Beauty and a BeatDown

It is argued that today’s female video game characters are overly sexualized and seen as objects. It is brought up so much that the positivity of strong female characters is overlooked. Many positives of female videogame characters are ignored because of the focus on their bodies. The public seems to think that how a woman looks defines her character. That is mostly due to the media portraying idealized versions of women, but it has become such a problem that we don’t know when to stop picking apart a woman’s image and realize that underneath whatever we are criticizing there is some really important. Defining a female character by how she looks is feeding into the act of stereotyping that we are trying so hard to get away from. First, there are characters that are stereotypical, hyper sexualized and objects in video games like: Princess Peach, Zelda, and Mileena and Kitana. These are definitely bad representations of women/girls in video games. Second, some female video game characters, even though it may seem like they forgot to put on pants or have sections of skin showing, are much more than what they appear. The focus on their bodies overshadows their influential traits. Some of these women characters are: Lara Croft, and Sailor Moon. With the two characters previously mentioned we need to start moving forward in looking at a woman as a whole, not as just her body or how she is outwardly portrayed within video games.

For years a woman has always been stereotypically seen as something that needs to be protected by man. According to Ian Sherr, “Many videogames have long followed the same guy-centered theme: Girl gets in trouble; boy goes on a quest to save girl.” (1). The woman is the ‘damsel in distress’ waiting to be swooped up by the arms of a gorgeous male. This type of image makes women look weak and ultimately plays into the stereotype that women can’t handle themselves in a world ruled by the patriarchy. Some examples of this are the characters Princess Peach and Zelda. Both are portrayed as beautiful helpless princesses that need to be rescued by a male character. Their identity is just that of a ‘damsel in distress’ and  “The game has no option for the girl to save the boy.” (Sherr 1). There really are no other traits to their personalities.

Princess Peach Crying Because of the Male Patriarchy

Zelda & Princess Peach

Sure, in The Ocarina of Time Zelda has an alter ego by the name of Sheik who can fight, but Sheik mostly guides Link towards success. Jemarc Axinto states in his article, The Legend of Zelda: Female Representation, that, “It would seem that the only way that Zelda could have any form of autonomy is by disguising herself as a man.” (the-artifice.com) In order to even be a main part of the story, Zelda literally had to be come a man. What kind of message are we sending to the audience by telling girls/women that having the traits of these characters are favorable? It’s teaching women to follow the male dominated world. Another end of the spectrum is that women in video games can be kick ass fighters, but many are portrayed with unrealistic characteristics and barely any clothing. They are being used in games as sex symbols because all they do is act sexy, fight, and look attractive. Mileena and Kitana from Mortal Combat are prime examples of bad female game character depictions.

Milena & Kitana

Hyper focusing on a woman’s body is how many girls become obsessed with trying to make their bodies perfect. Mileena and Kitana from Mortal Combat are super hyper sexualized videogame characters. Mileena and Kitana are assassins that fight together within the Mortal Combat game. The image of an assassin usually brings to mind someone hooded in the shadows. Mileeana and Kitana are the polar opposite. They are depicted as barely wearing any clothing, which is unrealistic if you are fighting. Like come on, there is no way that you wouldn’t be dead if you took a hit without any armor on…. But that is beside the point. There are no influential traits in these types of characters. A study by Melinda Burgess et. al found that “female characters were more likely to be portrayed with exaggerated, and often objectified, sexiness. Further, violence and sexiness was paired more frequently for female characters.” (1). This further solidifies the fact that many women portrayals are ridiculous and unrealistic. Sexiness and violence are not at all great traits to be teaching to the women/girls of the video gaming world. Therefore, it is safe to criticize these types of female characters, but a lot of women and men equate many female characters that show skin to characters like Mileena and Kitana, when in fact that is not the case. Many female characters are more then just their appearance. This is evident especially with a character like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider.

Lara Croft

Lara Croft has been around for about 20 years and has always been a subject to controversy. As stated by Mike Antonucci, “Tomb Raider is synonymous with its virtual star, Lara Croft, and her fame as a computerized sex symbol. Her appeal, however, goes well beyond its shallowest aspect, which is a drooling reaction to her extreme shapeliness. Strength and heroism are also a factor.” (1). The female body in video games is such a debated issue that many forget that Laura Croft was one of the first female characters to have a dominant role in video games, and that she inspired a whole new surge of women as protagonists in the videogame world. This is exactly how the concentration on the female body overshadows her character as a whole. Since the public thinks she is sexy and hot, then that must be all that she is. We must learn to look past females that do not need to be criticized because they are beautiful or sexy.

Another Lara Croft

Laura Croft is no were near the degree of sexualization that Mileena and Kitana are, but the controversy around her just as prevalent as the controversy around Mileena and Kitana. A study by Jeroen Jansz and Raynel G. Martis tried to “ascertain the existence of a so-called ‘Lara phenomenon,’ that is, the appearance of a tough, and competent female character in a dominant position.” (2) This ‘Lara phenomenon is referring to all the females with influential traits that are in protagonist roles. This is a great example of how Lara is a ‘tough, competent female’. She set the stage for more females like her in video games. One such woman that seems to be just like Lara Croft is Elena Fisher from Uncharted. Elena embodies the same strength, beauty, and competence as Lara. There is also no focus on violence, other then gun wielding, in these two games. Lara Croft embodies such influential traits that women can aspire to be. Another woman protagonist that shows all the same traits as Lara and then some is from a TV show that later had video games released is Sailor Moon.

At first Sailor moon might appear to be a damsel in distress because it seems in the beginning that she is always being saved by Prince Endymion (aka Darien in the USA version), but that in fact is not an accurate portrayal of her character at all. She is nothing like Princess Peach and Zelda. She may need help from Prince Endymion from time to time, but overall Sailor Moon and the rest of the Sailor Scouts save the world countless times with beauty, smarts, and the power of friendship and emotion and love. These are all very influential traits that teach women how to be confident, smart, beautiful, sensitive, and kind all at the same time. In conclusion, Princess Peach, Zelda, and Mileena and Kitana are very poor representations of females in videogames. They are the types of characters that can be criticized because there aren’t any positive traits about their characters. Sailor Moon and Lara Croft are both amazing examples of how hyper focusing on the way women are negatively portrayed in videogames can take away from the fact that these women are more than just their looks. They show that women in video games can be strong, smart, and beautiful.

Sailor Moon Being an Awesome Role Model

Works Cited

Antonucci, Mike. "Lara's Back: UPDATED `TOMB RAIDER' PLAYS TO GAME'S STRENGTHS." McClatchy - Tribune Business News: 1. Jun 16 2007. ProQuest.Web. 8 Apr. 2016 .

Axinto, Jemarc. "The Legend of Zelda: Female Representation." The Artifice. The Artifice, 23 July 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

Burgess, Melinda C. R., Steven Paul Stermer, and Stephen R. Burgess. "Sex, Lies, and Video Games: The Portrayal of Male and Female Characters on Video Game Covers." Sex Roles 57.5-6 (2007): 419-33. ProQuest. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Jansz, Jeroen, and Raynel G. Martis. "The Lara Phenomenon: Powerful Female Characters in Video Games." Sex Roles 56.3-4 (2007): 141-8. ProQuest. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Sherr, Ian. "Fans Take Videogame Damsels Out of Distress, Put them in Charge --- Players Rewrite Story Lines to Highlight Heroines; Princess Peach Saves Mario."Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition ed.Jul 03 2013. ProQuest. Web. 8 Apr. 2016 .