Alike the representation of the LGBT community, the representation of femininity in video games can also picture individuals and/or groups in a negative way which influences the way of which members in society view them. Femininity in video games has been more apparent due to the rise of the feminist ideology and the third wave movement. Furthermore, feminine characters are usually portrayed in weaker roles and are more often than not sexualised and objectified. Therefore, this representation illustrates the delusional perceptions of feminine individuals, especially women, within the video gaming industry. This paper will be focusing on the impacts that the representation of femininity in video games has on feminine individuals, including those
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This statistic alone supports the idea that the majority of individuals are aware that women are sexualised in video games. Throughout video game history, there has been multiple instances where feminine characters, especially female protagonists have been sexualised. A prime example of this would be Nintendo’s Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2, with the protagonist, Bayonetta, supporting very tight and revealing clothing which emphasise her elongated legs, in doing so, sexualising her body. Throughout the two games, the camera angles pan around her legs and body as if it was to be an object for the audience to look at, linking to the ideology that it is ‘okay’ to shame women who support revealing clothing which can lead to the objectification of all women. Therefore, Bayonetta exemplifies how femininity is poorly represented in video games in modern times, as the game normalises the concept of taking advantage of a woman’s body due to their choice of clothing. This is supported by a respondent’s statement, “The sexualisation and representation of identities in video games are taken to extremities, especially for women characters. This leads …show more content…
Therefore resulting in the removal of themes such as effeminate male characters in video games, this is exemplified in a video game series produced by Nintendo in all of their instalments of the Animal Crossing series. The feminine male giraffe character, Gracie is a celebrity fashion designer whose sex is changed for the purposes of appealing to a mainstream Westernised audience. In the original Japanese titles of the game series, Gracie is officially labelled as a male yet in all of the translated English titles, his identity was completely changed to ‘female’ due to his feminine mannerisms and appearance . This illustrates how through translation, themes such as effeminate men are changed in order to please the audience as they are not as widely accepted in Western society, whereas in countries such as Japan, feminine men are (at least slowly) becoming accepted in society . Book publisher, Hijikata, states that “It 's probably too strong to say there 's prejudice, but cross-dressers (men dressing in feminine clothing) are not looked upon by society as normal or natural, but gradually, they 're being accepted” . This exemplifies how effeminate men are currently being treated by members of society as their identities are being changed for them to appeal to society.
This statistic alone supports the idea that the majority of individuals are aware that women are sexualised in video games. Throughout video game history, there has been multiple instances where feminine characters, especially female protagonists have been sexualised. A prime example of this would be Nintendo’s Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2, with the protagonist, Bayonetta, supporting very tight and revealing clothing which emphasise her elongated legs, in doing so, sexualising her body. Throughout the two games, the camera angles pan around her legs and body as if it was to be an object for the audience to look at, linking to the ideology that it is ‘okay’ to shame women who support revealing clothing which can lead to the objectification of all women. Therefore, Bayonetta exemplifies how femininity is poorly represented in video games in modern times, as the game normalises the concept of taking advantage of a woman’s body due to their choice of clothing. This is supported by a respondent’s statement, “The sexualisation and representation of identities in video games are taken to extremities, especially for women characters. This leads …show more content…
Therefore resulting in the removal of themes such as effeminate male characters in video games, this is exemplified in a video game series produced by Nintendo in all of their instalments of the Animal Crossing series. The feminine male giraffe character, Gracie is a celebrity fashion designer whose sex is changed for the purposes of appealing to a mainstream Westernised audience. In the original Japanese titles of the game series, Gracie is officially labelled as a male yet in all of the translated English titles, his identity was completely changed to ‘female’ due to his feminine mannerisms and appearance . This illustrates how through translation, themes such as effeminate men are changed in order to please the audience as they are not as widely accepted in Western society, whereas in countries such as Japan, feminine men are (at least slowly) becoming accepted in society . Book publisher, Hijikata, states that “It 's probably too strong to say there 's prejudice, but cross-dressers (men dressing in feminine clothing) are not looked upon by society as normal or natural, but gradually, they 're being accepted” . This exemplifies how effeminate men are currently being treated by members of society as their identities are being changed for them to appeal to society.