Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 Years

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 564-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Lynch ◽  
Jessica E. Tompkins ◽  
Irene I. van Driel ◽  
Niki Fritz
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Female Characters

Writing “Gamers”

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 479-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda C. Cote
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
Magazine Covers

In the mid-1990s, a small group of video game designers attempted to lessen gaming’s gender gap by creating software targeting girls. By 1999, however, these attempts collapsed, and video games remained a masculinized technology. To help understand why this movement failed, this article addresses the unexplored role of consumer press in defining “gamers” as male. A detailed content analysis of Nintendo Power issues published from 1994 to 1999 shows that mainstream companies largely ignored the girls’ games movement, instead targeting male audiences through player representations, sexualized female characters, magazine covers featuring men, and predominantly male authors. Given the mutually constitutive nature of representation and reality, the lack of women in consumer press then affected girls’ ability to identify as gamers and enter the gaming community. This shows that, even as gaming audiences diversify, inclusive representations are also needed to redefine gamer as more than just “male.”

scholarly journals Sexualization ((Online)Games)

10.34778/3e ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Wulf ◽  
Daniel Possler ◽  
Johannes Breuer
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Female Character ◽  
Breast Size ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Specific Behavior ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
Secondary Characters

This variable aims at identifying how bodies and movements of (mostly female) characters are portrayed in video games. This is often done by coding specific bodily attributes of characters or to what degree certain body parts are covered or (not covered) by clothing.   Fielf of application/theoretical foundation: The variable sexualization is an indicator commonly used in studies investigating the depiction of gender roles in video games and especially in studies aiming to identify stereotypical or sexist portrayals of women in games. Other variables that are often considered in such analyses are character attributes like being physically capable in terms of strength and agility (which is often how male characters are portrayed; Lynch et al., 2016) or whether characters are perpetrators or victims in violent interactions.   References/combination with other methods of data collection: Content analytic codings of stereotypical or sexist gender representations can be complemented by surveys among players to ask about their perception of the games they play. In addition, researchers may consider using computer vision methods for, e.g., detecting the amount of skin shown by characters (if they use screenshots or printed ads as coding materials).   Example studies Coding Material Measure Operationalization Unit(s) of analysis Source(s) (reported reliability of coding) 20-minute segment of game play Sexualization by clothing skin-revealing clothing, nudity (none, partial, full, not applicable, cannot tell), appropriateness of attire (appropriate, inappropriate, not applicable, cannot tell) Primary and secondary characters Downs & Smith, 2010 (Scott’s Pi = .87; 90; 90) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Sexualization by clothing Bare skin between armpits and bottom of the breasts (both dummy coded: bare skin vs. no bare skin) Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .70) 20-minute segment of game play Sexualization by size of body parts and proportions body proportion (realistic, unrealistic, not applicable, cannot tell), breast size (flat, average, voluptuous, cannot tell), waist size (disproportionately small, average, disproportionately large, cannot tell) Primary and secondary characters Downs & Smith, 2010 (Scott’s Pi = .82; .98; .88) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Sexualization by size of body parts and proportions Breast proportion to body size (dummy coded: proportionate vs. disproportionate) Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .81) 20-minute segment of game play Sexualization by specific behavior(s) sex talk (dummy coded: present vs. absent); sexual behavior (dummy coded: present vs. absent)  Interactions between characters Downs & Smith, 2010 (Scott’s Pi = .99; 1.00) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Sexualization by specific behavior(s) presence of sexualized movement (dummy coded, “unnecessary undulation or jiggling that drew attention to their body in a sexual manner”, Lynch et al., 2016, p. 572) Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .75) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Physical capability dummy coded: engagement in feats of physical strength or agility vs. no engagement in feats of physical strength or agility Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .84)   References Downs, E., & Smith, S. L. (2010). Keeping abreast of hypersexuality: A video game character content analysis. Sex Roles, 62, 721–733. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9637-1. Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (2016). Sexy, strong, and secondary: A content analysis of female characters in video games across 31 years. Journal of Communication, 66(4), 564–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12237

Gender Differences in Clothing Worn in Current Popular Comic Books

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Landon Jossy
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Comic Books ◽  
Book Industry ◽  
Comic Book ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Males And Females

This study looked at how males and females were portrayed, based on the amount of skin shown in the clothing worn.  A Content analysis was performed on a sample of 20 randomly selected popular comics from the last 3 years.  Both male and female characters were rated on how much skin they showed in three clothing categories; neck line, sleeve length, and lower body.  Results showed that in all 3 categories, women consistently wore more revealing clothing.  The findings demonstraetd that the comic book industry is comparable to other forms of media, in the sexualization of female characters, by having them wear more revealing clothing.

APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES IN MS. PAC-MAN GAME: A REVIEW

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tse Guan Tan ◽  
Jason Teo
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Engineering Economics ◽  
Game Ai ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Future Direction

AbstrakTeknik Kecerdasan Buatan (AI) berjaya digunakan dan diaplikasikan dalam pelbagai bidang, termasukpembuatan, kejuruteraan, ekonomi, perubatan dan ketenteraan. Kebelakangan ini, terdapat minat yangsemakin meningkat dalam Permainan Kecerdasan Buatan atau permainan AI. Permainan AI merujukkepada teknik yang diaplikasikan dalam permainan komputer dan video seperti pembelajaran, pathfinding,perancangan, dan lain-lain bagi mewujudkan tingkah laku pintar dan autonomi kepada karakter dalampermainan. Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengemukakan beberapa teknik yang biasa digunakandalam merekabentuk dan mengawal karakter berasaskan komputer untuk permainan Ms Pac-Man antaratahun 2005-2012. Ms Pac-Man adalah salah satu permainan yang digunakan dalam siri pertandinganpermainan diperingkat antarabangsa sebagai penanda aras untuk perbandingan pengawal autonomi.Kaedah analisis kandungan yang menyeluruh dijalankan secara ulasan dan sorotan literatur secara kritikal.Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa, walaupun terdapat berbagai teknik, limitasi utama dalam kajianterdahulu untuk mewujudkan karakter permaianan Pac Man adalah kekurangan Generalization Capabilitydalam kepelbagaian karakter permainan. Hasil kajian ini akan dapat digunakan oleh penyelidik untukmeningkatkan keupayaan Generalization AI karakter permainan dalam Pasaran Permainan KecerdasanBuatan. Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques are successfully used and applied in a wide range of areas, includingmanufacturing, engineering, economics, medicine and military. In recent years, there has been anincreasing interest in Game Artificial Intelligence or Game AI. Game AI refers to techniques applied incomputer and video games such as learning, pathfinding, planning, and many others for creating intelligentand autonomous behaviour to the characters in games. The main objective of this paper is to highlightseveral most common of the AI techniques for designing and controlling the computer-based charactersto play Ms. Pac-Man game between years 2005-2012. The Ms. Pac-Man is one of the games that used asbenchmark for comparison of autonomous controllers in a series of international Game AI competitions.An extensive content analysis method was conducted through critical review on previous literature relatedto the field. Findings highlight, although there was various and unique techniques available, the majorlimitation of previous studies for creating the Ms. Pac-Man game characters is a lack of generalizationcapability across different game characters. The findings could provide the future direction for researchersto improve the Generalization A.I capability of game characters in the Game Artificial Intelligence market.

scholarly journals The targets and linguistic expression of mockery in contemporary jokes on gender

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Salomėja Bandoriūtė
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
Linguistic Expression ◽  
To Come ◽  
Linguistic Means

  The article concentrates on the targets and linguistic expression on mockery in contemporary jokes on gender. The jokes have been collected from the humour websites www.cha.lt, www.anekdotai.us, www.linksmas.net, www.anekdotai.biz, www.anekdotai.org, www.che.lt. The aim of the research is to find out what types of characters are usually chosen as targets of jokes and what linguistic means are employed to create the comic effect in them. In addition, the article deals with the conception of humour and joke as a genre and provides the key theories of humour research. The study has been carried out applying the method of qualitative content analysis. The results of the study suggest that the choice of the target of mockery in the jokes is often determined by the stereotypes that are common in society and by the tendency to express aggressive emotions in them. Usually the targets of mockery in the jokes are female characters, such as blondes, wives and mothers-in-law. There are approximately three times fewer jokes about men in comparison to women. The most common linguistic means employed to express mockery in the jokes are sarcasm, ambiguity, absurd and irony. It is common to come across cases of a few linguistic means in one joke as well. There has been a connection found between the employed linguistic means and the target of mockery as well as the society's view to it. The article could be valuable to linguists, folklorists, sociologists and psychologists who investigate the linguistic expression of humour, the effect of emotions on humour and the image of social groups in contemporary jokes.

Gender and Racial Stereotypes in Popular Video Games

2009 ◽  
pp. 922-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Mou ◽  
Wei Peng
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Gender Role ◽  
Racial Stereotypes ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Violent Content ◽  
Psychological Impacts ◽  
Racial Portrayals

While the violent content of video games has caused wide concern among scholars, gender, and racial stereotypes in video games are still an understudied area. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a better understanding of the stereotypical phenomenon in video games. The book chapter first provides a comprehensive review of previous studies conducted upon gender-role and racial portrayals in video games. Then a small-scale content analysis on a sample of official trailers, introductory sequences and covers of 19 of the most popular video games is introduced. Finally, the implications of stereotype in video games and the possible social and psychological impacts on players, especially adolescent players, are discussed.

scholarly journals White Man’s Virtual World: A Systematic Content Analysis of Gender and Race in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Franklin Waddell ◽  
James D. Ivory ◽  
Rommelyn Conde ◽  
Courtney Long ◽  
Rachel McDonnell
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Game ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
Character Portrayals ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Based on previous research indicating that character portrayals in video games and other media can influence users’ perceptions of social reality, systematic content analyses have examined demographic trends in the way video game characters are portrayed. Although these studies have extensively documented character portrayals in traditional console and computer video games, there is a lack of content analyses examining character portrayals in the very popular massively multiplayer online game (MMO) genre. Such studies are needed because many characters in MMOs are customized avatars created by users, which may lead to different trends in character demographics. This content analysis examined representations of gender and race among 417 unique characters appearing 1,356 times in 20 hours of recorded content from four popular commercial MMOs, which was generated by five recruited users. Characters tended to be disproportionately male and white, with females and racial minorities appearing much less often. Implications for potential effects on users’ perceptions of social reality are discussed.

Values of cancer survivors and the supportive role of recreational video games

2019 ◽  
pp. 135910531987166
Author(s):  
Maria Leonora (Nori) Comello ◽  
Diane B Francis ◽  
Laurie Hursting ◽  
Elizabeth Swarner ◽  
Laura H Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Openness To Change ◽  
Supportive Role ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Value-affirming activities have been linked to positive health outcomes and improved ability to cope. For cancer survivors who regularly play video games, might the games have potential to affirm values? We surveyed gameplaying survivors and included an open-ended question asking about values and the extent to which they perceived gameplaying as supporting values. A content analysis of responses ( N = 533) using Schwartz’s value typology revealed that a majority perceived gameplaying as supporting values or offering other benefits. Self-transcendence followed by openness to change were the most frequently coded higher-order categories. The results contribute to a richer understanding of survivors who gameplay.

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