While this statistic has been widely published, games continue to cater to a male demographic by perpetuating misogynistic aspects of gaming including: the “nice guy” personality, the objectification of female characters/gamers and frequent harassment in the online community.
Video game design is perpetuating the “Nice Guy” personality that leads men in real life and male gamers alike to believe their nice deeds entitle them to romantic relations with women
Originally a psychology term that still applies to real-life situations, the “Nice Guy Syndrome” is described as the feeling of entitlement to either romantic or more serious sexual rewards when a male has done good deeds for a female.
While evidence of the detrimental effects have been identified in real life, their existence and effects in gaming have been widely ignored until recently. Rated M for Mature, a book by Matthew Wysocki, studied the evidence and effects of the “nice guy” personality that exists in gaming due to some of the design aspects of games.
They found that frequently, male characters are rewarded for their actions in a game by sex or romantic relations with a female character. Also, if one action does not equate to the desired result, the player can simply start over until the desired reward is achieved.
This portrayal of relationships can induce misogynistic ideologies as well as reinforce the “Nice Guy” ideas that can escalate to violent and extreme behavior. Furthermore, it creates an unhealthy view of how relationships are forged as well as the idea that achieving that relationship will require the same steps with each person or in a gaming sense, the same button pushing.
This concept originated when many “Nice Guys” began to publicly question why females did not like them or want to be with them in a romantic sense even though they were nice. It has also been related to the term friend-zoning which implies that women place some men in a non-romantic friend-zone when they decide they don’t think of them in a romantic way.
While most “Nice Guys” take little action in real life, some take violent measures against women because they felt they were not rewarded for their niceness.
One “Nice Guy” planned his own day of retribution against women after he made a video claiming that he was not given the time of day by sorority girls even though he was always nice to them. He drove through the surrounding area of Isla Vista near the University of California at Santa Barbara campus, shooting at women on the street and outside the sorority houses.
Whether playing a game or not, the “Nice Guy” personality encourages unrealistic expectations of relationships between men and women as well as sometimes dangerous retaliative behavior.
Percentage of Women in gaming steadily increases, but harassment leading to threats and objectifying design features persist
While evidence of the detrimental effects have been identified in real life, their existence and effects in gaming have been widely ignored until recently. Rated M for Mature, a book by Matthew Wysocki, studied the evidence and effects of the “nice guy” personality that exists in gaming due to some of the design aspects of games.
They found that frequently, male characters are rewarded for their actions in a game by sex or romantic relations with a female character. Also, if one action does not equate to the desired result, the player can simply start over until the desired reward is achieved.
This portrayal of relationships can induce misogynistic ideologies as well as reinforce the “Nice Guy” ideas that can escalate to violent and extreme behavior. Furthermore, it creates an unhealthy view of how relationships are forged as well as the idea that achieving that relationship will require the same steps with each person or in a gaming sense, the same button pushing.
This concept originated when many “Nice Guys” began to publicly question why females did not like them or want to be with them in a romantic sense even though they were nice. It has also been related to the term friend-zoning which implies that women place some men in a non-romantic friend-zone when they decide they don’t think of them in a romantic way.
While most “Nice Guys” take little action in real life, some take violent measures against women because they felt they were not rewarded for their niceness.
One “Nice Guy” planned his own day of retribution against women after he made a video claiming that he was not given the time of day by sorority girls even though he was always nice to them. He drove through the surrounding area of Isla Vista near the University of California at Santa Barbara campus, shooting at women on the street and outside the sorority houses.
Whether playing a game or not, the “Nice Guy” personality encourages unrealistic expectations of relationships between men and women as well as sometimes dangerous retaliative behavior.
Percentage of Women in gaming steadily increases, but harassment leading to threats and objectifying design features persist
While research shows social media communities are rated equally welcoming to both sexes, video game communities are reviewed as being much more welcoming to men.
The data collected in 2014 study by PEW research group indicates that while only 14% of respondents thought social media was more welcoming to men, a much larger 44% of respondents felt video games were more welcoming to men than women.
While the exact reasons are not stated in this study, the combination of minimal female protagonists, objectification of female characters within games, as well as harassment in the online community are likely contributing factors.
Grand theft auto (GTA), among many other video games is well known for its portrayal of female characters in objectifying outfits and roles such as strippers and prostitutes that can be hired by the male characters.
Many female gamers have commented on their disgust with the game and the fact that significant money and design went into creating these female characters that are usually objects to be bought by males characters.
Assassin’s creed for example received well deserved criticism after releasing a game last year with the premise of character customization but the game contained zero female protagonist options. When questioned about their exclusion of female protagonists, representatives of Assassin's Creed stated that designing female characters would have taken too much time and they had to make a “choice”.
Unfortunately, real-life harassment has become even more serious with the recent "gamergate" controversy. A female gamer raising money to support informative videos detailing female representation in video games received thousands of death and rape threats and was forced to cancel an event due to a mass shooting threat.
The data collected in 2014 study by PEW research group indicates that while only 14% of respondents thought social media was more welcoming to men, a much larger 44% of respondents felt video games were more welcoming to men than women.
While the exact reasons are not stated in this study, the combination of minimal female protagonists, objectification of female characters within games, as well as harassment in the online community are likely contributing factors.
Grand theft auto (GTA), among many other video games is well known for its portrayal of female characters in objectifying outfits and roles such as strippers and prostitutes that can be hired by the male characters.
Many female gamers have commented on their disgust with the game and the fact that significant money and design went into creating these female characters that are usually objects to be bought by males characters.
Assassin’s creed for example received well deserved criticism after releasing a game last year with the premise of character customization but the game contained zero female protagonist options. When questioned about their exclusion of female protagonists, representatives of Assassin's Creed stated that designing female characters would have taken too much time and they had to make a “choice”.
Unfortunately, real-life harassment has become even more serious with the recent "gamergate" controversy. A female gamer raising money to support informative videos detailing female representation in video games received thousands of death and rape threats and was forced to cancel an event due to a mass shooting threat.
Similar harassment experiences have been reported by many women with very little effect on the design of new games which continue to be objectifying and sexist.
This is not surprising as women make up very little of the design, development, and business world of video games.
Surveys show only 22% of design/developers and 0% of industry CEOs are women even though they currently represent the majority of gamers at 52%.
According to Forbes, In order to diminish the prevalence of gaming personalities like the “nice guy” and the objectification/harassment of women gamers, the percentage of women working in the industry needs to increase more rapidly.
Surveys show only 22% of design/developers and 0% of industry CEOs are women even though they currently represent the majority of gamers at 52%.
According to Forbes, In order to diminish the prevalence of gaming personalities like the “nice guy” and the objectification/harassment of women gamers, the percentage of women working in the industry needs to increase more rapidly.
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As a woman, I feel it is important that citizens across America and the world spend more time and attention on this growing issue. Although I am not a gamer, I do believe it is important for all women to feel comfortable with this issue. Because of the growing use of technology, it is vital that this issue is addressed and dealt with immediately so that the upcoming generation is not exposed to this serious problem.
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