Blog #3: Homework 4 Question 2a Rewrite

Flanagan argues that, “the games’ relationship to women is an exploitative one. For every seemingly liberatory image of a female heroine or monster in these games, the problematic side of the characters—through dress, unreal body design, and the relationship of the body to the viewer—dominates” (269). Flanagan says that because these games are created and played mainly by men, these stereotypes dominate, and this causes women to become “less and less interested in engaging with this massive system of interaction and representation” (361). She argues that these images of women are exploitative because they stereotype women in unrealistic, sexist ways. For example, Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft is a strong, adventurous woman. However, her body is entirely unrealistic—she has extremely large, gravity defying breasts, unnaturally small waist, and large hips. Her outfit consists of short-shorts, a tank top, combat boots, and guns strapped to her thighs. These elements fetishize her body, accentuating her legs, and adding the fetishistic sex appeal of weaponry. Her face is also exaggerated—very large lips and eyes—sexualizing her even further.

However, Flanagan nearly ignores the fact men are extremely sexualized and stereotyped in video games as well. Men are always depicted as the strong, courageous, macho-man hero with exaggerated muscles, aggressive, violent and brimming with testosterone. While this may not be as sexual a depiction as some of the female characters, it is entirely unrealistic, and exploitative. Frequently male characters are put in elaborate armor, but they are designed to accentuate the desired, unrealistic muscles. These characters are designed to look and act the part of a mindless killing machine, and while the young boys playing the game may not want to be sexually attracted to them, they want to sexually identify with them. They want to be strong—physically and mentally—and courageous, and they identify with the potentially misogynistic male characters with far too much testosterone.

While these stereotypes already exist in our society—in fashion, media, “boys don’t cry,” etc.—the 3d technology of videogames allows for these images to become even more exaggerated. And with the prominence of videogames—even surpassing Hollywood in market share—the stereotypes become more recognized and popular in our culture.