Sexism in Gaming
I’m a little bit new to the gaming world, having just purchased a PlayStation 2 for our kids this Christmas. Prior to that my experience with gaming systems included a Sega Genesis and if I really want to date myself I would mention Atari, although my family never owned one.
I did have one of these midway Pac-man machines, tho, and I am pretty sure that my determination to beat that machine is the reason I have to wear contacts or glasses at all times. Sexism in gaming back then was pretty much non-existent, at least on the games I played. Things seemed pretty fair – I mean there was Pac-Man and then there was Ms. Pac-Man – both with equal chomping abilities. Nowadays the video gaming industry has exploded and so has the gender stereotyping.
My video game interests mimic my personality to a tee. Being an INTJ, I love “system building” games like The Sims or anything else with a definite thinking strategy involved. So far, I have enjoyed the Sims (although in my first attempt at playing the game I admit I set the house on fire trying to cook and ended up killing my character because I couldn’t find the phone to call the Fire Department). Yeah, she was toast.
I have yet to encounter anything sexist in The Sims, however, I am aware that it does exist in other varieties of their games. I do have issues with the cover of the box. Take a look at the photo on the right. Does that girl in the blue top look a tad skinny to you? Get real. No one looks like that in real life. Cartoons shouldn’t look like that either.
I decided to do a little research on sexism in the gaming world. I figure there must be plenty of gender-stereotyping and discrimination out there and I should be aware of it so I can make sure to avoid buying games for my family that promote such things. What I found was staggering to say the least. I was aware of violence in various games, but I had no idea that included prostitution, rape, and killing women for extra points.
I don’t want to re-hash all the gory details from the various games, but let’s just say that this web site gives a really good description of games to avoid and why. It’s basically a rant by a female gamer who was fed up with being served a message by the gaming industry that she is “a brainless piece of trash and that any value I may have as a human being is to be based upon my sexuality.” Be advised – there are some rather graphic portrayals from such games as Grand Theft Auto, Blood Rayne, Ridge Racer and a few other extremely popular games.
I would like to hear from some of you female gamers on what games you recommend that don’t treat women as sex objects. Do they exist? I’d like to add a list on this site for reference. Please post your recommendations below. Thanks!
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Rita
I love the sims.
But yeah, they are too skinny.
Pacman
if you are into Pacman you shall check out this online pacman website where you can play pacman, ms.pacman and more