“That’s just how it is”: Sexism in the Gaming Industry If you take a random poll to ask people who they believe is the chief consumer of video games, nine times out of ten you’ll get the same response- teenaged boys. When we think of gaming and gamers, we think of a gaggle of pimple-faced, adolescent boys eating Doritos and screaming at each other over kill shots on Halo or Gears of War. Despite this idea our culture seems have, the actual data claims something completely different. According to the
Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 17% of all gamers are boys under the age of 18. So then, who are the actual major “players” in the video game industry? In the same fact sheet, the
ESA lists that as a matter of fact, 41% of all …show more content…
Although women are now having more titles and gaming platforms to play with, such as mobile gaming or the ever friendly Nintendo systems, the backlash from the male gamers who consider themselves to be the true players is growing even more violent against this equal playing field. Not only that, but many video games continue to cater to the male half of the audience. The problem with sexism in video games lies within the constant ploy of appealing to the male market, the sexist shut downs created by misogynist gamers and designers, and the continued belittling of females. “Sex sells” is a mantra used and abused by almost every industry. Turning on the TV or looking online at ads will easily show that companies regularly exploit the female body to appeal to men. This idea has been passed down in industry for generations, however, its results aren’t exactly what the company might be hoping for. The idea of objectification in terms of sales is related back to several mindsets. Firstly, sex is shocking. To see someone so flagrantly exposing skin for the sake of appeal creates unrest in the more conservative viewers, and thus creates its own buzz in the voices of outraged customers. Secondly, its created its own reputation. …show more content…
This issue of sexism isn’t quite unique to the gaming field, but is especially present since the continued attempt to bring awareness to this issue brings such backlash from the male members of the gaming community. The problem is more inherent to men in general, as brought up by Michael S. Kimmel in his essay “Why Men Should Support Gender Equality.” He writes,
“The privlege of privilege is that the terms of privilege are rendered invisible. It is a luxury not to have to think about race, or class or gender. Only those marginalized by some category understand how powerful that category is when deployed against them.” Gamers don’t see the double standards because most of these gamers are white men, they don’t need to see the double standard. Because of this, when disputes rise, they don’t see this as wrong, they see this as unnecessary drama that people cause over their interests. As much as my friend cares about women, and feminism, because he doesn’t understand the issues of female oppression, he
Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 17% of all gamers are boys under the age of 18. So then, who are the actual major “players” in the video game industry? In the same fact sheet, the
ESA lists that as a matter of fact, 41% of all …show more content…
Although women are now having more titles and gaming platforms to play with, such as mobile gaming or the ever friendly Nintendo systems, the backlash from the male gamers who consider themselves to be the true players is growing even more violent against this equal playing field. Not only that, but many video games continue to cater to the male half of the audience. The problem with sexism in video games lies within the constant ploy of appealing to the male market, the sexist shut downs created by misogynist gamers and designers, and the continued belittling of females. “Sex sells” is a mantra used and abused by almost every industry. Turning on the TV or looking online at ads will easily show that companies regularly exploit the female body to appeal to men. This idea has been passed down in industry for generations, however, its results aren’t exactly what the company might be hoping for. The idea of objectification in terms of sales is related back to several mindsets. Firstly, sex is shocking. To see someone so flagrantly exposing skin for the sake of appeal creates unrest in the more conservative viewers, and thus creates its own buzz in the voices of outraged customers. Secondly, its created its own reputation. …show more content…
This issue of sexism isn’t quite unique to the gaming field, but is especially present since the continued attempt to bring awareness to this issue brings such backlash from the male members of the gaming community. The problem is more inherent to men in general, as brought up by Michael S. Kimmel in his essay “Why Men Should Support Gender Equality.” He writes,
“The privlege of privilege is that the terms of privilege are rendered invisible. It is a luxury not to have to think about race, or class or gender. Only those marginalized by some category understand how powerful that category is when deployed against them.” Gamers don’t see the double standards because most of these gamers are white men, they don’t need to see the double standard. Because of this, when disputes rise, they don’t see this as wrong, they see this as unnecessary drama that people cause over their interests. As much as my friend cares about women, and feminism, because he doesn’t understand the issues of female oppression, he