On The Topics of Sexism and Context

There has been a lot of talk lately about sexism in gaming, and how gaming communities and even the developers of the games themselves have created a very hostile environment for female gamers. And you know what? My eyes have been opened, and I admit, I am a bit embarassed with the scene I have finally come to see.

Frankly, it's kind of sad that it took me so long to really wake up to the issue, and that someone had to point it out so clearly for that to happen. And the reality is that the gaming community, in general, has left little room for women to take part. I mean, I have always been against discrimination of any kind in the communities I have taken part of over the years. I have even had to take action against it during the brief times I have administered forums, developed content for communities, and ran servers for gaming. While I felt I was helping maintain a safe environment for everyone, I now realize my efforts were in vain because the games being played were sexist to begin with.

And really, the idea that several of the games I've played have had very sexist content in them has been at the edge of my consciousness for years, but these thoughts never formed into a solid realization until now. In fact, after reading several articles of late (namely here, here, here, here, here, and even here) I finally fully realized how hostile an environment the gaming scene really is. I thought to myself, "Wow, certainly some of the games I play aren't sexist... Like, perhaps, Final Fantasy!" I felt somewhat relieved in recalling how I showed Final Fantasy IX to my sister and how she loved it, how my wife loves playing Final Fantasy, and how I have always seen it as a level-headed series. That was immediately dashed, though, as I thought of a few characters whose design and roles in the games were anything but flattering towards women. And so I realized the problem goes far deeper than I was actively aware of.

Now, I am writing this mostly to other guys out there in hope that more of us will stop propagating the hostility towards women. Please, please don't be the guy who reads what I am saying here and goes, "BUT GUYS ARE ALSO OBJECTIFIED IN GAMING TOO!" and "WOMEN SHOULD STOP WHINING!" or "I LIKE BOOBS IN GAMES BECAUSE THEY ARE FUN!" These opinions are just knee-jerk justifications and attempts to ignore the issue, and that is simply not okay. We need to get past that point. Electronic Games are so new and have evolved so much in recent years that we are still coping with the growing pains, but we need to stop just accepting that "sex sells" and allow the medium to mature.

Alright, good, now that's over. I've challenged everyone to open their minds, and that's all I'm going to say in regards to that. From here on, I'm going to talk about how I think things need to change. I don't pretend to know the solutions to everything, but let me humbly suggest what I think might help.

As games have progressed, especially in relation to technology, the ability to represent the worlds gaming takes place in has really exploded. Environment, narrative, immersion, all of these things and others have benefited from the technological advances of the hardware our games run on. These advances, though, are not without pitfalls. As the infamous NYU Street Fighter Panel recently illustrated, much of the sexism in games is possible these days because of the tech available in game development.

So, let me suggest that part of our problem is that certain aspects of our ever changing game industry have outpaced others. While we can render much more realistic characters, with so many more details, these details are often blatantly shown without personality or context. We are far too often presented with "sexy" views of women before we know anything else about them, as Latoya Peterson pointed out. So does that mean that we have to get rid of all the sexiness in games?

Some of the more over the top stuff will simply have to go, but it doesn't mean that these scenes will all disappear. But we will, at the very least, need to tone it down, and change the order of operations. Instant gratification is sometimes important in games, but too often it can get in the way of tasteful presentation. ESPECIALLY when dealing with characters. It's not acceptable to have games march characters out and, before we learn a single thing about them, present their near-naked bodies. That makes playing the game with any sensible group of people very awkward, and should make all of us a little uncomfortable, really.

Allow me to present you with two examples of how gaming has, in my opinion, done a good job avoiding the pitfalls of sexism:

The first has to do with Final Fantasy 6. The main character in that game, Terra, was presented as a lost soul hoping to find her heritage, and this made it very easy to relate to her and feel for her in the struggles she would pass through during the game. We didn't have to endure humiliating shots of her, scantily clad in rags in her role as a slave of the empire. Her first on-screen appearance wasn't one that tried to snag the attention of teenage boys through sex appeal. The female characters in this game were presented respectfully and their backstories are learned through the gameplay, allowing the player to relate to them, instead of having their only link to them be riddled with lust.

The second one is tainted, I know, but I think it's still a valid illustration. Metroid. The NES title really, really blew people away when they finally learned Samus was a woman. Of course, it didn't really help that she was in a bathing suit, and that you could play through the game in that bathing suit using a cheat, but my point is that you didn't know she was a woman until you had really come to know the character by playing through the game (as much as Metroid really could). There was context to that encounter, and so the reveal was a fun surprise that added depth to the avatar, instead of sexualizing her.

Now, I know both examples are from times when technology didn't allow for a lot of the issues that modern video games struggle with, but it just goes to show that "eye candy" isn't the only thing that should be boosted as consoles and PCs improve. As the Metroid example illustrates, it doesn't take much more than the bond of player and avatar, forged through struggling through obstacles and challenges, for there to be context for more personal, and even intimate, details of a character to be revealed. And that's the thing that too many games ignore, and the flesh is exposed right off the bat.

Ultimately, when making design choices, the simple thought of "Some people playing my games won't be male!" will help a lot to change. Games will still be fun without the petty visual stimulation, because the main emphasis will likely remain with gameplay no matter what approach is taken. Once the design emphasis of the women in games moves away from sexuality, the communities that have formed around gaming will slowly change, allowing for a stronger base of respect between all players, regardless of who they are.

Thank you Leigh, Nicole, Latoya, and all the others who have stood up and pointed out the problems games have with sexism. The time to change has arrived, and I think that all the buzz about sexism is a sign of this.