Some Thoughts On Games Part 3: Sexualization in Games

I'm going to discuss another problematic trend in games that needs to be toned down if not eliminated: sexualization. What I mean by that is how many video games unrealistically and inappropriately depict females in order to attract gamers.

Fair Warning: This post will have some NFSW (Not Safe For Work) images that "illustrate" what I'm talking about so prepare your mind and environment accordingly.

I'll start us off by asking you guys a question: What thing sells better than anything else in the world?

If you answered "sex", you are correct.

According to TopTen Reviews, in 2006 the porn industry made $13.33 billion dollars -- this revenue exceeded the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC that year.

Television, magazines, TV shows, movies, books, advertising...what do all these industries have in common? They make loads of money by selling sex. How else would such...literature...as Fifty Shades of Grey ever become a bestseller?

Sex increasingly permeates our world. It may be the single greatest motivator for someone to do something. I don't necessarily mean sex as "intercourse" but as "sexy", "glamorous", "hunky", or "the promise of nudity." I literally have friends who would go to see a movie just because they may see some "tits".

The gaming industry is not immune to sex. Far from it. Developers know sex sells and often throw voluptuous, useless females into their games just to sex it up. These titillating vixens (sadly) attract flocks of boy-gamers to the game, and as games become more realistic and immersive, I fear this trend will only heighten in the future -- just as it has progressed in the 15 years that I've been an active gamer. Disgusting.

This screen from God of War shows a scene where Kratos (the dude on the right) is beckoned by two seductive women. He enters the bed to have sex with them, though the sex is not shown in the game. This scene has no purpose other than for the player to have sex.

The biggest problem (or biggest advantage, depending on how you look at it) with video games is that they don't use real people; there are no female actors cast and put directly into the game. Sure, some women can serve as character models -- where the developers create a game character in the image of the woman -- but these in-game females are not subject to the constrains of human anatomy. Artists make sketches and animators render these sketches in 3-D. The women can be altered, enhanced, and sculpted to be as curvy as possible, which they almost often are.

This troubles me. It gives young adult men (and increasingly women, as more and more pick up game controllers each year) the absolute wrong idea of what the ideal woman should look like. Also, the way developers incorporate women into games give these gamers the wrong impression of women in general -- as submissive and seductive, only meant to attract the eye and appease the main male character. It's wrong, it's wrong, it's so wrong.

Even in the games that you play as heroines, such as Tomb Raider or Bayonetta, the female is a curvy, busty, flexible and capable hero that takes down bad guys and monsters, often times in various promiscuous ways.

Above is a screen from the game BloodRayne, where you play as a sexy half-human, half-vampire names Rayne, going around and slaying any vampire that might cross your path. Take note of the massive cleavage. Below, Catwoman from Batman: Arkham City takes out a bad guy with her legs.

In my creative writing class, people often decide to write sex scenes into their stories as a way to spice things up. These scenes do little to develop characters, complicate plots, or enhance conflicts. Essentially they add nothing to the story. The professor sees this and always emphasizes an important story-crafting lesson: in literature, sex never means just sex, it always means something else. Too few practice this rule, and that extends to video games. But some do, and they do it well.

Try and recall my discussion on BioShock Infinite and in particular, the character of Elizabeth -- a young, innocent woman trapped in a luxurious cell centrally located amidst a floating city, oblivious to the outside world. Elizabeth may be one of the strongest female characters I've seen in game, and her transformation from a "damsel in distress" to a more than capable woman that demands the player's respect is one of the most powerful moments I've ever experienced in a game.

Liz goes from a youthful, adventurous girl, constantly inquiring about the wonders around her...

...to this -- a grave, mature woman who is questions the world and its morality, its violent nature.

Notice from the above pictures that "mature" Elizabeth has a fair amount of cleavage showing from that dress. You might say then, "but, Seth, isn't this what you're talking about? Just adding boobs to attract the gamer?" I say no, this is actually a great example of how sex can be used to have a deeper meaning.

The cleavage in this game doesn't serve to lure the gamer's eye; it symbolizes Elizabeth's evolution into womanhood. She shed her innocence and naivety when she put on that dress, realizing that life is not like the stories in her books; the world is not full of good people; it's hateful, prejudiced, racist, discriminatory, sexist, and full of death and destruction. The cleavage is not just another set of boobs, it stands a symbol of maturity.  

Other games strive to include women as meaningful characters to games, often using them as emotional attachments to the main character. In the Uncharted series, you play a charismatic treasure hunter (think Indiana Jones) named Nathan Drake. Being the handsome and charming individual he is, Nate develops strong ties to women in his games. These women -- particularly Elena Fisher, an ambitious journalist, and Chloe Frazer, a sultry Austrialian treasure hunter -- are strong characters that impose themselves onto Nate and change his devil-may-care attitude. The influence of these women shows not only in the narrative, but the player in turn develops a bond with the women, hoping to God that they don't die in the game.

In the series Mass Effect, the player can choose to play as either a male or female version of the protagonist, Commander Shepard. This heavy sci-fi experience has as much dialogue and character interactions as it does shooting sequences. As the Commander, the player is given the ability to approach their crew members and talk about missions, each others' pasts, hobbies, and other things. Deep conversations throughout the game allow the player to emotionally attach his/herself to each of these secondary characters -- the same characters you go into battle with. What's more, the player can flirt with some of the crew members and eventually make love to one of them, be they man or woman, alien or human. Mass Effect was one of the first games to have such complex intimate encounters, but again they did not incorporate these sex scenes just to have some sex in their games; these scenes signify the special bond the player forms with characters and makes going into potentially deadly missions that much harder because the player has characters around him/her that he/she cares about. Although, some gamers just pick the "hottest" character to "bang" and become aroused by it -- such is the way of young men...

This is Miranda Lawson from Mass Effect 2. She's genetically engineered to be the perfect human female specimen, with lightning reflexes, graceful athleticism, superior intelligence...and perfectly hourglass curves. Unfortunately, even character-driven games like Mass Effect find a way to include impossibly busty women.

These games, and several others, do sex in games right. Just like film and books incorporate sex into their narrative to further conflict, character development and plot, so, too, should video games. Especially video games, since developers can literally create the image of women they want in their games and potentially give the gamer a skewed view of women with impossible physiques and unequal gender roles.

However, some things are beyond the American gaming industry. Japan and other East Asian countries have an equally large gaming market...and a much different view on women and sex. The games Japan produces probably have the highest disregard for female anatomy and women in general. But, that's their culture, and we should not pass judgement on them for it just because it's different from our own. Instead, we should focus on what developers are doing here in America. 

In my opinion -- and I think many others' -- having these voluptuous (I'm running out of adjectives) characters in games is disgusting, unnecessary, and honestly it's getting old -- it seems like I can't play an immersive single player game without encountering at least one scantly clad woman. But does playing as a "sexualized" female character really give young men the wrong idea of women? I mean, is this really a problem or just my opinion?

Well in a study brought to my attention by roommate (bless him), indeed these portrayals of women can have negative effects on young men's perception of women. In the study, conducted by Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz of the University of Missouri-Columbia and Dana Mastro from the University of Arizona (2009), 328 students of a university were randomly assigned to play a game as either a "non-sexualized" heroine or a "sexualized" heroine, and some were assigned no game at all. After playing the game for thirty minutes (which was way too short of time in my opinion) the students filled out an online questionnaire. The results "cautiously suggest" that those students who played as a sexualized character had unfavorable views of women in the real world, including thinking women have lower self-efficacy and mental capability than men do.

I'm sure if you did some digging you would find several other studies such as these, and more are published everyday as video games become increasingly polarized, realistic, and interactive. However, video games alone are not the culprit for such negative beliefs. Television, film, advertisements and any other medium that relies on sex for popularity also greatly contribute to these inaccurate perceptions. 

Just watch any episode of the hit HBO show Entourage and you'll see what I mean.

Games provide the most unique and interactive experiences of any other medium, and some of these experiences include sexed-up women. Many games include these objectified women just for the sake of having "tits" and "ass" to entice and arouse gamers -- just like many films and TV shows do. But more and more, as technology advances and allows developers to do more with story and character, games include sex as a symbol for something else or as a tool for character development -- again, just like film or literature.

I guess I have no suggestions on a solution or final inspiring words that can combat this trend, but I do hope that reading this has raised your awareness and knowledge on how sex is used in video games. I just ask that you and yours think before you start pointing fingers at games for being a "corrupting influence" or "vile abominations" not fit for the eyes of youngsters. Violence and sex is all around us, not just in games, and it's our responsibility as sensible adults to educate the youthful masses on how the world really is; how absolutely different real life is compared to what you see or watch or play or read. 

Thanks for reading (and waiting for) this post and if you haven't read the previous installments in the series "Some Thoughts On Games" I encourage you to do so.