History Of Female Characters In Video Games

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The first successful commercial video games where released as Arcade games in the 1980�s.

The earliest known female character in a video game is thought to be the unknown female character in Nintendo�s 1981 release of Donkey Kong. Here as well as being a passive observer she is also a damsel in distress who must be saved by the active male character �Jump Man� later known as �Mario�. This objectification of women stands or both the Japanese cultural heritage and the intended male audience for Nintendo�s game.

However all arcade games didn�t cater exclusively to males. The success of the original �Pac Man� with the female audiences prompted the release of �Ms. Pac Man� by a non-related company in order to attract female gamers. This marketing strategy is related to research findings that women will relate more to games with female protagonists than those that have male protagonists. Surprisingly developers actually faced pressure as to not include female characters in games. In order to avoid censorship for including violence against women in his game the developer for �Final Fight� later announced that �Roxie� the female antagonist was actually a transvestite.

In 1984 Nintendo expanded into the home console video game market with the release of the �Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)�. Arguably the most famous game ever created �Super Mario Brothers 1985� continued Nintendo�s earlier tradition of including women as passive objects to be saved.

Nintendo�s later release �Metroid-1986� was the first main stream game to include a sexualized female character. Although this character was only found to be female if the player actually beat the game.

In 1994 Sony released the �Play Station 1�. One of the most famous games for this console the original �Tomb Raider 1996� appealed to male gamers by including a female character with impossible body measurements. Multiple studies have found that this exaggeration of body features can have negative effects on the body images of both male and female players. This could explain why games like �Tomb Raider� alienate female gamers.

Outside of the console market games designed for the personal computer were seen as less exclusively male than those designed for consoles. In 1996 Metalla released �Barbie fashion Designer�; the first game to be truly successful with the female audience. The success of this game combined with the correlation between the exposure and advancement in technological fields inspired a series of girl games. These games attempted to bring traditionally female values into the virtual world with slow phased, violence-free games that featured female protagonists. Most where commercially unsuccessful.

In 1997 Nintendo released its first console capable of 3 dimensional graphics: the N64. Interestingly Nintendo began including female characters in its games that broke traditional gender roles.

For example the princess in the �legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time-1998� disguises herself as a male character in order to help the main character thought the game.

This trend towards more progressive games is highlighted by the 1999 �Super Smash Brothers� series which initially included only one playable female character.

In 2001, Nintendo released its next generation console; the �GameCube�. �Super Smash Brothers Melee� the next game released for the system included 4 specifically female characters.

One of the games to be truly successful with the adult female market was the �Sims� released in 2000. The game featured simplistic controls and an open ended storyline, that aloud players to project themselves into the characters of the virtual characters of the family members they are controlling.

This appeal to escapism in a character is further demonstrated by the 2003 online game �Second Life� which allows users to create an idolized version of themselves.The most successful massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG): �World of Warcraft�, sexualizes its main characters in order to appeal both male and female players.

In 2001 Microsoft joined the console market with the release of the �XBOX�. The most famous game for this system the original �Halo� featured a male protagonist with several female support characters. This demonstrates marketing towards males who are traditionally more inclined to play first person shooting games.

In 2005 Microsoft released what is the first of the current generation consoles: the �XBOX 360�. One of the most popular games for this system �Halo 3� had a surprisingly progressive feature. Players could choose the gender of their character with no effect on gameplay.

In 2006 Nintendo released its current generation console the �Wii�. �Wii Sports� the game released with the console demonstrates egalitarian gameplay. The player�s choice of gender or race has no effect on the status of the game. This egalitarian gameplay design allowed Nintendo to reach audiences that traditionally do not play video games.

In 2006 Sony released the �PS3� a system designed more for these male games. The system had much better hardware than the �Wii� but was very much expensive, especially for first time gamers. This means that games designed for the �PS3� was marketed more towards the more traditional gamers: that is teenage males.

1.6 Under representation of female characters

Throughout the video game history it is believed that female characters in video games are largely underrepresented compared to the number of male characters. And even when the few female characters were included they were portrayed in stereotypical and highly hyper sexualized manner. Many researches have been conducted from time to time regarding this matter. And the findings in such researches have indicated that there is indeed an under representation of female characters.

The analysis that was conducted by (Provenzo, 1991) on 47 Nintendo games indicates such findings. He did not analyze the actual content of the games but limited his research to a content analysis of the covers of the boxes of games. He counted 124 human individuals in the cover illustrations. A vast majority of 92% was male (115 characters); only 8% was female (9 characters). 24% of the men were represented in a dominant position, whereas none of the women were. By contrast, three of the nine women were portrayed in a submissive pose, whereas none of the men were (Provenzo, 1991).

The some years later the research conducted by (Dietz, 1998) analyzed 33 games on the Nintendo and Sega Genesis game-consoles. Her findings were that out of the 33 games only 15% of games portrayed women as heroes or as action characters. 30% of all games did not have any female characters whatsoever. When the game did have a female character in 21% of the cases they were portrayed in a submissive, stereotypical position. In conclusion Dietz indicated that, video games were dominated by masculine themes as action, war, violence, competition and sports.

Four years later a research conducted by (Beasley & Standley, 2002) found a comparable gender distribution. They identified 597 characters in their selection of 47 games. Most characters were male (72%); a minority of 14% was female, and 15% were of an undeterminable sex.

A research conducted in 2006 by (Thompson, Tepichin, & Haninger, 2006) indicated that from a sample of 36 games (89%) contained playable male characters, while (33%) contained playable female characters, and (28%) allowed the player to select among a list of characters or personalize characters. They also found that games were significantly more likely to depict female characters partially nude than male characters.

In their comprehensive analysis of 12 video games ( Jansz & Martis, 2007) also discovered a dominance of male characters in the games. Thirteen of 22 game characters (about 60%) were men. Even though from their selected 12 games there was an equal gender distribution among leading characters (six men; six women), the number of supporting characters widely differed as seven men (70%) and three women (30%).

Another research conducted in the same year by ( Burgess, Stermer, & Burgess, 2007) regarding the covers of 225 popular videogame covers found that Males were twice as likely to be featured on covers as females were: 90.2% of the covers with humans portrayed men and 42.7% portrayed women. This unbalanced representation became even more pronounced when examining characters with approximately three and a half times more men than women: 485 human characters were coded as 78.6% (N=381) men and 21.4% (N=104) women. ( Burgess, Stermer, & Burgess, 2007)

A study conducted in the recent 2010 by (Downs & Smith, 2010) also confirmed this pattern when their research of 60 top rated games. From the 465 characters identified in the games 246 were Caucasian characters, with 13%, female. Out of the 101 African characters or 9%, were female. For the 14 Hispanic characters, 14% were female. For the 36 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 25% were female. They also identified that the women were generally portrayed in a hypersexual way: They were partially nude, or dressed in sexually revealing clothing, and featured with unrealistic body shapes. (Downs & Smith, 2010).

There is a certain amount of underrepresentation of female characters. But could it be for the better of not portraying violence against females? There is reason not to think so.

�One could argue that the relative lack of illustrated action on the part of the female characters is actually a positive portrayal given that much of the action male characters portray is violent. Unfortunately, as video games currently exist, violence connotes power. No characters, male or female, are portrayed as central to a game by stopping violence, or offering peaceful solutions. By excluding women from the action roles, they are relegated to groupie status.�

( Burgess, Stermer, & Burgess, 2007)

Therefor there does not seem to be any good justification on the underrepresentation of female characters in video games.

It is evident from these researches conducted through time that there is a definite underrepresentation of female characters. Many researches indicate that in the fewer instances that the female characters are represented, they are in a stereotypical, hyper-sexualized manner. And often female characters are portrayed as sexual objects and helpless victims.

1.7 Stereotypes

When it comes to stereotypes in video games female characters are more often subjected to stereotypical portrayals. Exaggerated gender stereotypes are often presented in video games. These stereotypes communicate unrealistic standards for women�s bodies, and encourage the treatment of women as sexual objects. ( Behm-Morawitz & Mastro, 2009).

Gender stereotypes are generally defined as �beliefs about what it means to be female or male � [including] information about physical appearance, attitudes and interests, psychological traits, social relations, and occupations� (Golombok & Fivush, 1994)

These components of gender stereotypes can be organized into four dimensions: traits, physical characteristics, role behaviors, and occupations. (Deaux & Lewis, 1984). In terms of traits women are stereotypically judged to be less intelligent, more emotional, and less aggressive, for example, than men. Second, in terms of physical appearances women are expected to be youthful, beautiful, soft, voluptuous but thin, and feminine in appearance. No such expectations hold for men. Third, different role behaviors are stereotypically expected of men and women. For instance, traditionally, women are expected to take on nurturing roles. Last, there are stereotypic beliefs about the different occupations that men and women should hold. Women are more likely to be expected to occupy jobs that involve caretaking, lower status jobs (e.g., secretarial positions), and jobs that do not involve manual labor. ( Behm-Morawitz & Mastro, 2009)

Such stereotypical depictions can be seen among female video game characters. Female characters often have idealized body types and are very beautiful. Most of them are often wearing revealing cloths.

�For female video game characters, the norm is for characters to be depicted as sex objects who wear skimpy clothing, conform to an idealized body type, and are visions of beauty. Of the three major stereotypical portrayals of women studied here (sexualized, scantily clad, and vision of beauty), over 80% of female video game characters were depicted in at least one of these ways, and over a quarter were depicted with all three stereotypes.�

( Dill & Thill, 2007)

Stereotypical portrayals of females in videogames also include in women to be helpless or victimized. They constantly need the support or the help of a more dominate male character.

�The second most common portrayal of women in this sample of games was the woman as the victim or as the proverbial �Damsel in Distress�. Women were portrayed in this manner 21% of the time. In three of these cases, the female victim was the princess of a kingdom. In other instance s, the female victim was presented as a friend of the hero or as a woman being victimized by a gang of undesirable �brutes�.�

(Dietz, 1998)

More stereotypical behaviors and portrayals of females include being the sidekick or a secondary character that helps out the male protagonist. This sidekick would often be a helpful guide that gives the hero tips and help him along the journey. A good example for such stereotypes is Cortana the artificial intelligence that helps and guides the player by giving tactical information.

When female protagonists appear in the videogames they are frequently portrayed in a hypersexualized manner, thus stereotyping them. The same goes to female villains. Therefore it is possible to see several types of stereotypes, but there is one thing that is evident, no matter what type of stereotype the female may be; heroin, villain or victim they are all portrayed in a hypersexualized manner that needs to be investigated.

1.8 Hypersexuality of female videogame characters.

When talking about video game characters, hypersexuality is something that has always been around. While male characters are more muscular and powerful, female characters are more attractive, sexy, partially nude and helpless. Female characters are often portrayed as hyperfeminine with curvaceously thin bodies which had abnormally small hips compared to the larger bust and hip sizes. As one of the early researches on this issue (Dietz, 1998) found out that while there was a large underrepresentation of female characters the few that were showed were portrayed as highly sexualized objects that were dressed in stereotypical female colors and/or clothing. She also found that female characters in videogames are portrayed as �visions of beauty with large breasts and thin hips� and often engaged in seductive acts.

(Beasley & Standley, 2002) found out that that 70% of female characters in Mature-rated video games and 46% of female characters in Teen-rated video games were depicted with abundant cleavage, 86% of female characters were portrayed wearing clothing with low/revealing necklines. Moreover, females were twice as likely as males to be shown wearing revealing clothing.

�Male characters were more muscular and powerful, while females were more attractive, sexy, helpless and innocent. Females also wore more revealing clothing on both the upper and lower body. Males were more likely to wear army attire, while females were more likely to wear tank tops. Absolute values of ratings indicate that men are portrayed as very powerful and muscular, whereas women were portrayed as very sexy and attractive. Finally, a majority of women were dressed in a very revealing manner.�

(Miller & Summers, 2007)

Video games with female protagonists are fewer in number. Even though in many of such games the female character was depicted as powerful, intelligent and independent her sexuality is her defining feature. Her role as an action hero is tied to her sexuality and body. ( Behm-Morawitz & Mastro, 2009).

The fact that there is a much higher frequency of hypersexuality in female characters than male characters was identified by ( Burgess, Stermer, & Burgess, 2007). They further claim that in spite of their dramatically less frequent appearance, female characters were physically objectified more frequently than the males.

�In the relatively rare cases where women were portrayed as central, or wielding the violent power video games offer, this role almost always came with an exaggerated sexuality. The pairing of muscular men and violence was not surprising given that one could reasonably expect strength to be required to vanquish super-human enemies. On the other hand, the frequency of unrealistically sized and shaped breasts was difficult to interpret as anything other than sexist objectification given the irrelevance of breasts to the tasks facing video game characters. Approximately 20% of the male characters whose arms and or chests could be seen were portrayed as muscular or super-muscular, while over half of the female characters whose chests could be seen were portrayed as either busty or super-busty. It should be noted that when we began, we initially included the category of muscularity for the female characters, expecting to see fit, toned super heroines. However there was not a single female character who could be described as muscular; in fact, many of the most action oriented characters were portrayed with unusually thin arms and legs accompanying unusually large breasts. The message clearly seemed to be that large breasts and/or a hypersexualized appearance were an essential element for female characters.�

( Burgess, Stermer, & Burgess, 2007)

In many instances female characters were seen wearing inappropriate clothing for the situation. While it is reasonable that a female character wore a bikini in a beach volleyball game, it is hard to see the point in wearing a bikini at a motorcycle game other than to portray sexual objectification. The large amount of hypersexuality of female characters over male characters was also identified by ( Dill & Thill, 2007). From their 479 video game character selection 62.6% of females were identified as hyperfeminine to the 33.1% of male characters rated as hypermasculine. In their research ( Martins, Williams, Harrison, & Ratan, 2009) identified that gamers who encounter female characters with body proportions of a 29'' bust, 22'' waist, and 31'' hips, which is a size hard to achieve by natural means would create body dissatisfaction among the gamers.

CHAPTER TWO � REASERCH OF FEMALE CHARACTERS IN VIDEO GAMES

2.1 Examining female characters in video games

2.1.1 Portrayal of female characters in video games.

2.1.1.1 Method

A sample of video games was chosen that specifically had either a female protagonist, or a large number of significant female characters. Therefore the sample chosen to investigate the portrayal of female characters was not random but deliberate. However other specific limitations were also included to the sample. It was necessary that the chosen games had a score of 8.0 or above 8.0 in the Gamespot ratings. And it was necessary that the games were those that came to the new console generation. (eg: XBOX360, PS3, Nintendo Wii)

The Sample

Title year Genre Esrb Rating Gamespot rating Platform

Bayonetta

2010 Action M 9.0 Xbox 360

PS3

Final Fantasy XIII

2010 Role-Playing T 8.5 Xbox 360

PS3

Ninja Gaiden Sigma

2007 Action M 9.0 PS3

Perfect Dark Zero

2005 Action M 9.0 Xbox 360

Borderlands 2

2012 Action M 8.5 Xbox 360

PS3

PC

MAC

Halo 4

2012 Action M 9.0 Xbox 360

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception 2011 Action T 9.0 PS3

Heavy Rain 2010 Adventure M 8.5 PS3

Heavenly sword 2007 Action T 8.0 PS3

Mass Effect 2 2010 Role-Playing M 9.0 Xbox 360

PS3

PC

Gears of War 3 2011 Action M 9.5 Xbox 360

Resident Evil 5

2009 Action M 8.5 Xbox 360

PS3

PC

2.1.2 Results

The total number of characters � 29.

Leading character Supporting character

Variable category Male Female Total Male Female Total

Overall 9 5 14 6 9 15

Position Dominant 5 3 8 2 1 3

Equal 4 2 6 4 8 12

Submissive

Role Hero/in 9 5 14

Friend 5 9 14

Villain 1 1

Tough

Victim

Attire Sexy 1 5 6 7 7

Ordinary 5 5 5 1 6

Armor 3 3 1 1 2

Body Heavy 4 4 2 2

Normal 4 4 4 4 8

Thin 1 5 6 5 5

Build Muscular 5 5 2 2

Normal 4 5 9 4 9 13

Breasts Large 3 3 5 5

Normal 2 2 4 4

Buttocks Large 2 2 2 2

Normal 9 3 12 6 7 7

2.2 Case studies

2.2.1 Introduction

2.3.1 Case study � Character one � Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

Lara Croft the protagonist from the Tomb raider franchise is with no doubt the most popular and celebrated female videogame character of all time. In her debut Tom Raider in 1996 she appeared as a powerful, independent and sexy English archaeologist scavenging for treasures in tombs. In a predominantly male gaming society she became a massive hit especially because of her dual wielded pistols and hypersexualized figure. It became an iconic female figure at a time that there was very little female character representation in videogames. And at a time that the gaming industry was dominated by males it�s very feasible to determine that her exaggerated body proportions of overlarge breasts, incredibly small waist and large hips was designed to prefer male taste. As the series continued her appearance has undergone gradual graphical improvements, as well as enlarged (and later reduced) breast size. As an iconic female figure in the gaming industry it is examining her portrayal throughout the development of the Tomb Raider series will reveal much data about female character portrayal.

2.3.2 Case study � Character two � Samus Aran, Metroid

Another iconic female character in the world of videogames is Samus Aran from the Metroid series. Making her debut a decade before Lara Croft in the first Metroid game in 1986 she appeared in heavy armor that covered her entire body and giving her the look of a robot. Therefor it was an utter surprise to the player when upon completing the game the real identity of the person behind the armor was revealed. If the player successfully finished the game Samus comes out of her armor and reveals that that character is in fact a women. As surprising as this was to the game player it in no way discouraged the player but made him (the gaming industry was dominated by males at that time) more fascinated about this armor clad girl that went around the universe blowing up alien life forms. The Metroid series became a huge success with 11 games so far. Yet as the series continued Samus�s appearance underwent changes that gradually became the downfall of her character. Therefor it is important to investigate her portrayal throughout the series as she is an important female videogame protagonist of all times.

2.3.3 Case study � Character three � Faith Connors , Mirror�s edge

Unlike the first two case studies Mirror�s edge is a relatively new game to appear. It depicts the story of the 24 year old protagonist Faith Connors. Throughout the game Faith appears as a strong sister that is determined to help her sister from false accusations. Her character is portrayed as a strong, fierce and capable soul while she leaps from rooftop to rooftop. Faith is also known for her unique looks that breaks the usual stereotypical portrayals of female characters. She is the representation of the few female videogame characters that are truly portrayed in a positive manner. Therefore examining her character will unravel much information about the positive conduct of female characters in video games.

2.3 Gamer preference information

2.3.1 Method

Conducting an online questionnaire.

2.3.2 Results

CHAPTER THREE - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS

1.1 Portrayals of Women in modern games

The Game industry has come a long way from when it first became a mainstream entertainment 30 years ago. Today the videogame industry is a large and booming one releasing a new game every other day. Games today sell in the millions. The new console generation that started with the XBOX 360 has enabled virtually realistic graphics with better renderings which took games to a whole new level. Games are no longer about just shooting someone, they have complex storylines, music that are composed just for them, and the release of a new game today is just as extravagant and anticipated as a newly releasing film. Resent demographics shows that there is a steady increase of female game players. Therefor when all these aspects about video games are going forward, it�s important to see the progression of the characters in video games. Especially female characters, since female characters have faced many difficulties along the way.

So where do female characters stand in in today�s video games? Are they still in underrepresentation and hypersexualized as those that (Dietz, 1998) found in popular games 15 years ago?

Games have progressed far ahead in 15 years. But if we look at some of the popular female videogame characters of today we can still see the same traces that (Dietz, 1998) saw back then.

Even in most of today�s games, whether they are protagonists, villains, supporting characters or background characters, female characters in video games are still often portrayed hypersexualized. Most of the female characters partially nude with revealing chests, abs and thighs. They are dressed in tight leather, wearing high heels and often wear cloths with no sleeves. And in the few occasions that a female character is covering most of her body, she is still clad in skintight outfits that easily accentuates her skinny but voluptuous figure. Female characters still have bodies with large breasts, small waits and large hips to the proportions that are difficult to achieve by natural means.

As far as hypersexuality goes there was evidence that subjected that when it comes to gaming series the female characters in them gradually became more sexualized. Characters that started as a regular female then gradually became hypersexual as the game series progresses. One good example for this is the female character Cortana from the Halo series. Cortana is an artificial intelligence character that helps the player with tactical information throughout the gameplay. Her appearance from Halo 1 to Halo 4 has undergone dramatic changes with an end result becoming a character known for her sexuality.

When considering the numbers of female videogame characters we cannot see much progression there either. Throughout my search for female protagonists in video games, the numbers that I found were surprisingly low. Even in fighting games where there are a higher number of characters it was surprising to see that the number of female characters were relatively low compared to the male characters except in Dead Or Alive games.

Title Male to female character ratio

DOA 4 11:10

Mortal Kombat 9 21: 6

Tekken 5 28: 8

Street Fighter 4 21: 4

Similarly if we include RPG (role playing games) games we are bound to find more female playable characters. Yet in these games the player can chose what type of character he or she wants to play with. The common amount of characters for a RPG is 4, three being male and one being a female character. And it is a common trait in RPG�s and MMORPG�s for the female character to be in the Healer class or be a ranged attacker (range magic dealer). Although a healer and range attackers are very important for the team, they are more passive and do not engage in frontline action. For example four out of the five classes in which you can play as a female in the famous MMORPG, World Of War Craft deal range attacks. Whereas all six of the classes in which you can play as a male deal melee attacks.

If we look at the number of female characters excluding fighting games and RPG�s we are truly left with a staggeringly low amount of female characters, let alone female protagonists.

A few games however give us the option of choosing the gender of the protagonist in the beginning of the game. For example in Mass Effect 3 the player has the liberty of choosing whether the lead character Commander Shepard is a male or female. The gameplay as known to be advantageous if the game is played with the female Commander Shepard. Similar options are given in the game Fallout 3.

1.1.1 The Lara phenomenon

Hypersexualized yet powerful female characters.

3.1.2 Stereotypes

Common stereotypes in modern video games

3.1.3 Further findings

3.1.4 The exception

Female characters that break free from stereotypical character portrayals.

3.2 To a better future

Instances where female characters have changed their hypersexualized portrayal to a more realistic character portrayal throughout the ages.

3.3 conclusion

Also, our results seem to indicate that the number of

female characters in recent games is far larger than it was in

earlier games. However, drawing this conclusion would be

premature, because our sample may have been biased

toward a higher prevalence of female characters: we did not

draw a random sample but deliberately selected popular

games with a diverse cast of characters. The sample we

( Jansz & Martis, 2007)More about this in it. Look if needed. Tells how contempapary games have more females and they are not weak

In recent years, more female video game

protagonists have emerged, and some have speculated that

this indicates new power and liberation in the image of the

female video game character. We, however, agree with

Provenzo�s analysis (Huntemann 2000) that aggressive

female figures that are also objectified, sexualized and

trivialized (as we found in the current analysis) are not true

figures of liberation. The ubiquity of aggressive females, and

especially of sexualized aggressive females in video games,

is an important development.

( Dill & Thill, 2007)

This could lead to a new emerging stereotype

The powerful but sexy type

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