Gender in Video Games
Gender in Video Games refers to the representation of different genders as they are portrayed in characters created for the video gaming medium. While gaming as both a medium and culture has changed drastically over its history, the content that it contains has evolved to accommodate not only new technologies as they are invented, but also the social environment of the times in order to better cater to its intended audiences. In many cases, given the escapist nature of many video games throughout history and their ability to allow players to live fantastical lives outside of their own, this can mean that the characters that players use - often as avatars to act out these fantasies - can be caricatures or stereotypes of people that exist at the time these games were published. While game designers are often looking to real world examples to further flesh out the content of their games, and the intended social consequences of their work is benign, the prevalence of the medium dictates that regardless of intention they have unintended consequences. These include the ways in which people see themselves who are from the societal, economical, racial, and gendered demographics that are represented by these images. While all depictions that negatively affect the image of those disparaged should not be overlooked, the most hotly contested representations in our culture today derive from those of gender.
Overview
While video gaming as a medium is quite young in comparison to other popular forms of entertainment such as books and magazines, and even in comparison to other forms of pop culture such as music, comic books, and film, it is hard to understate its impact on culture today. in 2018 nearly 2.7 billion people worldwide played video games, and those who identified as gamers accounted for 66% of the US population alone. While the medium has traditionally been seen as having a player base that largely identifies as male, today in the U.S. the difference is much closer to a 50/50 split, as in 2019 it was reported that 46% of the population claiming to be part of the gaming community identified as female. With such a large portion of the
History
The history of video gaming itself spans nearly 50 years when home consoles such as the Magnavox Odyssey were released back in the early 70's, but the true heyday of gaming didn't start until the release of the Famicom in Japan, and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to the US and the rest of the world in 1983. While gaming was originally marketed as a family activity for children and adults of all genders and ages alike, after the video game crash of 1983 Nintendo's new home console was marketed primarily toward boys as the gendered marketing tactics of the 80's forced the company to choose an audience to cater its marketing toward. Subsequent consoles of the era followed suit and soon video gaming was seen as a hobby for boys. The rumblings of diversity and gender representation through gaming, however, would begin early in this new life of of the medium. In 1986's hit title Metroid for the NES it would be revealed to the player, upon beating the game in a specified amount of time, that the strong, defiant, lone-wolf hero character they had been playing throughout the game was in fact a woman in a suit of armor. While this by no means shifted the video gaming culture at large, and in fact much of the gender based controversy in gaming would take place in the decades to follow, this would serve as one of the first instances of diversity in gaming.
