Gender representations in video-games

Abstract

Gender representations in video-games is a topic of interest for multiple researchers since video-games tend to tap into gender stereotypes. The study sought to find out how University of Malta students felt about the topic of gender representations in video-games, together with their awareness of gender stereotypes in such games. The sample was made up of three male and three female gamers. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather the opinions and insights of these students. To get the discussion going, a video of the characters from the Grand Theft Auto series was shown prior to the onset of the interview. From the audio-recorded data, which was then transcribed, four main themes emerged, “gender representations”, “influences on video-games”, “influences on gamers” and “change”. Games are designed by men, for heterosexual men. From the data it emerged that female gamers associate adventure with masculinity and associate power with being thin. Some of the participants, especially those who were following a social science course, were aware that video-games were steeped in gender and sexual identity stereotypes, the others were not that aware. Female gamers were aware of these gender stereotypes more than male participants. The participants also noted that gender stereotypes differed from one video-game to another, with some being more sexist than others. All the participants felt that designers of video-games could try to give a more realistic gender representation in video-games. They felt that there should be more LGBT characters, more dominant female protagonists and the opportunity to gender-bend. The participants felt that video-games that were more inclusive where gender and sexual orientation or identity was concerned, could help reduce gender stereotypes, homophobia and transphobia in real life.