User:Outlanderrr/Sexism and video games

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The demographics of video game culture have changed since the 1980s and 90s, when video games were perceived as something of interest mainly to young men. Women make up about half of all game players as of the 2010s. This change, as well as publicized incidents of harassment such as the Gamergate controversy in 2014, have contributed to industry professionals and media increasingly paying attention to issues related to sexism in video gaming.

Since the 1980's and 1990's, video game culture has veered from its original perception as a space for just young men. Women make up about 50 percent of all game players as of the 2010s. However, many video games condone instances of sexism against women through not penalizing users who demonstrate this kind of behavior, or weaving themes of sexism against women into their storylines.The growing presence of women in the gaming sphere, and subsequently publicized incidents of harassment towards women in this field, has pushed industry professionals to pay attention to sexism in video gaming.

Harassment

Form

Sexual harassment occurs frequently in many online settings relating online video games. Specifically, 65% of women report harassment and statistically receive three times as much derogatory or insulting remarks than men. With anonymity masking gamers, women are susceptible to extreme misogynistic and violent remarks.

Online video games can be host to extreme sexism towards women, with 65% of women reporting an instance of sexual harassment in this setting. In comparison to their male counterparts, women are subject to three times the amount of derogatory or offensive remarks, which can be made anonymously by gamers.

According to a 2014 survey created by the International Game Developers Association about the satisfaction of working in video game development, results show that women claimed insubordination from subordinate male colleagues, a preference for white males in management position, and a preference for males in hiring and promotion. In the same survey, many female developers complained about how peers did not take their video game credentials into serious consideration and reported invitations to "meetings" that were actually romantic dates.

In 2014, the International Game Developers Association conducted a survey that demonstrated some of the lack of professionalism women in the game developing field were met with. Firstly, women reported defiance from their subordinate male colleagues. The study also showed that white males were favored for positions of management and all throughout the hiring process. Female developers from the survey also revealed that they were not taken seriously in the field and instead were met with inappropriate behavior from male colleagues, such as being mislead into attending dates.

In the same survey, many female developers complained about how peers did not take their video game credentials into serious consideration and reported invitations to "meetings" that were actually romantic dates.

Frequency

In her ethnographic study of the gaming platform of Xbox Live, Dr. Kishonna Gray, a gender studies researcher, points out that a lot of the racism and sexism experienced in the gaming platform is facilitated by linguistic profiling. Linguistic profiling is comparable to racial profiling or gender profiling, however instead of visuals, it is based on voice and speech. Linguistic profiling is commonly done in gaming spaces that rely on voice (speaking through microphones and headsets) as opposed to those that rely on text. There are certain linguistic stereotypes that maybe associated with one's voice, making women more vulnerable to discrimination just based off how they sound.

The #MeToo impact on the video game industry

A similar wave of sexual harassment and misconduct accusations occurred in June 2020. Initial claims were made against one of the popular Destiny 2 players on Twitch by several women on June 19, 2020, accusing this player of inappropriate conduct in both online and offline behavior. This led to at least seventy women involved in the industry to speak out on other Twitch streamers who had engaged in similar inappropriate behavior, including one directed at Omeed Dariani, the CEO of Online Performers Group, a talent agency that represents many Twitch streamers. Dariani apologized for his past behavior and subsequently stepped down. Twitch was also criticized for allowing such behavior to occur, and the service said it would begin to evaluate all reported incidents and work with law enforcement as necessary. The event led to other accusations of past misconducted to be raised against various members of the video game industry and other closely related markets, including freelance writer Chris Avellone, CEO of Cards Against Humanity Max Temkin (who resigned following the allegations), Wizards of the Coast artist Noah Bradley (who was terminated following the accusations), and Ubisoft creative director Ashraf Ismail (who stepped down from his position to deal with his personable matters).Both Ubisoft and Insomniac Games also addressed additional claims of their employees being accused of sexual harassment and stated they would take these accusations seriously and investigate the matters internally. Charges were made toward the CEO of Evolution Championship Series (EVO), Joey Cuellar, who was subsequently let go. Multiple publishers that had backed the event had pulled out on this news, and the EVO event, which had already been reworked as an online event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was subsequently cancelled.

Effects

In their 2022 study, Kuss et al. found that when gaming, women found that they were treated differently than male players when their gender was known. They would be subject to personal questions and special treatment if they even appeared as female. Therefore, many women prefered to play with male avatars, as to not draw attention to their gender.

Sexist Themes in Games

The video game industry is very clearly geared towards men. Therefore, various video game franchises have incorporated less than desirable portrayals of women into their gaming storylines. For example, the Grand Theft Auto franchise has repeatedly portrayed women as only strippers, prostitutes, and other sex workers. In the game, male characters have a feature that allows them to engage in intercourse with a prostitute and then subsequently kill her to reclaim their money. This behavior is then further enforced through in-game benefits such as extra points. Furthermore, research from the 60 best selling games in 2003 indicated that females that were over sexualized through inappropriate clothing or lack of clothing at a much higher rate than male characters.

Countermeasures

AnyKey is a non-profit organization that is working to combat sexism in the gaming community. The organization's goal is to advocate for a diverse, equal and inclusive competitive gaming and live-streaming sphere. Some of their efforts include providing supportive resources to marginalized players in the gaming sector, like women. The group has launched an e-sports diversity initiative, and have produced white papers on the topic of women in esports and online harassment. Women in Games is another not for profit organization that advocates specifically for gender equality in the gaming and esports industry. They do this through showcasing the creative work of women around the world, including gaming art, design, and sound and creative coding. The group also hosts many recruitment expos, to highlight companies in the video game industry that are committed to gender equality in the field.

References

1. Gray, Kishonna L. (2012-04-01). "Intersecting Oppressions and Online Communities". Information, Communication & Society. 15 (3): 411–428. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2011.642401. ISSN 1369-118X.
2. Gabbiadini, A., Riva, P., Andrighetto, L., Volpato, C., & Bushman, B. J. (2016). Acting like a tough guy: Violent-sexist video games, identification with game characters, masculine beliefs, & empathy for female violence victims. PLOS ONE, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152121
3. Downs, E., & Smith, S. L. (2010). Keeping Abreast of Hypersexuality: A Video Game Character Content Analysis. Sex Roles, 62 (11-12), 721-733. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9637-1
4. About. AnyKey. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://www.anykey.org/en/about
5. "What we do". Women in Games. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
6. Kuss, D. J., Kristensen, A. M., Williams, A. J., & Lopez-Fernandez, O. (2022). To Be or Not to Be a Female Gamer: A Qualitative Exploration of Female Gamer Identity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1169. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031169