I think you make a really good point about sexism in video games. Despite growing numbers of female gamers, the gaming industry is still geared towards men. I recently read an interesting article on the topic, which addresses male privelage in geek culture and media. It's a good read for anyone concerned about sexist portrayals of women in games.
You can find the article "Nerds and Male Privelage" and its follow-up on kotaku.com.
I agree with the hyper-sexualization of women being a problem in games nowadays, and I'm a guy. I mean, a lot of games have women in fucking chain-mail bikinis, e.g. World of Warcraft. That's just pandering to the masses.
However, don't overlook the genuinely beautiful but tastefully dressed female heroines, such as Hilde from Soul Calibur IV, and any female character from Dark Souls. You'll find that they wear proper armor (although they must still crusade violently against beasties)
I fucking love the part that says "it ain't no good if it's too much wood" and these men are holding up CHAINSAWS! Bwahhahaha my guy friend pointed that out and we were both cracking up. So clever! XD
Awww...but I like the Devil May Cry Series...and Nero and Dante are really good-looking! and I'm a girl...I agree that Kyrie was too much of a pushover in DMC4, though. And I see your point.
It would be nice to have more prominent female characters outside of RPGs (I play mostly RPGs where you can be either gender), besides Laura Croft and Samus. (Nothing against them, but still...)
I mean, seriously, the gaming population is getting older and more women are joining it.
(cont) What sticks out most to me because I literally finished the game yesterday is Gears of War 3 which I play specifically because I like the violence. Played co-op with the husband & during the last stint, I played a female gear named Anya. All of the female gears wear the exact same armor their male counterparts wear & hold their own in battle. Maybe I'm easily satisfied & can't see what's wrong w/ it, but I was pleased when I saw this. :)
So much to say on this, not enough space. I agree but also disagree. I will mention though that as a female, the fact that you think big weapons, gore, and violence are masculine and machismo screams "gender normatives" & I don't dig it. I love games where it's just me, my weapons, & a horde of baddies. Alternatively, I also enjoy puzzle games that make you use brains instead of brawn. They're two different genres though. There's a time & place for everything.
What about metroid? The latest game had a different feeling than the previous. Samus was portrayed with a macho side, but she was also given a softer side.
This video ignores the multitude of games that don't include women just as sex toys. What about Mass Effect or Dragon Age? Sure, you can have relations with the women in these games, but the reverse is true if you play a female character. These women all have very well developed personalities. They're not just women they're people. You completely ignore all the good games that don't treat women as sex dolls in favor of supporting your point that all video games are chauvinist creations by men.
I'd love a GTA where you can be a girl who isn't a sex worker, and without using cheats. It would more interactive if you could choose, it would appeal to the fanboy base in a not-so-feminist way, and it would be different. Seriously, Rockstar, get to it.
I was about to thank my lucky stars that my favourite video games weren't on the list, until I realized that the very reason I loved the games was because they're smart, creative and mostly female-friendly. (Not in the Bratz/Barbie/Hello Kitty kind of way, but just that they involve complex, enjoyable stories and content for female gamers. I wouldn't play them if they didn't.)
i love you for this....I'm ssoo tired of playing RPG games where you get to pick your gender. There is definitely a lack of women being the MAIN characters.
@Zaknafiein Yeah, but those games wouldn't sell as good as the megablockbusters and development companies will use that result to justify not doing so.
@Sortsitar we do have games like that mass effect, civilization,la noir in all these games you make the choices i mean why do people think that all video games are just shooters with blood and gore
Its funny that both the games that had females in a alright light were Portal made by Valve and Mirrors Edge made by dice (EAs best developer) both of those are largely recognized as very competent and creative video game studios. I think they know that and are willing to take risks because they make the games because of a passion not money.
@TheCgamer93 - Don't you think it's pretty bad that the world assumes a "she" is a "he" just because the protagonist isn't sexualized? I remember the first time I played Portal and finding out "he" was a "she." I was literally stunned. Like.. wow... since her breasts weren't the size of her freakin head (each) I thought it was a guy! I was slightly disappointed to see it was a girl. Then I caught myself.. wow... society has TRULY brainwashed me. Congrats.
funny you say disappointed to see it was a girl.....whenever i play a game with an option to be male/female ( e.g. fallout or fable ) i always choose female.
I was confused about your addition of portal in the mix until I read the explination. I think that one of the reasons the game is so popular is because it provides a refreshing change from most by a) having all (well, both) female characters but their gender not being the focus of the story line, b) those female characters not being sexualised and c) providing a gameplay which is about problem solving and lateral thinking and only very rarely about destruction
You show Cortana in the video, but she is a hologram, a copy of an important character (Dr. Hasley) which isn't oversexualised at all, in fact she's pretty old - you can see her in Halo Reach. She's the one who kickstarted the SpartanII program (those green armored guys/gals) and a very important element to the whole story, she's a strong female character if you ask me. Not to mention numerous female spartans.
I know this is unrelated to the video but I just wanted to point that out.
Also why is Faith from Mirror's Edge in this video? She isn't over sexualized and is often able to avoid physical violence by outmaneuvering her pursuers, unless you want her to stop in front of the agents of the totalitarian state who are trying to kill her on sight and try to explain to them why they are in the wrong and suggest to them an alternate course of action.
I'm obsessed with this video - I have watched at least 5 times in a row now. So incredibly well done! How long did it take to select these perfect clips and edit? I'm so impressed!
1) The costumes for the female fighters in MK9 are ludicrous.
2) What would you suggest for a game? I'm actually starting to develop flash games, but coming up with a non puzzle but non violent game is a bit difficult, especially given current technological constraints.
I think you should note Rochelle in L4D2, she is not over-sexualized at all and although she is the token "smurfette," not sure if that term can be used in the context of video games. I haven't noticed what another commenter said about her dialogue rarely being used in game though until perhaps this moment... Another good example is L4D's Zoey, although she is again the lone female in an all male team, she is a well developed character, funny, and not over-sexualized.
@KatieAtLarge Please reconsider this. Event though this video is very, VERY accurate in its ratio of male/female protagonists, to dismiss the whole of videogame experience over this would just be a waste.
We need as many women playing and developing as possible to help even that ratio as soon as possible.
As a side note, all the hate for Rochelle as a character in the L4D community is quite telling, but there are plenty of us who love her. She is the most realistic of the four rather cartoon-like characters of the second game, although she appears to be more bland than she really is because for some reason most of her dialogue never appears in-game at all. In her sound files she has loads and loads of character defining lines and quips that are never (or at least very rarely) used.
There are many great, wonderful games which don't follow the bald space marine twaddle and show genuine innovation and creativity. Shenmue Panzer Dragoon Saga Shadow of the Colossus Beyond Good & Evil Skies of Arcadia Limbo Ikaruga Phoenix Wright Ghost Trick Animal Crossing I would add that Cloud from Final Fantasy VII is one of the very few male protagonists anywhere in popular culture to express self-doubt. Likewise Xiuying in Shenmue 2 is Ryo's mentor and teacher (traditionally a male role).
Hilarious video. I find it interesting that among all the images of the macho male characters and phallic weaponry, the clip the from Portal is of the protagonist entering portals (yonnic imagery perhaps?)
Warcraft has Commander Jaina Proudmoore, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Queen Azshara, and the dragon Queens Alexstraza and Onyxia. Plus lots of female NPCs surviving in war zones and doing quite well thank you. Strong cow women and slender elf men... but I still take your point xD
@darkmiles22 All of the female leaders in WoW you mentioned up there are pretty heavily sexualized (while in human form for the dragons anyways) and sadly play a much smaller role compared to male storyline characters.
@PonderousPug -- I'm so glad someone else notices that! It's sickening. Of course, the belves get even MORE sexualized because they have blond hair and blue eyes with light skin (oooh perfect excuse to trigger the typical male-mind!) I remember seeing a WoW mug with really tough looking characters (male) and the belf female not only had EXTRA long hair, with an EXTRA revealing outfit.. but she had EXTRA large boobs... which literally STICK out in 3d from the mug. Penis propaganda at best, eh?
Samus, Heather Mason, Claire Redfield, Liliana of Dragon Age, and Alyx from Half Life 2 are a few I could think of off the top of my head that come across as strong but not entirely sexualized (with Liliana, that's only optional and not necessarily something you have to encounter with her).
One of my role models growing up was Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. My mom would put my hair in braids & then at day camp I would run around being a bad ass & stuff, Exploring "tombs." I'm still not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing. I had a lot of fun pretending to be Lara, but her body is pretty over the top in the games. But then again it's not like she turned me anorexic or something, I'm happy with my current body & don't want a boob job lol
Originally, she had an overly large chest because it wasn't apparent she was female without it. (In the first game, you could see the polygons individually of which they were composed.) Of course, that exactly explain why the commercials for the original series showed an upset stripper alone on a stage because all the men were home playing Tomb Raider. (That said, Lara is pretty kick ass, so I wouldn't feel to badly about it.)
Aw, I was so happy to see a brief shot from American MacGee's Alice because I took it to mean at least one person other than myself played it, but then I saw it wasn't even given a mention in the cast list.
Second, would you say games tend to glorify “macho masculinity” and war because of patriarchal influence, or simply because conflict (ie. combat) tends to offer the most immediate and visceral experience for a gamer; with men tending to be in combat more often than women.
Two points, in the description you bring up “phallic weaponry” Is this meant to be a criticism, or just and observation. If it’s the former would this not be kind of vapid? The cylinder is common as it’s a strong structure (Barrels, etc.) unless the character is somehow treating it as his (her?) penis, metaphorically.
If a character has a weapon, does the developer need to concern himself with making sure it’s not ‘too phallic’ or give weapons most consistent with the character?
heather-silent hill 3, samus aran-metroid, jill valentine-resident evil, faith-mirrors edge, lara croft-tomb raider, yuna,rikku, and paine-final fantasy X2, zoey-left 4 dead, cate-nolf, chun li-street fighter, jade-beyond good and evil, nariko-heavenly sword. and thats all i can think of right now.
@campbellsoup93 In all honesty, in the resident evil series, the developers do seem to make Jill Valentine's body, let's just say a bit too nice to look at, where as Claire Redfield, or Rebecca Chambers might have been just a slightly better example...
@narutails In the Gamecube REmake Jill looked like a normalish woman. In RE5 she and Chris were BOTH turned into stereotypes. Chris became a tree-trunk armed steroid He-Man, while Jill became a stereotypical blonde vamp.
Okay, wait, wait hold on second. In your notes for why Portal was included, you say that "where the protagonist is a woman although you hardly see her during the game." This can't be used as an insult. In all of the Half-Life games Gordon Freeman's face is never shown once. This wasn't because the developers were sexist against men, but it is the style of video game art they use.
@drew335533 - Exactly. But it's an unfortunate coincidence cause there aren't enough female role models not being sexually exploited in video games. It's like my thoughts on Disney's The Frog Princess. Sure it was pure coincidence that she was a frog the whole time, but even as a Caucasian, I feel it was a pity we didn't see enough of her as a person. When I first played Portal I was shocked it was a girl cause her breasts weren't exaggerated or popping out. She was a normal human being! xD
@drew335533 Not to mention the character you are with the majority of the time is none other than Alyx Vance, who is the strongest female character to ever appear in video games. Not sexualized, not even barely.
Other games containing strong female protagonists include Metroid, (up until Other M) Maya from Ace Attorney, Faith from Mirror's Edge and Meryll from Metal Gear Solid.
If you ever need examples on strong female protagonists from films, watch any Ghibli film. Any.
Just look at Portal. The creators didn't even anticipate it being popular or hype it, and yet this game with a female protagonist and antagonist who are entirely self-sufficient is one of the most beloved games ever. Seriously, go to any page on the internet: how many times do you see "the cake is a lie" or hear the song Still Alive?
@ProcessingOf What I hate about the arguments against female protagonists and their unmarketability vis-a-vis a presumed profitable male audience is this idea that men cannot and will not play female characters. As an owner of an indie game dev house, I know this is b.s. As long as it isn't a multiplayer environment (which is more complicated by Guy Code shaming and so on), guys have no problem with it if the characters aren't forced into "feminine" roles, which is how it should be anyway.
This is sort of something I'm writing about for a research paper: the ways women are presented in video games. I'm covering three areas: women as "masculine" heroines (Bayonetta, Lara Croft, etc.), damsels in distress (Princesses Peach and Zelda, Alice Wake, etc.), and "vulnerable everymen" (Ashley Graham, Heather from Silent Hill 3, Alex Roivas, etc.).
I have a question. Why is Halo in the video? I know the Main Character is Male. He is the leader of the spartans. In Halo 3 you can change your gender. Females are still super-human. Also there are female marines in every game. The creator of the Spartans is a female. Female ODSTs are in Halo. Now in Reach Male and Female civialians. There are male players but also females. In the books there are multiple female spartans. Humans want to end the war to save humanity. Also in the end of 3 is peace
I'd just like to say that this song is Flight of the Conchords - Too Many Dicks. Credit where credit is due? Like to the songwriters instead of some shitty remix video credit?
Namco's Tekken 6 doesn't really glorify violence, they just makes it look cool. *lol*
If anything, T6 is actually kind of anti-war. The War is frequently symbolized in the story as bringing about "negative energy." And the characters who partake in the war in the game are usually appear to be the bad guys. (With exception to Lars and Alisa, who want to end it.)
My boyfriend is an avid gamer and loves first person shooters and gets upset that I won't play with him. It is just ridiculous...
Many years ago while playing an MMO in which you make your own characters, I made friends with a man who played nothing but female characters and when I asked him about it, he said 'I'd rather look at a chick's ass than a dudes if I'm going to sit here and play this all day'. I then learned most 'females' on that game were in fact dudes.
@motokoai Yeah, it's not right in my opinion. I got the same response from a person playing the MMO SWG. If they don't want to look at a dude's ass then they should put their character in first person.
I absolutely love this video (& so does my boyfriend!) We're both avid gamers & we agree there aren't enough strong, iconic women in video games. There should be more like Jill Valentine, Alyx Vance, & Faith and less like Bayonetta & the entire cast of Dead or Alive, blergh.
Also,on another note,have you seen the female mods for Team Fortress 2? (Videos on YT)Apparently you can replace any of the team with a female version.And for the most part,they're well realized.I think it was at that point I realized girls are dying to play exciting leading roles in games even if they're still violent gore fests.I do wish there were more exciting non-violent long games with cinematic storylines and great female chrs.I find casual gaming like Peggle or tetris boring.
OTOH,I gave up on Half Life 2 half way through and am not sure I want to finish it.It's a shame as it's so cinematic and the game engine is stunning,but shooting body after faceless body gets to be very depressing after a while.
Have you seen Dreamfall? I'm going to download it as apparently it had a very high rate of women gamers playing it and was designed for women to enjoy.Has any female gamer here played it?It is good or is it filled with lame romantic shyt to appeal to the 'girlies'?
While I agree there is way too much violence & gore in video games,and phallic objects abound,I liked Portal.Yes,you can argue the gun is a phallic symbol punching 'holes' into a yielding surroundings,but I just liked the puzzles.The violence is pretty minor.(your chr only dies as a result of misjudging the danger of the puzzle & you respawn immediately)Also,Glados's dialogue is quite witty.The focus is on the dark humour & the puzzles.Sure,it could do without ANY blood,but there are worse ones.
Adding to that, there's quite a bit of disparity looks wise between males and females in games. The girls are all pretty looking, the guys tend to be just either tough, 'roided out or "cooler-than-thou" looking. It's nice to see one of those not-so-common male protagonists that's actually attractive.
Good lord, wow, this video... It's just pure greatness and win... I love it...
My two cents: Since the vast majority of video games are male oriented, that's just how they get designed. Male protagonist=What a guy would want to be (macho badass, with all his "bros"). Rare female protagonist=Superhotchick (woman who's what a guy wants to see).
Gore/violence don't bother me, really (better imaginary than real), so long as it's not just grotesque and looking like it's SuperDeathBlood 90,000.
I don't think Mirror's Edge is a good example of a feminine protagonist. I mean, she's not overly sexualized or anything, but her journey is to ...save her sister, who is not only helpless, but also has been kidnapped. Progressive for women on the character design front, but not so much on the story front.
Love this video :D No lie, I like the games mentioned for the most part, with or without female characters, but I do wish there were more lead female characters in gaming. Whenever one comes along it's like Christmas. Too many dicks indeed :p
i wouldn't consider Heavy Rain "overly violent", at least no more than your standard thriller...and one of th'main char.'s in that game is a woman....so there's at least somethin' if you're lookin' for less violence in your game...
if you say the games industry is commonly run by men, then they are going to make games that they think are exciting and appeal to the majority audience of males. if you wish to have more games that appeal to the female audience, then get more females working in the games industry, but seeing as commonly females do not have as big a following as males do in the industry, the industry, trying to make money, will appeal to the people who are going to buy the games.
I'm curious about your choice to include Chris from Resident Evil 5 on that list. In that game Sheva is with him every step of the way and is every way his equal. Jill Valentine also gets her own segment of the game where she helps the groups helicopter pilot escape. In mercenaries mode you unlock Rebbeca Chambers as a playable character.
I'm not denying that there are more male playable characters, but the gap isn't huge for the genders being represented well in the stories of said games.
true very very true. I wouldin't mind more female characters in games, and no they don't have to be scantily clad either. I actualy prefer the fully clad characters. the others seem...silly to me. yes i'm going to fight a giant demon in a bikini.... no, give me my frikk'n power armor! lol. actually i can't remember any non sex appeal female characters in any video games outside of front mission... nope still can't. (front missions female characters are also awesome.)
portal has a woman. and the computer is a woman. there are many computer games with strong leading females.
also left for dead has a woman in it.
in the end, the game industry is in it for the money. if putting women character would have give them more they would do it! don't underestimate the power of capitalism!
@feministfrequency you also have to see her for it to have an active female character? this is a bit too stingy!
i think you can make the main character a women in Star Wars: The Old Republic. and i believe there are strong supporting characters\ secondary goal to achieve which are women.
doesn't Bayonetta has a strong powerful female?
also, women can't be violent? putting a women in a violent position is also bad?
@LtDanw It is a general comment about the abundance of men (and secondly of violence). Just because you can name female characters in video games doesn't change the fact that there are by far more male characters.
@feministfrequency without talking about a specific game. the status is that there are more violent games which have male characters then non-violent games with female roles. the question is, why? just saying that the gaming companies are run by men isn't enough to explain.
@LtDanw My short answer is because of patriarchy, which is a rather big conversation that wouldn't fit into a youtube comment. Feel free to message me if you'd like to continue it.
@feministfrequency There are more male game designers and therefore the main cast will be male. Just about all females who appear in those type of games will be highly sexualized. Any game with an entire female cast will be intended for male audiences(rumble roses). While games with only men won't(Call of Duty).
Mirror's Edge I totally disagree, first she's a asian woman in a game being sold to a western gaming market thats brave and out of the norm in video games! also shes not sexualised or degraded for being a woman! She is potrayed as being at being a athletic woman who is independant and a pacifist who rebels against a nanny-goverment , its shows that she stands up for what she believes is right! how is she at all bad she is an inspiration for what women should be?
even as a MALE gamer, i find it quite disconcerting how few positive, realistic, developed female characters there are in games. i know that men are frequently the target audience. but i certainly know a few female gamers too, and their choices are frequently very limited in multiplayer games. and i'm just not sure about the argument that male gamers won't identify with female characters. when an RPG has a gender option, i'll choose female at least half the time.
I agree with almost all of them, but how exactly do you figure Mirror's Edge belongs in that bunch? Sure, there are macho grunts with guns in it, but they're clearly the bad guys whom you're supposed to outrun and outsmart. The spotlight is on nonviolent action and the main character is cool and athletic (as opposed to a hypersexed vixen).
No, that's only true of next gen console games, specifically for the Xbox and PS3, but that's actually a very small part of the game industry (which is already waning due to budget constraints.) It's not true with the Wii. (Wii Fit outsold GTA IV.) It's DEFINITELY not true with casual games, which are dominated by female players. The Diner Dash games, which star a waitress named Flo, has been downloaded over 500 MILLION times.
"non-violent forms of conflict resolution" Oh for crying out loud. Mirror's Edge features gunplay and kung-fu. Action is FUN. I'll pass on a RPG called "Non-Violent Conflict Resolution" where you can't attack anyone and have to engage in conversation with baddies until an amicable compromise is reached. How come you didn't show any Mario games? VIOLENCE AGAINST GOOMBAS, OH NO. Damn I'm mad. I feel like someone just said the NFL should ban tackling lol. But my point is...Street Fighter IV is fun.
@Swiffness in mirror's edge, you're generally unarmed, and sticking around and fighting it out usually gets you killed. yeah, there's certainly some action, martial arts, and the occasional gun, but it's not the focus of the game, as in many other games.
and there are quite a lot of RPGs that will offer a non-violent resolution as a potential course of action. for instance, there many fights in mass effect that can be entirely avoided through dialog options.
Action is fun, but instead of action heroes, you get a bunch of militaristic, buzzcut ogres. The default male appearance in action games is a jarhead. Mass Effect has custom options for appearance, but if you want to look like an adventurer instead of a grunt, you have to make a female character.
I remember gamers hating on Assassin's Creed II's trailer when it turned out Ezio had vaguely period clothing. Apparently the Renaissance is too gay.
@Swiffness You can complete Mirror's Edge without killing anyone. You can use only disarms and acrobatics. The game even reminds you that it notices how you behave in the in-game menu: "So far, you haven't fired a shot at anyone".
I notice mario and zelda aren't on your list. They're the worst and most over-used characters always going after a helpless princess. GTA is a parody, and even so there are plenty of moral complex females in it (kate in GTAIV). You're incredibly biased as usual. Are females good footballers? No, so they're not in fifa. Are they as good in war? Are they as funny? No, so gtaiv is filled with mostly males. Nearly all males in games are skinheads, hair is hard to model so females are a bad choice.
I just thought to myself the other day that video games needed more females, it brings more realism to certain games where females would be involved in some way. With games like GTA series though, I would understand why not many females are involved with things. I rarely turn on the news and hear about a bunch of female Mobsters in a shoot-out with East European woman and a female biker.
As a male gamer I agree wholeheartedly with you. The video is very good and the message is clear, didn't read the note first or your username and I got the message. The song is very fitting.
Just a thing, you should credit the artists who made the song, Flight of the Conchords, since you are crediting every game but not the artist.
Ugh, damned patriarchy. If our society weren't so sexist games about war would have an equal number of male and female soldiers, just like real armies have, and firearm related violence would be carried out equally by men and women, as crime statistics clearly show is the case in the real world.
@mikhasw The point of the vid is that most games are marketed and designed as if ONLY males will ever play them. I know, men are the gaming market majority, but what's with having it all "no-girls-allowed" and then saying there aren't female gamers?
Men are the heroes and villains, while females typically play smaller roles, normally overly sexualized (Oh yeah... Guys are hardly ever blatantly sexualized). Female protagonists exist, but it doesn't fix the massive disparities: "White males only."
@mikhasw Men must not play Mirror's Edge by your logic. We all want something new and refreshing unless you wanna play the same shooter 50 times over under a different title.
Well uhmm you could argue about some points in the info, but how can a weapon not look "phallic"?? When you criticise the Design of weapons, wether real or fantasy ones, there has to be an alternative. So tell me, how does a rifle or sword look like, thats not "phallic"?
I guess developers are just focusing on the market. Males do have a majority, hence most "women" you see in video games appear to be taken out straight from anime Pr0n.
Although "most" RPGs and several other games give options to play as a female character nowadays.
It's not THAT bad really. Apart from the hyper-sexualising and all that.
Im confused as to why scenes from the game Portal are included, seeing as how the main character is female and completely unsexualised). There are NO men in that game at all (the talking AI who is the only other character is also feminine). A bad example for the premise 'too many men' in games.
the games that are produced today, the games u show in this video are nearly only action games and FPS. I could never imagine captain price or Marcus Fenix as girls, that would just be lame... Call of duty: Modern warfare 2 has sold over 20 Million copies, and if Captain Price or any other main character like john "Soap" MacTavish would be girls, I don't think the game would have the same "feeling" and wouldn't sell as good as possible.
Ok, I have too say, based on a sheer percentage, the amount of female protagonists in games is roughly similar too the amount of females who play video games, not saying that their should'nt be more female leads. BUT just as all the gamer girls wish there was more female leads guys like playing as their own sex... so if only too appease too the larger fanbase they tend too make male mains.
If you do a search on "Study: Women Gamers Outnumber Men in 25-34 Age Group" you'll find it.
I guess looking closer, It appears I overstated my case, because in other age groups there are more men. In any case, the ratio is not the extreme that MasterAxel1 appears to be suggesting above.
@olshanski Sounds VERY doubtful to me.Dreamfall and Portal are about the only two titles I know of that were bought in equal or greater numbers by women. Games still largely cater to men.
I don't know...in some ways I kind of like the fact that it's a 'dick fest' in games. I mean, if they're attractive, anyway. I'm a little surprised there aren't more females in video games just for the fact that you'd think men would want as many chances as possible to look at unrealistic women flouncing about on their screens.
But, I suppose it all comes down to not wanting to feel emasculated by a strong female.
@eridaniblack Imagine Army of two or Marcus Fenix as a females, that would just be lame... and I think the men got enough women on their screens, if you know what i mean :P
@victor555117 yes I know what you mean if you are referring to the overly sexualized male fantasies that are supposed to pass as women in video games.
First off, great video - agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment.
But the role (or lack thereof) and physical appearance of female characters are separate issues. While the hyper sexualisation is not ideal, it may not represent any particular bias, as male avatars are similarly exaggerated. Maybe part of gaming's appeal is the ability to step outside the confines of our real selves.
Personally, I'd be happy with more Mirrors-Edge representation - strong and independent, if waif-like.
I think you make a really good point about sexism in video games. Despite growing numbers of female gamers, the gaming industry is still geared towards men. I recently read an interesting article on the topic, which addresses male privelage in geek culture and media. It's a good read for anyone concerned about sexist portrayals of women in games.
You can find the article "Nerds and Male Privelage" and its follow-up on kotaku.com.
sstonesful 1 week ago
I agree with the hyper-sexualization of women being a problem in games nowadays, and I'm a guy. I mean, a lot of games have women in fucking chain-mail bikinis, e.g. World of Warcraft. That's just pandering to the masses.
However, don't overlook the genuinely beautiful but tastefully dressed female heroines, such as Hilde from Soul Calibur IV, and any female character from Dark Souls. You'll find that they wear proper armor (although they must still crusade violently against beasties)
DoctorPayne666 3 months ago 7
I fucking love the part that says "it ain't no good if it's too much wood" and these men are holding up CHAINSAWS! Bwahhahaha my guy friend pointed that out and we were both cracking up. So clever! XD
CalypsoEclipse 3 months ago 5
Awww...but I like the Devil May Cry Series...and Nero and Dante are really good-looking! and I'm a girl...I agree that Kyrie was too much of a pushover in DMC4, though. And I see your point.
It would be nice to have more prominent female characters outside of RPGs (I play mostly RPGs where you can be either gender), besides Laura Croft and Samus. (Nothing against them, but still...)
I mean, seriously, the gaming population is getting older and more women are joining it.
LittleBlackDragon 4 months ago
(cont) What sticks out most to me because I literally finished the game yesterday is Gears of War 3 which I play specifically because I like the violence. Played co-op with the husband & during the last stint, I played a female gear named Anya. All of the female gears wear the exact same armor their male counterparts wear & hold their own in battle. Maybe I'm easily satisfied & can't see what's wrong w/ it, but I was pleased when I saw this. :)
DHMunroe 4 months ago 5
So much to say on this, not enough space. I agree but also disagree. I will mention though that as a female, the fact that you think big weapons, gore, and violence are masculine and machismo screams "gender normatives" & I don't dig it. I love games where it's just me, my weapons, & a horde of baddies. Alternatively, I also enjoy puzzle games that make you use brains instead of brawn. They're two different genres though. There's a time & place for everything.
DHMunroe 4 months ago 11
What about metroid? The latest game had a different feeling than the previous. Samus was portrayed with a macho side, but she was also given a softer side.
kitchyteam94 4 months ago
@kitchyteam94 people find Other M really sexist and well, I've read some pretty good arguments for that.
RaymondoPerson 4 months ago
This video ignores the multitude of games that don't include women just as sex toys. What about Mass Effect or Dragon Age? Sure, you can have relations with the women in these games, but the reverse is true if you play a female character. These women all have very well developed personalities. They're not just women they're people. You completely ignore all the good games that don't treat women as sex dolls in favor of supporting your point that all video games are chauvinist creations by men.
TehTyg13 4 months ago 3
@TehTyg13 Don't portray women as sex toys.... have you played Mass Effect 2? Miranda? haha
Enighar 4 months ago
I'd love a GTA where you can be a girl who isn't a sex worker, and without using cheats. It would more interactive if you could choose, it would appeal to the fanboy base in a not-so-feminist way, and it would be different. Seriously, Rockstar, get to it.
Meatswallow 4 months ago
I was about to thank my lucky stars that my favourite video games weren't on the list, until I realized that the very reason I loved the games was because they're smart, creative and mostly female-friendly. (Not in the Bratz/Barbie/Hello Kitty kind of way, but just that they involve complex, enjoyable stories and content for female gamers. I wouldn't play them if they didn't.)
Give1Take2 5 months ago
EPIC.
And true.
YourDarkAccomplice 5 months ago
i love you for this....I'm ssoo tired of playing RPG games where you get to pick your gender. There is definitely a lack of women being the MAIN characters.
rupert3 5 months ago
@rupert3 same thing with getting to "choose" your sexuality. There should be more games were the main character IS a woman and/or homosexual.
Zaknafiein 5 months ago 4
@Zaknafiein Yeah, but those games wouldn't sell as good as the megablockbusters and development companies will use that result to justify not doing so.
LicoriceLain 5 months ago
@Sortsitar we do have games like that mass effect, civilization,la noir in all these games you make the choices i mean why do people think that all video games are just shooters with blood and gore
snika999 6 months ago
Its funny that both the games that had females in a alright light were Portal made by Valve and Mirrors Edge made by dice (EAs best developer) both of those are largely recognized as very competent and creative video game studios. I think they know that and are willing to take risks because they make the games because of a passion not money.
maxamojaxamo 6 months ago 5
This is why I stopped being a gamer.
Thank you for making this video. And for making my feelings feel validated.
sonyaegarza 6 months ago
how about Metriod. the world didn't know that samus was a woman until the firsst game came and beat the game!
they thought she was a he!
TheCgamer93 6 months ago
@TheCgamer93 She has been chickified and sexualized since then
Zaknafiein 5 months ago
@TheCgamer93 - Don't you think it's pretty bad that the world assumes a "she" is a "he" just because the protagonist isn't sexualized? I remember the first time I played Portal and finding out "he" was a "she." I was literally stunned. Like.. wow... since her breasts weren't the size of her freakin head (each) I thought it was a guy! I was slightly disappointed to see it was a girl. Then I caught myself.. wow... society has TRULY brainwashed me. Congrats.
YourDarkAccomplice 5 months ago 3
@YourDarkAccomplice
funny you say disappointed to see it was a girl.....whenever i play a game with an option to be male/female ( e.g. fallout or fable ) i always choose female.
GauisJulius 4 months ago
I was confused about your addition of portal in the mix until I read the explination. I think that one of the reasons the game is so popular is because it provides a refreshing change from most by a) having all (well, both) female characters but their gender not being the focus of the story line, b) those female characters not being sexualised and c) providing a gameplay which is about problem solving and lateral thinking and only very rarely about destruction
KristofskiKabuki 6 months ago
You show Cortana in the video, but she is a hologram, a copy of an important character (Dr. Hasley) which isn't oversexualised at all, in fact she's pretty old - you can see her in Halo Reach. She's the one who kickstarted the SpartanII program (those green armored guys/gals) and a very important element to the whole story, she's a strong female character if you ask me. Not to mention numerous female spartans.
I know this is unrelated to the video but I just wanted to point that out.
Highlaw 6 months ago
Also why is Faith from Mirror's Edge in this video? She isn't over sexualized and is often able to avoid physical violence by outmaneuvering her pursuers, unless you want her to stop in front of the agents of the totalitarian state who are trying to kill her on sight and try to explain to them why they are in the wrong and suggest to them an alternate course of action.
GeneralX404 6 months ago 38
@GeneralX404 Read the NOTES section.
feministfrequency 6 months ago 31
I'm obsessed with this video - I have watched at least 5 times in a row now. So incredibly well done! How long did it take to select these perfect clips and edit? I'm so impressed!
femmeonamissionvlog 7 months ago
this.. this is just brilliant! great job!
1pandamanypanda 7 months ago
WHO WOULD DISLIKE THIS. This is fucking love <3
Bsuero1 7 months ago
2 comments)
1) The costumes for the female fighters in MK9 are ludicrous.
2) What would you suggest for a game? I'm actually starting to develop flash games, but coming up with a non puzzle but non violent game is a bit difficult, especially given current technological constraints.
VigilanteNighthawk 7 months ago
a great video game is beyond Good + Evil it has a strong smart female protagonist
Scene10101 8 months ago
Mirror's Edge was also written by a woman, Rhianna Pratchett, the daughter of my hero Sir Terry Pratchett!
Rozilla 8 months ago
I absolutely adore Assassin's Creed, although I still see the blatent stereotyping within
FrazzleAndTheWolf 8 months ago
I think you should note Rochelle in L4D2, she is not over-sexualized at all and although she is the token "smurfette," not sure if that term can be used in the context of video games. I haven't noticed what another commenter said about her dialogue rarely being used in game though until perhaps this moment... Another good example is L4D's Zoey, although she is again the lone female in an all male team, she is a well developed character, funny, and not over-sexualized.
missbraindamage 9 months ago 2
@missbraindamage
In addition, Zoey's AI is the best performing of the group, even over Bill who is a veteran soldier.
VigilanteNighthawk 7 months ago
Wow. I don't play videogames, and I have to say, this doesn't exactly make me want to start...
KatieAtLarge 9 months ago
@KatieAtLarge Please reconsider this. Event though this video is very, VERY accurate in its ratio of male/female protagonists, to dismiss the whole of videogame experience over this would just be a waste.
We need as many women playing and developing as possible to help even that ratio as soon as possible.
By "we", I mean "us all".
cormano64 8 months ago
@ hitmann11 not sure about the first one but the second one is x-men origins of
Wolverine
jamesh4481 9 months ago
What is the game at 0:27 (Anime Girl) and at 0:49 (on the bridge) ?
Thanks
Hitmann11 9 months ago
@Hitmann11 GTA IV: Princess Robot Bubblegum and XMen Origins: Wolverine
feministfrequency 9 months ago
@feministfrequency
thank you ^^
Hitmann11 9 months ago
As a side note, all the hate for Rochelle as a character in the L4D community is quite telling, but there are plenty of us who love her. She is the most realistic of the four rather cartoon-like characters of the second game, although she appears to be more bland than she really is because for some reason most of her dialogue never appears in-game at all. In her sound files she has loads and loads of character defining lines and quips that are never (or at least very rarely) used.
petermaquire 9 months ago 3
Relugus 9 months ago
Hilarious video. I find it interesting that among all the images of the macho male characters and phallic weaponry, the clip the from Portal is of the protagonist entering portals (yonnic imagery perhaps?)
Woolagaroo13 9 months ago 6
@Woolagaroo13 Read the notes section.
feministfrequency 9 months ago 7
its funny cause it true
Tenco24 9 months ago
TOO MANY DICKS!
ScarletArson 9 months ago
Warcraft has Commander Jaina Proudmoore, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Queen Azshara, and the dragon Queens Alexstraza and Onyxia. Plus lots of female NPCs surviving in war zones and doing quite well thank you. Strong cow women and slender elf men... but I still take your point xD
darkmiles22 10 months ago
@darkmiles22 All of the female leaders in WoW you mentioned up there are pretty heavily sexualized (while in human form for the dragons anyways) and sadly play a much smaller role compared to male storyline characters.
PonderousPug 10 months ago
@PonderousPug -- I'm so glad someone else notices that! It's sickening. Of course, the belves get even MORE sexualized because they have blond hair and blue eyes with light skin (oooh perfect excuse to trigger the typical male-mind!) I remember seeing a WoW mug with really tough looking characters (male) and the belf female not only had EXTRA long hair, with an EXTRA revealing outfit.. but she had EXTRA large boobs... which literally STICK out in 3d from the mug. Penis propaganda at best, eh?
YourDarkAccomplice 9 months ago
@darkmiles22 - You should read my comment on the WoW situation, too. XD
YourDarkAccomplice 9 months ago
LOVE!
fuze9 10 months ago
Samus, Heather Mason, Claire Redfield, Liliana of Dragon Age, and Alyx from Half Life 2 are a few I could think of off the top of my head that come across as strong but not entirely sexualized (with Liliana, that's only optional and not necessarily something you have to encounter with her).
darkmoose84 10 months ago
what is the game at 0:49 on the bridge?
AND. XTREM GENIUS VIDEO xD
Hitmann11 10 months ago
One of my role models growing up was Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. My mom would put my hair in braids & then at day camp I would run around being a bad ass & stuff, Exploring "tombs." I'm still not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing. I had a lot of fun pretending to be Lara, but her body is pretty over the top in the games. But then again it's not like she turned me anorexic or something, I'm happy with my current body & don't want a boob job lol
00GreyEyedGirl00 10 months ago
@00GreyEyedGirl00
Originally, she had an overly large chest because it wasn't apparent she was female without it. (In the first game, you could see the polygons individually of which they were composed.) Of course, that exactly explain why the commercials for the original series showed an upset stripper alone on a stage because all the men were home playing Tomb Raider. (That said, Lara is pretty kick ass, so I wouldn't feel to badly about it.)
VigilanteNighthawk 7 months ago
Aw, I was so happy to see a brief shot from American MacGee's Alice because I took it to mean at least one person other than myself played it, but then I saw it wasn't even given a mention in the cast list.
;_;
wtfuserwtfnamewtf 11 months ago
I love this! Where is the missile launching boobs part from?
huan152 11 months ago
@huan152 GTA IV: Princess Robot Bubblegum
feministfrequency 11 months ago
Second, would you say games tend to glorify “macho masculinity” and war because of patriarchal influence, or simply because conflict (ie. combat) tends to offer the most immediate and visceral experience for a gamer; with men tending to be in combat more often than women.
Chopstewie 11 months ago 3
@Chopstewie The second one. The number of non-combat games (that aren't simulations or sports games) out there is staggeringly low.
FatherTime89 10 months ago
@Chopstewie Also like to add that there are combat games that aren't about war and those still outnumber non-combat games.
FatherTime89 10 months ago
Good video
Two points, in the description you bring up “phallic weaponry” Is this meant to be a criticism, or just and observation. If it’s the former would this not be kind of vapid? The cylinder is common as it’s a strong structure (Barrels, etc.) unless the character is somehow treating it as his (her?) penis, metaphorically.
If a character has a weapon, does the developer need to concern himself with making sure it’s not ‘too phallic’ or give weapons most consistent with the character?
Chopstewie 11 months ago
SO glad this is back!
chibipandora 11 months ago
Samus,ftw!
Dosenkrieger 1 year ago 5
More than half of the Final Fantasy games have females as main protagonists
SynthesisEnigma 1 year ago 4
@SynthesisEnigma And don't forget Phantasy Star, one of the very first games to have a female protagonist.
Relugus 9 months ago
heather-silent hill 3, samus aran-metroid, jill valentine-resident evil, faith-mirrors edge, lara croft-tomb raider, yuna,rikku, and paine-final fantasy X2, zoey-left 4 dead, cate-nolf, chun li-street fighter, jade-beyond good and evil, nariko-heavenly sword. and thats all i can think of right now.
campbellsoup93 1 year ago
@campbellsoup93 In all honesty, in the resident evil series, the developers do seem to make Jill Valentine's body, let's just say a bit too nice to look at, where as Claire Redfield, or Rebecca Chambers might have been just a slightly better example...
narutails 1 year ago
@narutails In the Gamecube REmake Jill looked like a normalish woman. In RE5 she and Chris were BOTH turned into stereotypes. Chris became a tree-trunk armed steroid He-Man, while Jill became a stereotypical blonde vamp.
Relugus 9 months ago
Okay, wait, wait hold on second. In your notes for why Portal was included, you say that "where the protagonist is a woman although you hardly see her during the game." This can't be used as an insult. In all of the Half-Life games Gordon Freeman's face is never shown once. This wasn't because the developers were sexist against men, but it is the style of video game art they use.
drew335533 1 year ago 68
@drew335533 It wasn't an insult, it was a comment, I used Portal as an example of a strong female protagonist.
feministfrequency 1 year ago 4
@feministfrequency
I see, my bad. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
drew335533 1 year ago
@drew335533 - Exactly. But it's an unfortunate coincidence cause there aren't enough female role models not being sexually exploited in video games. It's like my thoughts on Disney's The Frog Princess. Sure it was pure coincidence that she was a frog the whole time, but even as a Caucasian, I feel it was a pity we didn't see enough of her as a person. When I first played Portal I was shocked it was a girl cause her breasts weren't exaggerated or popping out. She was a normal human being! xD
YourDarkAccomplice 3 months ago 3
@drew335533 Not to mention the character you are with the majority of the time is none other than Alyx Vance, who is the strongest female character to ever appear in video games. Not sexualized, not even barely.
Other games containing strong female protagonists include Metroid, (up until Other M) Maya from Ace Attorney, Faith from Mirror's Edge and Meryll from Metal Gear Solid.
If you ever need examples on strong female protagonists from films, watch any Ghibli film. Any.
stickmeister0 3 months ago 7
Wait, can someone explain to me what's wrong with Bioshock 2? I'm honestly confused.
Likety 1 year ago
I completely agree about this.
Just look at Portal. The creators didn't even anticipate it being popular or hype it, and yet this game with a female protagonist and antagonist who are entirely self-sufficient is one of the most beloved games ever. Seriously, go to any page on the internet: how many times do you see "the cake is a lie" or hear the song Still Alive?
ProcessingOf 1 year ago
@ProcessingOf What I hate about the arguments against female protagonists and their unmarketability vis-a-vis a presumed profitable male audience is this idea that men cannot and will not play female characters. As an owner of an indie game dev house, I know this is b.s. As long as it isn't a multiplayer environment (which is more complicated by Guy Code shaming and so on), guys have no problem with it if the characters aren't forced into "feminine" roles, which is how it should be anyway.
DMSelena 11 months ago
This is sort of something I'm writing about for a research paper: the ways women are presented in video games. I'm covering three areas: women as "masculine" heroines (Bayonetta, Lara Croft, etc.), damsels in distress (Princesses Peach and Zelda, Alice Wake, etc.), and "vulnerable everymen" (Ashley Graham, Heather from Silent Hill 3, Alex Roivas, etc.).
greekperson0305 1 year ago
@greekperson0305 I`d be interested in reading your findings when you are done.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@greekperson0305 Ooh! I'd quite like to read this too. Don't forget to talk about the few positives too! Jill Valentine, Alyx Vance, Faith. :D x
Bexahontas 1 year ago
I have a question. Why is Halo in the video? I know the Main Character is Male. He is the leader of the spartans. In Halo 3 you can change your gender. Females are still super-human. Also there are female marines in every game. The creator of the Spartans is a female. Female ODSTs are in Halo. Now in Reach Male and Female civialians. There are male players but also females. In the books there are multiple female spartans. Humans want to end the war to save humanity. Also in the end of 3 is peace
thewesleyx5 1 year ago 5
@thewesleyx5 because the image of the main character is iconic.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
I'd just like to say that this song is Flight of the Conchords - Too Many Dicks. Credit where credit is due? Like to the songwriters instead of some shitty remix video credit?
ambientx86 1 year ago
lol
Zeredek 1 year ago
Namco's Tekken 6 doesn't really glorify violence, they just makes it look cool. *lol*
If anything, T6 is actually kind of anti-war. The War is frequently symbolized in the story as bringing about "negative energy." And the characters who partake in the war in the game are usually appear to be the bad guys. (With exception to Lars and Alisa, who want to end it.)
NemonicLee 1 year ago
My boyfriend is an avid gamer and loves first person shooters and gets upset that I won't play with him. It is just ridiculous...
Many years ago while playing an MMO in which you make your own characters, I made friends with a man who played nothing but female characters and when I asked him about it, he said 'I'd rather look at a chick's ass than a dudes if I'm going to sit here and play this all day'. I then learned most 'females' on that game were in fact dudes.
motokoai 1 year ago
@motokoai Yeah, it's not right in my opinion. I got the same response from a person playing the MMO SWG. If they don't want to look at a dude's ass then they should put their character in first person.
BrianAT2000 1 year ago
@motokoai Yeah, my son calls these "GiRLs": Guys in Real Life. I lol'd.
DMSelena 11 months ago
Why would you feature Portal in this vid??????
TimothyBragan 1 year ago
@TimothyBragan Read the NOTES section.
feministfrequency 11 months ago 27
I absolutely love this video (& so does my boyfriend!) We're both avid gamers & we agree there aren't enough strong, iconic women in video games. There should be more like Jill Valentine, Alyx Vance, & Faith and less like Bayonetta & the entire cast of Dead or Alive, blergh.
Thanks for your videos - love them!
Bexahontas 1 year ago
Also,on another note,have you seen the female mods for Team Fortress 2? (Videos on YT)Apparently you can replace any of the team with a female version.And for the most part,they're well realized.I think it was at that point I realized girls are dying to play exciting leading roles in games even if they're still violent gore fests.I do wish there were more exciting non-violent long games with cinematic storylines and great female chrs.I find casual gaming like Peggle or tetris boring.
blackwhimsy 1 year ago
OTOH,I gave up on Half Life 2 half way through and am not sure I want to finish it.It's a shame as it's so cinematic and the game engine is stunning,but shooting body after faceless body gets to be very depressing after a while.
Have you seen Dreamfall? I'm going to download it as apparently it had a very high rate of women gamers playing it and was designed for women to enjoy.Has any female gamer here played it?It is good or is it filled with lame romantic shyt to appeal to the 'girlies'?
blackwhimsy 1 year ago
While I agree there is way too much violence & gore in video games,and phallic objects abound,I liked Portal.Yes,you can argue the gun is a phallic symbol punching 'holes' into a yielding surroundings,but I just liked the puzzles.The violence is pretty minor.(your chr only dies as a result of misjudging the danger of the puzzle & you respawn immediately)Also,Glados's dialogue is quite witty.The focus is on the dark humour & the puzzles.Sure,it could do without ANY blood,but there are worse ones.
blackwhimsy 1 year ago
@blackwhimsy See my NOTES for why Portal was included.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
how do you justify including star trek online? a game where the player picks there gender?
eventheinnocent 1 year ago
@eventheinnocent it was a call out to the vid that inspired me to make this remix.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
Adding to that, there's quite a bit of disparity looks wise between males and females in games. The girls are all pretty looking, the guys tend to be just either tough, 'roided out or "cooler-than-thou" looking. It's nice to see one of those not-so-common male protagonists that's actually attractive.
0Angel0A 1 year ago
Good lord, wow, this video... It's just pure greatness and win... I love it...
My two cents: Since the vast majority of video games are male oriented, that's just how they get designed. Male protagonist=What a guy would want to be (macho badass, with all his "bros"). Rare female protagonist=Superhotchick (woman who's what a guy wants to see).
Gore/violence don't bother me, really (better imaginary than real), so long as it's not just grotesque and looking like it's SuperDeathBlood 90,000.
0Angel0A 1 year ago
lol
paulcarrillo226 1 year ago
I don't think Mirror's Edge is a good example of a feminine protagonist. I mean, she's not overly sexualized or anything, but her journey is to ...save her sister, who is not only helpless, but also has been kidnapped. Progressive for women on the character design front, but not so much on the story front.
DanTheeMan 1 year ago
Funny
angelthunder98 1 year ago
Lol funny as hell
angelthunder98 1 year ago
Lightsaber at the end rocks... ;]
GHOSTY623 1 year ago
wow awesome :D XD
tikirago 1 year ago
legit
dylpickle56 1 year ago
nice song
&funny
byrdz100 1 year ago
Comment removed
thegamingbrit 1 year ago
@thegamingbrit Read the notes.
feministfrequency 1 year ago 22
Comment removed
thegamingbrit 1 year ago
Love this video :D No lie, I like the games mentioned for the most part, with or without female characters, but I do wish there were more lead female characters in gaming. Whenever one comes along it's like Christmas. Too many dicks indeed :p
dylanxtra 1 year ago
i wouldn't consider Heavy Rain "overly violent", at least no more than your standard thriller...and one of th'main char.'s in that game is a woman....so there's at least somethin' if you're lookin' for less violence in your game...
anubreedofangel 1 year ago
if you say the games industry is commonly run by men, then they are going to make games that they think are exciting and appeal to the majority audience of males. if you wish to have more games that appeal to the female audience, then get more females working in the games industry, but seeing as commonly females do not have as big a following as males do in the industry, the industry, trying to make money, will appeal to the people who are going to buy the games.
burntflame 1 year ago
I'm curious about your choice to include Chris from Resident Evil 5 on that list. In that game Sheva is with him every step of the way and is every way his equal. Jill Valentine also gets her own segment of the game where she helps the groups helicopter pilot escape. In mercenaries mode you unlock Rebbeca Chambers as a playable character.
I'm not denying that there are more male playable characters, but the gap isn't huge for the genders being represented well in the stories of said games.
CommanderLorenz 1 year ago
*Falls on floor laughing*
true very very true. I wouldin't mind more female characters in games, and no they don't have to be scantily clad either. I actualy prefer the fully clad characters. the others seem...silly to me. yes i'm going to fight a giant demon in a bikini.... no, give me my frikk'n power armor! lol. actually i can't remember any non sex appeal female characters in any video games outside of front mission... nope still can't. (front missions female characters are also awesome.)
LurkingGoblin 1 year ago
portal has a woman. and the computer is a woman. there are many computer games with strong leading females.
also left for dead has a woman in it.
in the end, the game industry is in it for the money. if putting women character would have give them more they would do it! don't underestimate the power of capitalism!
LtDanw 1 year ago
@LtDanw See video notes re. portal
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@feministfrequency you also have to see her for it to have an active female character? this is a bit too stingy!
i think you can make the main character a women in Star Wars: The Old Republic. and i believe there are strong supporting characters\ secondary goal to achieve which are women.
doesn't Bayonetta has a strong powerful female?
also, women can't be violent? putting a women in a violent position is also bad?
LtDanw 1 year ago
@LtDanw It is a general comment about the abundance of men (and secondly of violence). Just because you can name female characters in video games doesn't change the fact that there are by far more male characters.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@feministfrequency without talking about a specific game. the status is that there are more violent games which have male characters then non-violent games with female roles. the question is, why? just saying that the gaming companies are run by men isn't enough to explain.
LtDanw 1 year ago
@LtDanw My short answer is because of patriarchy, which is a rather big conversation that wouldn't fit into a youtube comment. Feel free to message me if you'd like to continue it.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@feministfrequency There are more male game designers and therefore the main cast will be male. Just about all females who appear in those type of games will be highly sexualized. Any game with an entire female cast will be intended for male audiences(rumble roses). While games with only men won't(Call of Duty).
lipailong2 1 year ago
Beyond good and evil is a game with a string female
michaeljacksonyall 1 year ago
Mirror's Edge I totally disagree, first she's a asian woman in a game being sold to a western gaming market thats brave and out of the norm in video games! also shes not sexualised or degraded for being a woman! She is potrayed as being at being a athletic woman who is independant and a pacifist who rebels against a nanny-goverment , its shows that she stands up for what she believes is right! how is she at all bad she is an inspiration for what women should be?
patsybob 1 year ago 3
@patsybob See the NOTES section.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
SO DAMN TRUE. I wish mw2 had a female character option
rabbitfnord 1 year ago
even as a MALE gamer, i find it quite disconcerting how few positive, realistic, developed female characters there are in games. i know that men are frequently the target audience. but i certainly know a few female gamers too, and their choices are frequently very limited in multiplayer games. and i'm just not sure about the argument that male gamers won't identify with female characters. when an RPG has a gender option, i'll choose female at least half the time.
virtualanonymity 1 year ago
Ah,this takes me back to art college and discussions about phallic symbols.(hi,Arash!)Boy,do blokes love their guns.
blackwhimsy 1 year ago
I agree with almost all of them, but how exactly do you figure Mirror's Edge belongs in that bunch? Sure, there are macho grunts with guns in it, but they're clearly the bad guys whom you're supposed to outrun and outsmart. The spotlight is on nonviolent action and the main character is cool and athletic (as opposed to a hypersexed vixen).
tommikovala 1 year ago
@tommikovala please see the NOTES section for a response to this.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@feministfrequency
my bad :)
tommikovala 1 year ago
@feministfrequency Maybe using the option to put captions in the video would clear that up, because a lot of people don't read the notes section...
EstrangedEstranged 1 year ago
"most video games star overly muscular men"
No, that's only true of next gen console games, specifically for the Xbox and PS3, but that's actually a very small part of the game industry (which is already waning due to budget constraints.) It's not true with the Wii. (Wii Fit outsold GTA IV.) It's DEFINITELY not true with casual games, which are dominated by female players. The Diner Dash games, which star a waitress named Flo, has been downloaded over 500 MILLION times.
slhamlet 1 year ago
"non-violent forms of conflict resolution" Oh for crying out loud. Mirror's Edge features gunplay and kung-fu. Action is FUN. I'll pass on a RPG called "Non-Violent Conflict Resolution" where you can't attack anyone and have to engage in conversation with baddies until an amicable compromise is reached. How come you didn't show any Mario games? VIOLENCE AGAINST GOOMBAS, OH NO. Damn I'm mad. I feel like someone just said the NFL should ban tackling lol. But my point is...Street Fighter IV is fun.
Swiffness 1 year ago 2
@Swiffness you mean like basketball?
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@Swiffness in mirror's edge, you're generally unarmed, and sticking around and fighting it out usually gets you killed. yeah, there's certainly some action, martial arts, and the occasional gun, but it's not the focus of the game, as in many other games.
and there are quite a lot of RPGs that will offer a non-violent resolution as a potential course of action. for instance, there many fights in mass effect that can be entirely avoided through dialog options.
virtualanonymity 1 year ago
@Swiffness
Action is fun, but instead of action heroes, you get a bunch of militaristic, buzzcut ogres. The default male appearance in action games is a jarhead. Mass Effect has custom options for appearance, but if you want to look like an adventurer instead of a grunt, you have to make a female character.
I remember gamers hating on Assassin's Creed II's trailer when it turned out Ezio had vaguely period clothing. Apparently the Renaissance is too gay.
tommikovala 1 year ago
@Swiffness You can complete Mirror's Edge without killing anyone. You can use only disarms and acrobatics. The game even reminds you that it notices how you behave in the in-game menu: "So far, you haven't fired a shot at anyone".
EstrangedEstranged 1 year ago
loves it, thanks !!
cdw240 1 year ago
Flight of the Conchords
mattrewahard 1 year ago
I notice mario and zelda aren't on your list. They're the worst and most over-used characters always going after a helpless princess. GTA is a parody, and even so there are plenty of moral complex females in it (kate in GTAIV). You're incredibly biased as usual. Are females good footballers? No, so they're not in fifa. Are they as good in war? Are they as funny? No, so gtaiv is filled with mostly males. Nearly all males in games are skinheads, hair is hard to model so females are a bad choice.
valleyshrew 1 year ago
I just thought to myself the other day that video games needed more females, it brings more realism to certain games where females would be involved in some way. With games like GTA series though, I would understand why not many females are involved with things. I rarely turn on the news and hear about a bunch of female Mobsters in a shoot-out with East European woman and a female biker.
darkace585 1 year ago
As a male gamer I agree wholeheartedly with you. The video is very good and the message is clear, didn't read the note first or your username and I got the message. The song is very fitting.
Just a thing, you should credit the artists who made the song, Flight of the Conchords, since you are crediting every game but not the artist.
fynnen 1 year ago
Video games are for people who just want to escape the real world and live in a fantasy. The need better hobbies.
1ERIC2YOU 1 year ago
what dicks
jam1250 1 year ago
Ugh, damned patriarchy. If our society weren't so sexist games about war would have an equal number of male and female soldiers, just like real armies have, and firearm related violence would be carried out equally by men and women, as crime statistics clearly show is the case in the real world.
b3ng34nc3 1 year ago 5
I don't understand what point you're attempting to make with this video. That games marketed towards men are marketed towards men?
mikhasw 1 year ago 8
@mikhasw The point of the vid is that most games are marketed and designed as if ONLY males will ever play them. I know, men are the gaming market majority, but what's with having it all "no-girls-allowed" and then saying there aren't female gamers?
Men are the heroes and villains, while females typically play smaller roles, normally overly sexualized (Oh yeah... Guys are hardly ever blatantly sexualized). Female protagonists exist, but it doesn't fix the massive disparities: "White males only."
0Angel0A 11 months ago
@mikhasw Men must not play Mirror's Edge by your logic. We all want something new and refreshing unless you wanna play the same shooter 50 times over under a different title.
0Krusnik0 11 months ago
To many dicks =/...........lol
FATHER562 1 year ago
Well uhmm you could argue about some points in the info, but how can a weapon not look "phallic"?? When you criticise the Design of weapons, wether real or fantasy ones, there has to be an alternative. So tell me, how does a rifle or sword look like, thats not "phallic"?
DerAntimensch 1 year ago
I guess developers are just focusing on the market. Males do have a majority, hence most "women" you see in video games appear to be taken out straight from anime Pr0n.
Although "most" RPGs and several other games give options to play as a female character nowadays.
It's not THAT bad really. Apart from the hyper-sexualising and all that.
dmanator111 1 year ago
Not enough sisters, too many mans. There's certainly too many dicks on this particular dancefloor.
SolInvictus 1 year ago
Im confused as to why scenes from the game Portal are included, seeing as how the main character is female and completely unsexualised). There are NO men in that game at all (the talking AI who is the only other character is also feminine). A bad example for the premise 'too many men' in games.
Rietto 1 year ago 4
@Rietto See the NOTE in the video information section, I explain why I used that clip specifically during the lyrics "Easy to Fix"
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@Rietto The portal gun can be seen as a phallic symbol.
blackwhimsy 1 year ago
awsome vid
sixthbrick1 1 year ago
the games that are produced today, the games u show in this video are nearly only action games and FPS. I could never imagine captain price or Marcus Fenix as girls, that would just be lame... Call of duty: Modern warfare 2 has sold over 20 Million copies, and if Captain Price or any other main character like john "Soap" MacTavish would be girls, I don't think the game would have the same "feeling" and wouldn't sell as good as possible.
victor555117 1 year ago
Ok, I have too say, based on a sheer percentage, the amount of female protagonists in games is roughly similar too the amount of females who play video games, not saying that their should'nt be more female leads. BUT just as all the gamer girls wish there was more female leads guys like playing as their own sex... so if only too appease too the larger fanbase they tend too make male mains.
MasterAxel1 1 year ago
@MasterAxel1 well maybe if there were more female protagonists and a little less macho crap there would be more female gamers.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@MasterAxel1: Except there are many studies that show more women play games than men. I think the ratio is like 54%/46%.
olshanski 1 year ago
@olshanski Do you have information about this study?
feministfrequency 1 year ago
I have been trying to post the link but it is not working... it is erroring out.
olshanski 1 year ago
@feministfrequency
If you do a search on "Study: Women Gamers Outnumber Men in 25-34 Age Group" you'll find it.
I guess looking closer, It appears I overstated my case, because in other age groups there are more men. In any case, the ratio is not the extreme that MasterAxel1 appears to be suggesting above.
olshanski 1 year ago
@olshanski Sounds VERY doubtful to me.Dreamfall and Portal are about the only two titles I know of that were bought in equal or greater numbers by women. Games still largely cater to men.
blackwhimsy 1 year ago
I don't know...in some ways I kind of like the fact that it's a 'dick fest' in games. I mean, if they're attractive, anyway. I'm a little surprised there aren't more females in video games just for the fact that you'd think men would want as many chances as possible to look at unrealistic women flouncing about on their screens.
But, I suppose it all comes down to not wanting to feel emasculated by a strong female.
eridaniblack 1 year ago 20
@eridaniblack Imagine Army of two or Marcus Fenix as a females, that would just be lame... and I think the men got enough women on their screens, if you know what i mean :P
victor555117 1 year ago
@victor555117 yes I know what you mean if you are referring to the overly sexualized male fantasies that are supposed to pass as women in video games.
feministfrequency 1 year ago
@eridaniblack Apparently quite a few men play as women in WoW.
blackwhimsy 1 year ago
First off, great video - agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment.
But the role (or lack thereof) and physical appearance of female characters are separate issues. While the hyper sexualisation is not ideal, it may not represent any particular bias, as male avatars are similarly exaggerated. Maybe part of gaming's appeal is the ability to step outside the confines of our real selves.
Personally, I'd be happy with more Mirrors-Edge representation - strong and independent, if waif-like.
futureframe 1 year ago 3