ABSTRACT

Gender stereotypes are a known issue in video games, where female characters are often hyper-sexualized and relegated to disempowering roles. Numerous quantitative studies paint a grim picture of video game communities as hyper-masculine spaces complicit in reproducing harmful gender ideologies. Missing from the literature are qualitative inquiries of the meaning gamers assign to their engagement with a medium that is known for underrepresenting and objectifying women. This study uses qualitative textual content analysis of an influential, popular Internet video game forum—the largest of its kind—where gamers respond to questions posed by members about gender in video games. My findings show that gamers centralize the role of sexual agency and sexual empowerment to construct multiple, nuanced discourses for understanding gender stereotypes in games. These discourses mirror broader feminist debates about the achievability of sexual empowerment within hyper-sexualized cultural contexts. As video games grow in popularity, their ability to generate meaning among increasingly diverse audiences requires continued investigation. By engaging with gamers as they make sense of gender representation in games, researchers can glean insight into the many ways gamers envision change within the video game industry.

摘要

性别刻板印象是电子游戏中的一个已知问题，其中女性角色经常被过度性感化并被贬低为剥夺权力的角色。许多定量研究描绘了电子游戏社区的严峻画面，即超男性空间同谋复制有害的性别意识形态。文献中缺少对游戏玩家赋予他们参与以低估和客观化女性而闻名的媒介的意义的定性调查。这项研究使用了对一个有影响力、流行的互联网视频游戏论坛（同类中最大的论坛）的定性文本内容分析，游戏玩家在该论坛回答成员提出的关于视频游戏中的性别问题。我的研究结果表明，游戏玩家集中了性代理和性赋权的作用来构建多重，用于理解游戏中的性别刻板印象的微妙话语。这些话语反映了更广泛的女权主义辩论，即在过度性化的文化背景下，性赋权的可实现性。随着电子游戏越来越受欢迎，它们在日益多样化的受众中产生意义的能力需要继续调查。通过与游戏玩家互动，让他们了解游戏中的性别表现，研究人员可以深入了解游戏玩家设想的视频游戏行业变化的多种方式。