Representations of gender and ethnicity in video games

Overview

Recall questions on selection and combination in a game, under-representation and why it persists, van Zoonen on character design, Hall on stereotyping, positive uses of a stereotype, customisation and Gauntlett, bell hooks and intersectionality, the global market's effect, and evidence on both sides of whether representation has improved.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   How do selection and combination construct a representation in a game?

   Model answer

   Every character is designed rather than filmed, so body shape, costume, voice, animation and the actions the game permits are all chosen, and their combination determines how the character is read.

2. 2

   What does it mean to say a group is under-represented in games?

   Model answer

   It means members of that group appear rarely, mostly in supporting or background roles, and seldom as the playable character through whom the player experiences the world.

3. 3

   Give two reasons why under-representation has persisted in the industry.

   Model answer

   Development teams have historically been overwhelmingly male and white, and publishers have assumed that a young male buyer will not identify with a protagonist unlike himself.

4. 4

   Apply van Zoonen's argument to female character design.

   Model answer

   Van Zoonen argues that displaying women's bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture, which is visible when female characters are given impractical costume and camera angles that emphasise the body over the action.

5. 5

   How does van Zoonen's contrast between male and female bodies apply to games?

   Model answer

   Male avatars are usually built as spectacles of strength and capability aligned with what the player does, whereas female bodies have more often been framed to be looked at, which separates appearance from function.

6. 6

   What does Stuart Hall's account of stereotyping contribute to analysing game characters?

   Model answer

   Hall argues that stereotyping reduces a group to a few fixed traits and occurs where power is unequal, which explains why minor characters from marginalised groups are so often reduced to an accent, a criminal role or an exotic setting.

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