1983 to 2014, Science Daily researchers analyzed depictions of playable female characters. While sexualization is still a problem, the study found that the sexualization of female characters peaked in the 1990s and has since diminished.
As a result, people are seeing female characters stray from stereotypes and taking on the role as the protagonist.
However, Feminist Frequency, an organization studying female representation in video games, tracked the number of leading female protagonists over the past six years and reported improvement with 18 per cent of games launched last year featuring female characters in leading roles.
Signalling the rise of strong female video game characters emerging in recent years, these games have been praised online for their realistic portrayals.
An example of this is the character Ellie Williams from The Last of Us who is a strong queer female character that completely erases the damsel in distress stereotype.
The Last of Us was released in 2013 to universal critical acclaim, winning 300 game of the year awards. Williams went on to win best new character from Hardcore Gamer and most valuable character at the SXSW Gaming Awards for Left Behind, a downloadable addition to the main game.
The Last of Us is set to be adapted as a television series in 2023, starring Bella Ramsey (Lady Liana Mormont on Game of Thrones) and Pedro Pascal (Prince Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones) on HBO.
An era welcoming different body types can be seen in the modern era, such as popular game Valorant with the character of Skye, a woman designed with a strong muscular build rather than the typical troupe-heavy design.
Still, female characters continue to be objectified and sexualized. However, game designers are pushing to create realistic characters and receiving praise, which is revolutionizing how these characters and how women feel seen.