User:Zeyang Han/Feminism and media

Video Games
Video games have become a new form of media that derives from other media, such as books, films, and music. It is a new model that can interact with old forms of media and then create new contents or means of entertainment and interaction. With the development of video games, female characters play a significant role in the gaming world. However, most of the female characters are usually being objectified by video games. Especially, there are a large number of female characters who are objectified as sex workers in commercial video games. Yao et al. state that female heroines in action-based video games often wear sexy outfits barely covering their bodies. Moreover, Yao et al. also indicate that sexualized female characters may prime males’ thoughts about sex and encourage them to view women as objects, fueling the belief of negative female stereotypes. As a result, objectifying females has severely affected gender equality, and it also becomes a method that game companies use to attract male players. From the development history of video games, males have always been the main customers, so game companies do not intend to consider the feelings of female players. In addition, Bonnie Ruberg states that the reason for having discrimination against female characters is not because of the erotic labor but the devaluation behavior that presents in the games. This is because most video games design female sexual workers as degrading jobs, and these female characters are not related to the game story and are easy to eliminate from the game. Moreover, in her article "Representing sex workers in video games: feminisms, fantasies of exceptionalism, and the value of erotic labor", she criticizes the game's description and portrayal of female characters, and she also promotes that video games need a diversity of feminisms. In other words, all those appearances of objectification and discrimination are because of the existence of the "male gaze". This theory was created by Laura Mulvey, who is a British feminist film theorist. According to Mulvey, she states that the male gaze is the theory that explains females are viewed by heterosexual male's perspectives in visual arts and literature. She used this theory to critique the traditional female characters' representations in films. As a result, it explains why the objectification of females frequently appears in the media. Furthermore, Calogero's research indicates that the male gaze can generate a vicious influence on females’ self-esteem and self-objectification, and the negative effects will lead to emotional depression, insufficient confidence, and physiognomic humiliation. Therefore, the issue of female's representation in media is not ignorable. As a new form of visual art, video games still have male gaze and gender discrimination. Regardless of female players or female game characters, they are always a manifestation of women; therefore, game companies should pay attention to the diversity of players in the game industry and address the issue of gender discrimination rigorously and seriously. By doing so, video games can spread the correct and positive information to the society, and it will also influence people to pay more attention to gender equality issues.