The way that we view gender in video games is a topic of extreme interest. The reason that this area is worth addressing and studying is because at its base level it’s oppressive. Of course there are exceptions, there are to every rule, but for arguments sake let’s look at the main stream. In many cases we see a lack of representation of genders, including male and female, and in some cases other. In D Fox Harrell’s speech he talks about a video game where five different genders exist. He then points out that four of these genders fit the male description, highlighting the difference and exception, which is a women in a video game. The video game creators are doing gender for the characters, and for the ones playing the game as well. They are showing that the male is the dominant normal character, by having the male body shape be represented four times more than the women. How does this make female video game players feel? Well I wouldn’t know personally, due to my gender identity being male, but I can only assume that it’s a negative reaction. This doesn’t give the player the opportunity to self-identify as closely and easily with characters, which creates another sort of gender gap in  our country. The overwhelming evidence of males having more opportunities and experiences can be construed as a reflection of how society views the capability of genders- in a general sense.

Another oppressive aspect of female characters in video games is the body type that is generally presented. Male characters in video games are short, tall, strong, weak, normal, smart, stupid etc. Showing that generally male characters have different character traits, preserving independent identities. This isn’t the case for most female characters. In most cases, we see a sexualization of female characters. These characters have abnormally large busts, with a contradicting waist line, aesthetic facial features and smooth skin. By portraying female video game characters consistently in this manor, it gives players the impression this is how women should look. They should be built in a fashion that is convenient and attractive for men, even if it does make female players and viewers insecure, right? Wrong. This sexualization is truly problematic because it perpetuates a system that keeps men creating a system that oppresses women. The system creates a vision of how the ideal female would look, and the dissatisfaction with not meeting this standard is traumatic. It causes a negative self-image problem to develop, which creates a larger hole to climb out of. It is important for independent games to continue to develop non mainstream character identities, to normalize the idea of non-white male characters.