The Harmful Effects of Sexism in Video Games The overtly sexist depictions of women in video games are becoming harmful to real women. Much research has been done on the effects of violence on video games on the player, but there has been relatively few studies done on the effects of sexism. The sexist depictions in video games and the effects on the male player base is becoming increasingly problematic, as it is becoming increasingly common for women to be threatened with violence for simply being involved in playing video games. Sexism can take many forms. One of these forms is known as hostile sexism. Hostile sexism takes on a more antagonistic view of the women; men see women as trying to control them or force their ideas on them, so they react callously (Becker and Wright). Examples of hostile sexism would include actions such as threats of violence, rape, harassment or discrimination on the streets or in the workplace. Hostile sexism is of course the most harmful form of sexism, and it is also probably the best known. The lesser known form of sexism is called benevolent sexism. I say lesser known, because it is often dismissed as not “real” sexism. As the name suggests, the perpetrator tends to mean well with their actions. Benevolent sexism is expressed by thinking of women …show more content…
As opposed to watching violence on television, the player is more involved in a video game. Players are able to make choices themselves in a game, as if they are the person in the virtual world. This allows players to become more involved in the fictional world, and it has been hypothesized player’s views adapt to those of the world they are playing in (Yao, Mahood, and Linz). In other words, their view of reality can become distorted and more akin to that of whatever game they are playing. If the game treated women as subordinate to men or as sex objects, the player is more likely to view women that way in their own
... never concretely relates to video games it is only normally assumed. many believe that video games only impact male players through these violent outburst yet a lot of research suggest that the misconceptions regarding video games such as decrease in academics, increased aggression, and a decrease in respect for women is often situation based and rare at that. it has been shown however the video games increase an individual's spatial performance. As is said in the article Gender Disparity in Video Game Usage: A Third-Person Perception-Based Explanation,
The most accepted definition of sexism is a gender based bigotry; women earning only seventy percent the amount of men for the same job, or men serving sixty-three percent longer
One literary piece that confronts sexism is “only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros in which she talks about how she grew up as an only daughter with six brothers. She states “I am the only daughter
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender, especially against women and girls. It can be the belief that one sex is more superior to the opposite sex. In this movie, Jean Kilbourne narrates how media perpetrates the idea that the male is superior to the female. She proves her point through presenting examples of how women are altered in advertisements.
In what ways are women abused and discriminated against inside literature and throughout history? In many patriarchal societies, men have held authority over women solely due to gender. This power imbalance between men and women sometimes led to unjust treatment of women, and men exert their authority over multiple women in the play, The Crucible. In The Crucible¸ male characters intimidate women to achieve specific outcomes and mark their superiority.
Sexism is the ideology that maintains that one sex is inherently inferior to the other. Sexism or discrimination based on gender has been a social issue for many years; it is the ideology that one sex is superior or inferior to the other. Sexism does not only affect females, but also males. Men are very often victimized by social stereotypes and norms based on gender expectations. Sexism has appears in almost all social institutions including family, the media, religion, sports, the military, politics, and the government. However, although both genders are affected, men have benefited from sexism the most (Thompson 300-301.)
As the crudest and most brutal expression of sexism, misogynistic attitudes tend to be portrayed by the dominant culture as an expression of male deviance. In reality they are part of a sexist continuum, necessary for the maintenance of patriarchal social order (Hooks qtd. In Adam and Fuller 943)
We [women] are, as a sex, infinitely superior to men." Elizabeth Stanton (prominent woman suffragist) - (excerpted from One Woman, One Vote by Wheeler, pg. 58) "Frailty, thy name is woman." William Shakespeare - (excerpted from Hamlet, Act I, scene 2) This quote made by Stanton in 1890 shows many of the feministic beliefs held by the women of today. And the quote made by Shakespeare holds many of the same thoughts shared by men. The battle of the sexes is prevalent everywhere and is applicable to anything.
This journal article is entirely credible and written by two women who know what they’re talking about. This article discusses how video games form stereotypes about both genders and that they impact both gamers and non-gamers. Men are portrayed as aggressive and women are unsurprisingly portrayed as sex objects. A main issue with this is that video games are mostly played by the younger generation meaning these are the ideas being imbedded into the youth of the world. The...
Many video games portray women as objectified beings, purely used for sex appeal and to attract the larger male gamer population. We also see men idealised in a similar way as well – the males in video games are portrayed as muscly, brawny men. However, we rarely see a scantily clad man in a game, but there is a vast abundance of games which feature women wearing ‘sexy armour’, or a noticeable lack of substantial amount of clothing. This isn’t female-friendly as these games are made for men, causing women to feel alienated and uncomfortable.
Sexism is an ever changing concept in today’s world. Every day the concept morphs a little bit, changing the entire definition of what is sexist and what is not. In The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, the male characters lie to and abuse their women in order to have the women marry them. Lucentio come to Padua to study, but when he sees a beautiful girl, he pretends to be a teacher in order to marry Bianca. Petruchio on the other hand forces a woman to marry him and then trains her to follow his every command.
Benevolent sexism is often betrayed as chivalrous behavior towards women, however it is sexist because women are viewed as people who need men to protect them. People who are benevolent sexist believe men are supposed to keep women safe and secure. For instance, if a woman is walking down the street with a man and a car is coming the man is supposed to make sure the woman is safe. In other words, men are supposed to risk themselves to make sure women feel safe and protected. Benevolent sexism is an issue, because it displays gender inequality. In other words, women are put on a pedestal because they are viewed as fragile. Benevolent sexism is different from hostile sexism, because women are not viewed as weak. Hostile sexism is viewed women who use seduction and other methods to control men. In other words, women are viewed negatively because hostile sexist believe they are challenging traditional gender roles. Women who do not conform to benevolent sexism are often viewed negatively, because they are not allowing patriarchalism to continue. Overall, hostile and benevolent sexism differ and views often affect
In conclusion, the video games that contain sexual themes becomes more graphically portrayed. And the video games that use Damsel and Distress plot reduce women to a state of victimhood. The way female characters’ dress in the videogame reinforced gender-role stereotypes. As most of those games show female character wearing revealing clothes, which reduce their identity to mere sex objects. However, developer put emphasis on the masculinity and physical power in male character. They way those games portray female and male character it reinforces gender-role stereotype. This can negatively affect the identity and the perception of the person playing those games,
Sexism is discrimination against a person based on their gender, especially on women. Sexism in language is the use of language which devalues members on one sex, almost always women, showing gender inequality. In the 1960/70’s there was a feminist campaign in Western Countries and a lot of research was conducted into gender inequality. The feminist campaign demanded that gender equality should be eliminated from the educational system (Shi, 2001.) The existence of sexist language is due to sexism in society and it is also related to social attitudes.
Jayson, Sharon. "Study the Player, Not the Video Game; Virtual Violence May Have More Effect on Certain Personalities." USA TODAY [Ohio, USA; Ontario, Canada] 15 Sept. 2011, Final ed.: 3D. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.