VIDEOGAMES ARE PROFOUNDLY SEXIST
Yup, games are crap when it comes to depicting women. If they're not trying
to save the world using only the power of their tits, they're simpering in a tower some-
where waiting for a big strong man to come and save them. Yup, games are sexist in
the extreme. Except that, perhaps they're not. But there's more at play here than old
fashioned, lug-headed misogyny on the part of game devs. The reasons for video games'
insulting female characters go much deeper than that. In fact they start way back in the
early mists of both game design and narrative structure.
David Houghton content editor at GamesRadar UK
The manner in which women are depicted in many videogames, such as
Grand Theft Auto, has it's roots in mythology and religion. These beliefs were reinforced in the late nineteenth century with Darwinism and Freudian psychology, which was reflected in the popular culture of that time, and ever since.
Other videogames, such as Bloodrayne, attempt to come to terms with misogynistic narratives,whereas Uncharted and Uncharted 2 may offer a way to avoid dehumanizing women entirely. The sexist, misogynistic narrative resonate deeply within male psyches, and games based on these kinds of stories will appeal to male prurient interests. Censorship will only increase it's appeal. It is a marketing challenge to begin telling a different story for women in videogames, but there is evidence that even men are growing tired of the misogyny that permeates our culture.
According to Jack Holland, author of Misogyny, this hatred and fear of
women began with the ancient Greek story of Pandora, and the ancient Hebrew story of Eve. In the story of Pandora, men existed before women in a kind of blissful existence in which they did not suffer greatly, or die. However, they lacked fire, and had to eat their meat raw. When Zeus refused to give men 'the secret of fire', Prometheus stole it, and gave it to men. As a punishment, Zeus gave men Pandora.
The Greek phrase used to describe her, kalon kakon,means 'the beautiful evil.'1
From her comes all the race of womankind
The deadly female race and tribe of wives.
Who live with mortal men, and bring them harm.2
The gods gave her 'sly manners and the morals of a bitch'. Pandora is presented
to Epimetheus, Prometheus' younger brother. He is enchanted....and marries her. Pandora
brings with her a large sealed jar, which she has been told not to open.....Pandora cannot
resist seeing what is inside3
But now the woman opened up the cask.
And scattered pains and evils among men.4
Since ....mankind has been doomed to labour, grow old, get sick, and die in suffering.5
In other words, we were born and died, like the animals. Women had reduced
men to animals, and yet men depended on women for their very existence. This could
be the source of the two principle symbols of women in Western civilization, woman
as Holy Mother, and woman as whore, both of which dehumanize women, Pandora
could be considered, along with Eve, as the original femme fatale, and the symbol of
the femme fatale has infected Western culture and is in evidence in today's videogames.
The story of Eve is a familiar one for anyone growing up in Western culture.
Adam preceded Eve, and Eve was created from Adam's rib. They lived in a paradise,
the Garden of Eden, within which was the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, whose
fruit was not to be eaten. The Serpent appears and tempts Eve into eating the apple from
that tree, resulting in Adam and Eve's expulsion from the garden. After Eve's trans-
gression God had this to say:
And I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception;
and in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children and thy desire
shall be for thy husband and he shall rule over thee. (Genesis 3:16)
He tells Adam:
And I shall put enmity between thee and the woman (Genesis 3:15)
This is the source of much of the misogyny in Judeo-Christian culture. The eating of
the apple was the Original Sin, which led to guilt and shame. Adam and Eve are
suddenly aware of their nakedness and cover themselves. This story sets the stage
for centuries of shame and guilt over sexuality, and, of course, women were to
blame.
What does all of this have to do with videogames? The many narrative
structures which ultimately derive from the two I mentioned have kept the hatred,
subjugation, and fear of women alive and well, in Western culture. The latest mani-
festation of this misogynistic storyline can be found today in videogames. Grand Theft
Auto or, perhaps, Grand Theft Chariot would have been a big hit in ancient Athens.
Like the gameworld of Grand Theft Auto, Athens was filled with prostitutes.
Solon legalized state brothels, staffed by slaves and aliens...
who could be picked up for a few dollars, near the city dumps
where people went to defecate. The whore's sexuality was a
public convenience; she was viewed in terms of a sewer that
drained off men's lust.6
Grand Theft Auto III..released for the Playstation 2 on October
22, 2001...quickly sold a million copies. Aside from three or more
female characters woven into the plotline, the only women are the
prostitutes that infiltrate the city boulevards when the streetlights
turn on...the working women will catcall from the curb if they like
what you're driving. Stop your stolen car and honk the horn if you're
interested. ..You have to find a semi-secluded area, like a dirty alley-
way by the trash can...the car starts to rock up and down..the controller
vibrates. The car then abruptly stops-after one last, quick, awkward
pump. “Money”, one of your scores, goes down a few points, while
your energy bar increases. ..You could get your cash back by going after the
prostitute and beating her to death, picking up the damp green digital money
from her bloody body. Killing a series of working women might instigate a
police chase, but beating one or two will rarely get their attention. ..as more
people learned about the prostitution...the game sold even faster. Nothing in
modern entertainment history equaled the power to destroy a lifelike individual,
in a lifelike world, with your own hands...Unlike a film, no one else made the
decision to kill off the prostitute. You did.7
To a greater extent than most videogames, Grand Theft Auto has given
players the opportunity to indulge in total mayhem, to act out all manner of
sexual, and homicidal fantasies. Notice the striking similarity in emotional tone
between the account of prostitution in ancient Athens, and the account of the
gameplay in Grand Theft Auto. One can easily imagine an Athenian whore being
murdered, her body thrown into the adjacent sewer. Jack Holland noted the dual
sexual and violent meanings in the misogynistic language used by men in Belfast,
a language resembling that used in multiplayer war game chat rooms. I was also
struck by the association of women and sex with filth.
I grew up in Northern Ireland..it was a place where the word 'cunt' expressed
the worst form of contempt one person could feel for another. If you loathed
or despised a person 'cunt' said it all. The word was scrawled on the walls of
rubbish-strewn back alleyways or in public toilets reeking of urine and faeces.
Nothing was worse than being treated like a 'cunt', or nothing so stupid as a
'stupid cunt'.
In Belfast slang the verb 'to stiff' someone can mean two things 'to make love
to' or 'to kill'...'I just stiffed that cunt' can mean 'I just shot him dead' or 'I just
f**ked her'. Either way the victim is discarded, discountable, essentially
dehumanized.8
Chris Leigh, Executive Editor of the PAL Gaming Network, or PALGN, based
in Australia, has some definite opinions regarding sexism in videogames.
Are games sexist? Personally, I don't think there can be any dispute – they
almost certainly are. On one level, this is hardly a surprising revelation, after
all, games are toys made predominantly by boys for boys. In fact video games
are so obviously sexist, that a more pertinent question would perhaps be what
does discrimination mean for games, and the industry as a whole?
Lara Croft is constantly upheld as an example of progress, but she's a weak
icon, for womanhood. With her unrealistic body shape and revealing attire
Lara is a fantasy figure for males and little else, even if she does possess a
gift for handling firearms.
Gaming's best stab at a strong, independent icon of womanhood? Fahrenheit's
Carla Valenti. That is, until she ended up getting her kit off for Playboy.9
Lara Croft. Carla Valenti, Rayne, from Bloodrayne, and many other female
protagonists are attempts to come to terms with misogyny, by seemingly empowering
women by making them heroines, defeating the misogynistic bad guys. But this is
more a case of transforming women into fetish objects. In Rayne's case, she takes on
some of the characteristics of a dominatrix. It portrays the women as a warrior form of
misogyny. Women are not treated as human, but as a symbol. This can be traced back,once again, to ancient Athens and their fascination with the Amazons.
Representations of battle between men and Amazons are among the most popular
depictions of women in Antiquity...Wherever a citizen looked, his eye would
inevitably fall on a scene showing a man, sword or spear raised, hauling a woman
by her hair off a horse, or stabbing and clubbing her to death, a javelin pointed
at her nipple, as invariably her tunic slips to reveal a breast, and her short skirt
rolls up to reveal her thighs.10
No doubt the prurient imaginations of Athenian men were stirred by the warrior women
of Sparta as well, as outraged as they were by their behavior.
To the horror, and no doubt fascination, of the rest of Greece, they exercised naked,
took part in athletic games, and generally tended to be stronger and fitter.
Much to the outrage of Aristotle and other conventional moralists, Spartan women
wore short, revealing tunics.11
Undoubtedly, Athenian men daydreamed of being chopped to bits by naked, very
tough, Spartan babes. Sadomasochism has deep roots, and this attraction/repulsion
dynamic can make the identification of misogyny a confusing affair. However,
the tendency to place women on a pedestal, to transform them into warrior heroines,
is an expression of men's fear of women. Recognizing that they are at women's mercy
they seek to placate them. This is women as fetish objects. None of it truly relates
to women as human beings. Of course, women can be heroines, without being a fetish
object. How do you tell the difference? As every commentator on sexism in videogames
has noted, women with exaggerated sexual attributes, or special attention being given
to sexual attributes, such as boobs shaking at every opportunity, are a sure sign of a
fetish in full bloom. And, of course, the addition of violence feeds the fetish even
more. A good example of a fetish driving the narrative in a videogame would be
Bloodrayne. Men love this sort of thing, or do they?
Why is this game (Bloodrayne) rated M? ….because the violence and language
are carried to a nauseating low...I don't have virgin ears. But there is a difference
between colorful language being a natural part of your vocabulary and swearing
just for the sake of swearing..Do developers expect us to believe that uttering
f**k is a sign of maturity? What grates me the most though, is not the immaturity
of the developers because, after all, they're just trying to make a break by appeal-
ing to the lowest common denominator. No, the bigger whores are the professional
reviewers who are more than willing to overlook the gratuitous violence and ram-
pant sexism that is prevalent in too many of today's games, as long as they have
an enjoyable gaming experience, and don't have to struggle with the controls.
But by doing so, they continue to perpetuate the stereotype that most gamers are
drooling, addlebrained, teenagers content to luxuriate in a sea of sex and violence.
Randy Sluganski http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/BloodRayne/BloodRayne.shtm
Men may not purchase games such as Bloodrayne, because they enjoy that sort
thing, but because they feel they need it. Sexual addiction causes men to keep
turning to more intense sexual stimuli for reasons they don't understand. It is
ironic that in seeking to assert greater control over women by reducing them to
sexual servitors men have in fact surrendered their control to unconscious drives
which depend on women for sustenance, thereby giving women control over men.
Men are driven by a desire to be without limits, and without dependency, in total
control. Women serve as a reminder of how dependent, limited, and out of control
men are. However, the awful mistake that men have made, historically, is to believe
that women are doing this to men. It has more to do with a lack of acceptance of
being a biological creature, as opposed to some superhuman being. Men are not at
the mercy of women, they are at the mercy of Nature. Grappling with this problem
offers narrative structures which could push videogames into more constructive
gameworlds.
In 1905, Rosa Mayreder forsaw the problem facing women in the coming
century.
Nothing is of greater importance to women than to battle against the abstractions
into which they are constantly being converted by masculine thought. If they wish
to achieve power as real persons in the world they must battle against woman as fetish.12
Bram Dijkstra has written two excellent books exploring misogyny in
Nineteenth century (Idols of Perversity) and Twentieth century (Evil Sisters)
culture. He shows how Darwinism and Freudian psychology provided a fresh
impetus for misogyny.
The later nineteenth century used Darwin's discoveries to transform the scattershot
gender conflicts of earlier centuries into a 'scientifically grounded' expose of female sex-
uality as a source of social disruption and 'degeneration'. At the opening of the new century, biology and medicine set out to prove that nature had given all women a basic instinct that made them into predators, destroyers, witches---evil sisters.....
A 'latent vampire' lay 'concealed under thoroughly respectable inhibited womanhood,'
as William J. Fielding,..stressed in 1927 in a widely distributed pamphlet..Woman: The
Eternal Primitive.
Female sexuality had come to be seen as a degenerative disease. Women were nature's
secret weapon against manhood's valiant efforts to triumph over mortality.
Our continued , and, it would seem, even increasing, fascination with the vampire
as a creature of sexual depredation is a disconcerting indication of the renewed popularity
of sadomasochistic concepts of sexual interaction.
We need to change the nature and the quality of our fantasies before we can change
the quality (as opposed to the fetishized desire-structures) of our social environment. In the end only our imagination can change the world, for our social reality is a product of the dreams and fears we hold in common.13
Bram Dijkstra was writing about literature, painting, and film, but if he did write
about videogames he would likely agree with David Houghton, content editor at
GamesRadarUK.
If games were a pure narrative medium like film or literature, the kind of character-
ization we're frequently inflicted with would be decried, lampooned, and immolated, leading rapidly to a dead industry. But as it is, we brush it off as a temporary annoyance and then forget it as soon as we get back into the game.14
However, David Houghton does have some good things to say about some current
videogames.
Valve is a shining beacon in terms of characterization, Half Life 2 and Portal, in particular, being fine examples of mature, believable, and witty writing. In fact, it's important to note, as we have before, that despite it's silent protagonist, Portal is all about a female character using her brains to overcome adversity.15
He might also have included Left4Dead, which I have had first hand experience with.
There was a female character killing off the zombies along with the men, and she did
not have the usual, exaggerated sexual features, or any other attributes which drew
undue attention to her gender. Although there is a screaming banshee in the game, she
is not eroticized. She is more of a monster than a woman, and although she is an
example of the woman as monster storyline, this is not a compelling example of
misogyny. For reasons of space, I haven't included all of the criticisms David Hough-
ton offered concerning misogyny in videogames, but because I know he is very
sensitive to it's presence, I think it is safe to say that the games he praises are rela-
tively free of it. He sees a trend towards better characterization of women, which
enables players to relate to them as fellow human beings, instead of icons of
perversity. I believe I have made my case regarding misogyny in videogames.
There is going to be plenty more of it I'm sure, but I am encouraged by a
humanizing trend. However, misogyny cannot be ignored, it needs to be dealt
with, rather than succumbed to. I'm not sure videogames are the right venue
for struggling with a difficult psychological issue. It is challenging, but not
particularly entertaining.
To give some idea of where the videogame industry stands regarding
it's portrayal of women, I am including lists of the best and worst female
characters in videogames as compiled by Michael Moore on the Quest to
Nowhere website, just this past January 2010. In some cases, misogyny
thrives, in others, not so much. In some, perhaps, not at all. Characters may
have misogynistic attributes, without being reduced to an inhuman symbol.
Misogyny present in character. Misogyny not present in character,
Sophia (Maximo: Ghosts to Glory) The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Pandora revisited. Good characterization.
Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros.) Alyx Vance (Half Life 2 series)
Woman as stupid, helpless Woman as human being
Elena Fisher (Uncharted series) Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)
some helpless woman Good characterization
characteristics but also
a human being. Faith (Mirror's Edge)
Chloe Fraser (Uncharted 2) Fully characterized.
Femme Fatale but also
a fully developed character. http://questtonowhere.com/?p=229
FOOTNOTES
1. Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice by Jack Holland. Carroll & Graf Pub. 2006
2. Hesiod: Theogony/Works and Days[elip], translated by Dorothea Wender, Penguin
Classics 1973
3. Holland, op. Citation
4. Wender, op. Citation
5. Holland, op. Citation
6. Ibid.
7. Porn & Pong by Damon Brown. Feral House 2008
8. Holland, op. Citation
9. http://palgn.com.au/7234/roundtable-sexism-and-video-games/
10. Holland, op. Citation
11. Ibid.
12. A Survey of the Woman Problem by Rosa Mayreder 1905 Trans. Herman Scheffauer 1913
Alfred A. Knopf 1996
13. Evil Sisters by Bram Dijksra Alfred A. Knopf 1996
14. http://www.gamesradar.com/f/are-video-games-really-sexist/a-2010011993623189049/p-2
15. Ibid.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, Damon Porn & Pong Feral House 2008
Dijksra, Bram Evil Sisters Alfred A. Knopf Inc. 1996
Hesiod Theogony/Works and Days Penguin Classics 1973
Holland, Jack Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice Carroll & Graf Pub. 2006
Houghton, David Are Video Games Really Sexist? GamesRadarUK 2010.
Leigh, Chris Roundtable: Sexism and Video Games. Palgn.com April 7, 2007
Mayreder, Rosa A Survey of the Woman Problem Alfred A. Knopf Inc. 1996
Moore, Michael 7 Best/Worst Female Characters Quest to Nowhere.com Jan. 8 2010.
Sluganski, Randy Bloodrayne JustAdventure.com March 18, 2003
VIDEOGAMES
Grand Theft Auto III
Developed by DMA Design Published by Rockstar Games Oct. 2001 PS2
Bloodrayne
Developed by Terminal Reality Published by Majesco Oct. 15 2002 PS2
Uncharted: Drake's Revenge
Developed by Naughty Dog Published by Sony Nov. 19 2007 PS3
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Developed by Naughty Dog Published by Sony Oct. 13 2009 PS3
Tomb Raider
Developed by Core Design Published by Eidos Interactive 1996 Sega Saturn PS PC
Fahrenheit
Developed by Quantic Dream Published by Atari Oct. 2005 PS2
Half Life 2
Developed by Valve Corp. Published by Sierra, Valve Nov. 16 2004 PS3
Portal
Developed by Valve Corp. Published by Valve, XBLA Oct. 9 2007 PS3
Left4Dead
Developed by Valve Corp Published by Valve Nov. 17 2008 PC XBOX360
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
Developed by CapCom Digital Published by CapCom Dec. 27 2001 PS2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Developed by Konami Published by Konami Nov. 17 2004
Super Mario Bros.
Developed by Nintendo Published by Nintendo Sep. 13, 1985
Beyond Good and Evil
Developed by Ubisoft Published by Ubisoft Nov. 11 2003
Mirror's Edge
Developed by EA Published by EA Nov. 12 2008
