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THESIS

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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

VIRTUAL WOMEN: REPLACING THE REAL

presented by

Nnedimma Nkemdili 0korafor

has been accepted towards fulfillment
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TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due.
MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested.

 

 

 

 

 

DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE
id:
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1 \IUVIW AUDI3T‘DZ‘;
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VIRTUAL WOMEN: REPLACING THE REAL
By

Nnedimma Nkemdili Okorafor

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
Department of Journalism

1 999

ABSTRACT
VIRTUAL WOMEN: REPLACING THE REAL
By

Nnedimma Nkemdili Okorafor

In this day and age of technology, video games are a form of media and thus
affect many people. As time progresses, video games grow more complex and realistic.
They are becoming real fantasy worlds. Nevertheless, they are anything but real. And
neither are the women that appear in them.

These “pixilated heroines” are often the first females that boys spend time with.
And with the incorporation of the ‘Wirtual women” into the mainstream (i.e. through
magazines and films), they are also female beings that real women compare themselves
to and that real men often seek. In many ways, ‘Virtual women” are replacing real
women.

This study investigated 21 virtual women from 1993 to 1998 using content
analysis, character profiles, and previous research. Three game series were also studied.
The findings indicated that virtual women were highly negatively stereotyped and the

stereotyping was worsening with time.

To my Mother and Father whom I couldn’t have done this without. And my brother,
Emezie Okorafor, for inspiring me to write about this topic.

Da-al u

ACKNOWLDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I’d like to thank the Powers That Be for creating the
circumstances to write this thesis.

I wish to thank Professor Lucinda Davenport for all of her help, especially in the
final process. I’d also like to that Professor Darcy Green and Steve Lacy for being great
committee members. I am further indebted to my sisters, Ifeoma and Ngozi Okorafor, for
their input and support and Okechukwu Mbachu for being a voice of reason. Last of all,
I’d like to thank the video game world and the Internet for providing me with so much

bizarre material to research.

iv

“Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.”- Simone
Weil, philosopher

“It is more difficult to murder a phantom than a reality.”
-Virginia Woolf, writer

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1

CHAPTER ONE: Literature Review ......................................................... 4
Section One- The Ancestors: A Brief History of Comic Book Heroines

Section Two- The Evolved: A Brief History of Virtual Women

Section Three- Issue of Beauty and Technology

Section Four- Children and games

Section Five- Cartoon Study

9:59P?

CHAPTER TWO: .............................................................................. 35
1. Research Questions
2. Method

CHAPTER THREE: ............................................................................ 46
1. Results
2. Discussion

CHAPTER FOUR: Content Analysis ........................................................ 61
1. Results
2. Discussion

CHAPTER FIVE: Different Versions ........................................................ 66
1. Results
2. Results and Discussion

CHAPTER SIX: Surmnary and Conclusions ................................................ 85
CHAPTER SEVEN: Final Note ............................................................... 91
APPENDIX A: Glossary ........................................................................ 96
APPENDIX B: Content Analysis Results Chart ............................................. 99
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................. 108

INTRODUCTION

Video games came into existence in the early 19603. Since then, video games
have become one of the most popular forms of electronic media. A 1996 report by
Nielsen Media Research showed that about 40 percent of people over the age of 12 live in
households with video game systems. Sales of video game hardware and software rose
5 lpercent from 1996 to 1997 to reach an all-time high of $5.5 billion, reported the NPD
Group (Video Business, 40).

Video games are easily and cheaply rented at most video rental agencies across
the country. Yet it was only with the onset of the 90s that female characters in video
games have made their way to the forefront of the screen as heroines.

Prior to the 90s, the few females who did appear in video games were placed in
the background in stereotypical female roles. The two most popular stereotypical roles
were the “woman as victim” role and the “woman as prize” role (Dietz, 1).

For example, Double Dragon, 3 popular Nintendo video game of the early 803,
had only one woman in the game and she had large breasts and wore a mini-skirt. In the
beginning of the game she was walking down the street minding her own business when
a man walked up and hit her in the midsection, knocking her down on the sidewalk. He
subsequently threw her over his shoulder and carried her away. This was the ‘fivoman as
victim” stereotype.

Zelda, another popular game of the 803, was another example. The only female
human or monster one encountered throughout the entire game was at the end when one

wins the game and “gets” the princess. This was the “woman as prize” stereotype. These

stereotypical characters were powerless, featured in the background and voiceless. A
game player could not actually choose them as the character to play with. However, with
the onset of the 903, an interesting thing began to happen: female heroes became the “in
thing” in the video game arena.

These new types of characters could fight and were not afraid of a little blood.

Lara Croft of the best-selling computer game series, Tomb Raider, was a buxom
British woman with a PhD. in archaeology and violence. Chun Li of the popular Street
Fighter series could defeat a man three times her size in hand-to-hand combat. One of
Sindel’s fighting moves in Mortal Kombat involved throwing her opponents with her
long hair. In such a male dominated domain, these virtual women were definitely a
change from the norm. Not only were these characters no longer mere victims, but also
their skills matched and often surpassed their male counterparts.

The list of female warriors (a.k.a. virtual women1 and female heroines) rapidly
grew long in the last decade in comparison to the past. And so did video game sales
carrying the characters. This was the first time that female characters played such a
prominent role in video games.

However, along with the virtual woman’s mere existence and strength, came a
high price: No female heroine was stereotype-free. Lara Croft of the hugely successful
Tomb Raider series wore tiny shorts and a tight T-shirt in the snow without freezing.
Chun-Li would giggle like the schoolgirl afier she would defeat an opponent.

A 1995 study on video game sexism revealed that traditional gender roles were
still very much a part of video games (Dietz, 1998). With video games growing more

sophisticated (the graphics becoming more realistic, fighting moves and story lines more

 

' The definition of “virtual woman” can be found in the Glossary

intricate, and game consoles more sophisticated) and the media blowing life into these
characters (i.e., featuring Lara Croft on magazine covers and in movies and conducting
interviews with her) the issue becomes more of a question of what efiect these characters
have on the portrayal of real women.

These virtual women often look straight out of a virtual adult magazine (for no
real woman could look like these ones, even in adult magazines). What will the
perception of real women be in a society where the lines between reality and virtual
reality are almost interchangeable?

If virtual women become the female role models (what women and girls aspire to
be like and the type of woman men and boys aspire to be involved with), there will be
dire consequences. These consequences are especially high for children. Some show that
children easily observe the feminine stereotypes, while others report that ‘North
American children viewing sex-typed materials lead to sex-typed attitudes,’ (qtd. in
Graham).

The topic of this study is the portrayal of female heroines in the video games of
the 903 (1993-1998). The history of female characters, which goes back to comic books,
was reviewed. The study delves into the question of whether virtual women are being
stereotypically portrayed. It also looks at the degree of the stereotyping and whether or
not the stereotyping is progressing or regressing. It also discusses the odd mixture of
fantasy and reality involved in the concept of virtual women and the role technology
plays within it. The study is comprised of a literature review, a content analysis, a
qualitative analysis of character biographies and profiles and a study of various versions

of games. The study is concluded by a discussion of the possible future of virtual women.

Chapter One: Review of Literature:

The Ancestors: A Brief History of Comic Book Heroines

Before virtual women were kicking and shooting their way across the television
and computer screen, their ancestors were making history in comic books. Though comic
books were a popular form of entertainment for the youth in the early 19005, the first
super heroine2 didn’t appear until 1940. And, from the beginning, the she was plagued
with issues of gender.

“In the pages of Thrilling Comics, undercover policewoman Peggy Allen decided
she could do a better job solving crimes if she donned a disguise-- along red hooded robe
and matching mask. Evildoers and the police she assisted had no idea that The Woman in
Red was actually a police woman, and thus she was also the first super heroine with a
secret identity.” (Robbins, 3).

However, The Woman in Red never had her own book. She remained a character
that appeared here and there in the pages of Thrilling comics over a five-year period.

This was the dilemma of most comic book actions heroines. None appeared in
their own book, and they were always short-lived, rarely lasting for more than two or
three appearances before fading into oblivion. Thus girls really didn’t have any images to
identify with. For this reason, it is no surprise that it was mostly young boys who were
attracted to the colored pages of comic books.

Aside fi'om their brief careers, female superheroes had limited roles, rarely

deviating fi'om Sidekicks, love interests and “damsels in distress.” In December 1941,

 

2 Definition of super heroine found in Glossary

their plight took a historical turn. The Amazon Princess, later to become Wonder
Woman, took the comic book market by storm in All Star Comics No. 8 and Sensation
Comics No. 1.

It took both Superman and Batman a year after their first appearances to get their
own books. However less than six months after her appearance in Sensation, the summer
1942 issue of Wonder Woman No 1. arrived on the market. What was most surprising
was that she even had her own title.

The origin of Wonder Woman is an interesting one. She was created by a
psychologist named William Moulton Marston, who also created the lie detector (hence
the idea of Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth). Marston had a doctorate in psychology
from Harvard University, was a successful author of mainstream and academic books and
was a member of the Massachusetts Bar. Marston initially created Wonder Woman to
counteract the chauvinistic ideology prevalent in comic books and to attract more female
readers (Robbins).

In 1943, he wrote an article for the American Scholar Journal in which he
discussed his reasons for creating Wonder Woman:

“It seemed to me, from a psychological angle, that the comics worst offense was

their blood-curdling masculinity....It is smart to be strong. It is big to be generous

but it is sissified, according to exclusively male rules, to be tender, loving,
affectionate, and alluring. ‘ Aw, that’s girl stufl’!’ snorts our young comics reader,

‘ Who wants to be a girl?’ And that’s the point: not even girls want to be girls so

long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength...Women’s strong qualities
have become despised because of their weak ones.” (Marston, 7).

Comic book entrepreneur, Max Gaines, worked as Marston’s partner. Marston’s
wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, who was also a psychologist, helped in the creation of
the well-known comic book character.

Wonder Woman had thick curly hair, a strong, well-defined chin, and the slim,
muscular body of a professional swimming champion.

Initially, Wonder Woman was Princess Diana. She came fi'om the land of the
Amazons, Paradise Island. Men were forbidden to set foot on the island. When Steve
Trevor, an American intelligence officer crash-landed on the island, Princess Diana’s
destiny was changed. She nursed him back to health and fell in love with him. When she
took him back to America, she decided to stay and fight evil and wrong doing as Wonder
Woman.

Over time Wonder Woman evolved from an Amazon princess to a wonmn given
powers by the Greek and Roman gods to fight crime and do good for humanity. The
majority of the villains were women and eventually learned their lesson, “thanks to the
message of love and hurnanitarianism that Wonder Woman carries to the world as she
rights wrongs.” (Robbins, 8).

Aside from being a strong female comic book character, the Wonder Woman
series had a group of Sidekicks, the Beeta Lambda sorority sisters fi'om Holliday College.
Possibly the most interesting was Etta Candy. Wonder Woman initially found her in a
hospital bed suffering from a condition strikingly similar to anorexia nervosa. “In the
August 9 panel, she gives the girl a box of chocolates. Etta says, ‘ Gimme-gimme more!

Gimme the box!”’ (Robbins, 4). The result was a healthier chubby little girl.

Not surprisingly, the Wonder Woman series received plenty of criticism. Because
the comic series was centered on women, many male writers said that the earlier versions
of the series had lesbian undertones. Male critiques also said that these early versions
featured an overabundance of scenes portraying men in bondage.

Marston predicted these reactions. He described the negative reactions to Wonder
Woman: “well, asserted my masculine authorities, if a woman hero were stronger than a
man, she would be even less appealing. Boys wouldn’t stand for that; they’d resent the
strong gal’s superiority.” (Marston, 6).

Marston turned out to be correct. He was successful in introducing a strong main
female character to the world of comics. However, eventually the majority, who viewed
women within and outside of comic books stereotypically, took over and female comic
book characters were molded to fit what was expected. Hence the path of the comic book
heroines was set and, consequentially, the virtual women’s.

Following the success of Wonder Woman were hundreds of leading female
heroines. So many were burdened by some sort of gender stereotype, that the virtual
stereotype became assumed.

Within the same year of Wonder Woman’s appearance, Catwoman appeared in
Batman comics and she has remained in print ever since. Catwoman was one of the first
successful female villains. Though she was a successfiil villain, often the root of Batman
and Robin’s problems, it wasn’t surprising that her costume was a skintight cat suit.
However, unlike other Batman comic villains, she also carried a secret liking for Batman

and deep down was not evil. There were even times when she saved his life.

Another unique female comic book character was Flash Comic’s Black Canary.
She appeared in 1947. She was a sort of female Robin Hood working for the poor,
ignoring the law and stealing from criminals. Black Canary ended up replacing Johnny
Thunder in the Johnny Thunder comic strip. Her costume consisted of a tight fitting vest,
a blonde wig and fishnet tights.

A popular female phenomenon over the years was “the sidekick.” The list of
female Sidekicks in comic books was long but most of them had two common attributes.
The first was that she was significantly weaker than male characters. The second was that
she was more trouble than good, often ruining a plan or in need of rescuing. To add to
this problematic image, almost all female Sidekicks were called girls.

“Bulletman, Doll Man, Rocketman, Hawkman, the Owl and the F lame had as
their female counterparts Bulletgirl, Doll Girl, Hawkgirl, Owlgirl and Flame Girl. There
was literally not a woman among them.” (Robbins, 51)

In the 60s and 705, women working in the comic book industry hit an all time
low. At the same time and ironically enough, the women’s movement was in full swing.
This was the reason that the combination of female characters continuing to appear in
comics were developed mostly by men. The women’s movement prompted comic book
artists to keep female characters in their books. However, the characters were made
mostly by men because the number of women artists had dropped significantly around
this time (Robbins).

Once again, though these characters could do amazing things, stereotypes still
anchored them to “their place.” Aside fiom there being a disproportionately small

number of female characters, their appearances reflected little variety in physique. In

1975, the X-men comic series was revived, having been discontinued in 1970. Its new
cast included three female characters. Storm was Marvel Comic’s first black character.
She was a goddess-like figure fiom Afiica who had the power to control the weather.
However, though Storm was supposed to be of Afi'ican Descent, she had long silky white
hair.

Phoenix was the most powerful superwonun of the X-Men. Her great powers led
to her demise. However, her costume, similar to Catwoman of the 19403, was a second-
skin-like red suit. A third X-Men character, Rogue was a bad girl turned good who had a
white streak in her hair and a raspy Southern accent. She also wore a skintight yellow and
green suit, though hers was noticeably clothing, unlike Phoenix’s.

In 1978, Spider-Woman appeared in Spider-Man comics. Her costume, though
created by a woman, Marie Severin, fit the usual mold of super heroine attire: a
black/yellow and red body suit with spider web “wings.”

The characters listed above are some of the best-selling female comic book
characters. But they are only a few of many female super heroines that have graced the
pages of comic books (though there were few in proportion to their male counterparts).
Nevertheless, as the number and popularity of comic book heroines increased, the
stereotyping of their characters increased. Much of this may have been due to a desperate
attempt to recapture a dwindling male audience. Studies showed that since 1993 comic
book sales dropped over 20 percent (Sullivan, 37)

A 1991 study of 54 Marvel Universe super hero trading cards found that women
were vastly underrepresented as superheroes, accounting for 24 percent of the cards

(Young, 1993). The Marvel Universe was one of the comic book genre’s most popular

“worlds,” giving birth to superheroes such as Spiderman, Captain America, The
Incredible Hulk and the X-Men. A follow-up study in 1993 found that in the Marvel
Universe, women were also depicted as the “weaker sex.” (Young, 50).

“Jubilee, for example, is described as a spunky mall rat who followed the X-men

home from a Southern Californian mall. Silver Sable is described as elegant and

irresistible in social situations, but needing help fi‘om other super-heroes to
capture the more dangerous criminals. Firestar was originally fi'ightened by her
abilities to fly and generate beams of intense heat, while She-Hulk is said to be
anything but shy about showing off her complexion and sensational figure.”

(Young, 50).

Aside from being portrayed as stereotypically weaker than males, super heroines
were also sexualized. From the beginning, a female character’s sex was an issue.
However, close inspection showed that with the progression of time, female comic book
characters are progressively more sexualized in their appearance and behavior.

“By the nineties comic books had become not merely a boys club, but a Playboy
Club. Using a kind of circular logic, editors at the major comic companies continue to
produce sex object-heroines, which appeal to a male audience. Their excuse for not
adding strong female characters that might appeal to women is that ‘women don’t read
corrrics.’ Of course, as long as female comic characters are insulting to the average
woman, she won’t read comics.” (Robbins, 166).

Comic book artists even began to take female characters from past and reshape
them. In 1994, Mike Deodata became the new artist for Wonder Woman and drew her as
a barely clothed, exaggeratedly sexualized pinup. In 1993, the same thing happened when

the Catwoman character was brought back and drawn with exaggerated, enormous

breasts by Jim Balent.

10

Comic book artists often used the argument that male characters are also drawn
with enormous bulging muscles. However, this argument ignores the fact that the male
character’s sexual characteristics and attractiveness are not stressed, his athletic abilities
are.

“Male comic readers seem to think that women must have enormous breasts in
order to be ‘excessively perfect physical specimens,’ something that most women would
definitely consider debatable. The 92 percent male comic book readership of the nineties
expect, in fact demand, that any new super heroines exist only as pinup material for their
entertainment.” (Robbins, 166).

To add to the layer of sex in comics is the “bad girl” phenomenon. Comics
journalists, Kurt Samuls, described them in Trina Robbin’s book as “buxom characters
who a) have had their families murdered by a psycho; b) were abused as children and are
now planning on controlling the world wearing only a string bikini while getting soaked
by buckets of blood.” (Robbins, 169).

The most popular “bad girl” was Death, herself, of Chaos! Comics. Lady Death is
a demon that had to defeat Lucifer to become Queen of Hell. She was white-haired,
balloon-breasted, and wore a string bikini with a skull at the crotch. She even had her
own special lingerie edition. A 1996 Forbes article said that Chaos! Comics’ Lady Death
sold 160,000 copies each month and Crusade Comics’ sexy Shi, another “bad girl”
character often outsold Batman. These comics sold nearly as well as favorites like
Superman. Other “bad girls” were Barb Wire, Lady Rawhide and Avengelyne.

Though many comic book artists were using sex to increase sales, there was also a

thriving underground of comics that were more woman-fiiendly. One example is Action

11

Girl, a comic centered on an energetic super heroine and her fiiends. The comic’s creator,
Sarah Dyer, describes it as “a guide to projects produced by girls, grrls and women. Boy-
fi'iendly, but very pro-girl.” (Robbins, 185).

All these paper-based heroines are the beginnings of the animated, lively video
game characters one sees today. It did not all happen on the television and computer
screen. The comic book heroine’s history showed that it started considerably before video

games even existed. In the next chapter, the evolution continues.

The Evolved: A Brief History of Virtual Women

The successful evolution of the female super heroine from the pages of comic
books to the television and computer screen took about two decades. However with the
many video games that have come and gone since the 70s, it is almost impossible to
figure out who was the first video game heroine.

Experts cite that the reason for so few female characters in the 708 was because
there were so few females played video games. Even today, the percentage is low. “In a
study of one hundred arcade games 92 percent contained no female roles whatsoever. Of
the remaining 8 percent the majority (6 percent) had females playing the “damsel in
distress,” and 2 percent had females playing active roles. However, of these active roles,
most were not human, i.e. Ms. Pacman and Mama Kangeroo.” (Provenzo, 1991). In
1998, Jefli'ies and Co., a San Francisco investment firm, estimated that females comprise
only 21 percent of the video game players in the United States. Nevertheless, it is

possible to peg the noteworthy video game heroines.

12

Namco’s Ms. Pac-Man chomped her way into history as the first successful video
game heroine in 1982. The object of the puzzle game was to navigate Ms. Pac-Man, a
yellow circle with a pie-slice mouth, a red bow and a dimple, through a maze and chomp
all the glowing pellets before the ghosts got her. Ms. Pac-Man’s only defenses were
evasion or to eat the larger dots, called Power Pellets, which gave her ghost-chomping
power. Often called “Pac-Man in drag,” Ms. Fae-Man’s only difference fi'om the original
Pac-Man, who was male, was her red bow and her dimple.

In 1984, Windham Classics’ Below the Root became the first video game to offer
the opportunity to choose between male and female characters. This role-playing game
took place in the world of Green-Sky. Genaa was a strong, charismatic woman. Pomrna
was a delicate girl with great mystical skills. Though the game never became very well
known, it did manage to break the mold.

In 1986, the first successful game starring only a female character hit the market.
Metroid was the first of a series of three adventure games made by Nintendo. The game
starred a bounty hunter named Samus Aran, who was on a quest to stop an organization
of horrible Space Pirates, led by Mother Brain, fi'om terrorizing the galaxy by using the
deadly energy-sucking Metroids. Throughout the game, Samus is dressed in heavy red
and yellow armor. The player only found out the character is female at the end of the
game when she took ofl her armor.

In 1987, another female “pixel pioneer” made it to the forefront. Her name was
Princess Toadstool of Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers 2, a best selling adventure game.
In the original game, Super Mario Brothers, the object of the game was for the Mario

Brothers, Mario and Luigi, to save Princess Toadstool fiom the evil King Koopa. This

13

second time around, in Super Mario Brothers 2, Princess Toadstool moved up to become
an active character.

The dainty and proper Princess Toadstool was one of four characters of which
players could choose from. Each character had its own special gift. Mario was a good all-
around player, Luigi was quick on his feet and could jump high, Toad was extremely
strong but slow, and Princess Toadstool could float for a limited time. One played
through seven worlds consisting of a variety of levels and in the end one must defeat the
evil Wart.

Only two years later, another prominent female heroine made history.

“It’s 1989, around the same year that televangelists fell harder than baseball-sized
hail, Dan Quayle was elected vice president of the United States of America, and
people from your realm were disturbingly enthralled with the music of Menudo.
Somewhere among this plethora of weirdness was another cyberspace first:
Rosella of Daventry upstaged all of her kinsmen and took the starring role in

King ’s Quest IV. Not content to be merely a supporting character, or to be one of

several possible choices, she became adventure gaming’s first leading lady.”

(V anous, Online)

The King’s Quest series was a role-playing series from Sierra On-Line. The
games were about a royal family, which had long adventures and journeys in mystical
lands to accomplish some goal. The games basically let one explore worlds finding items
and interacting with characters. Rosella was a direct result of a woman being in the
industry.

The cofounder of Sierra On-Line was Roberta Williams, one of the first women in
the computer games arena. By 1989, with her fourth title in the King’s Quest series, she

started incorporating female characters into the games. As Williams created these female

14

characters, she feared that she’d lose her male audience. Nevertheless, this was not the
case. Her games were a great success in sales. And following Williams’ example, other
gaming companies started including a female character in the lineup. Hence the ball was

rolling for the phenomenon that struck in the 903.

“Gone are the days of the heroine tied to the railroad track (or held captive at the
top of the screen by a giant psychotic monkey), waiting patiently for the hero to
fight his way up and save her. Today’s pixilated Andromedas are perfectly
capable of unchaining themselves fiom the rock, bashing the sea monster over the
head, and escaping without the assistance or interference of any passing Peruses
types.” (V anous, Online).

There were two major events that greatly popularized the virtual woman. The first
was the rise of the fighting game.

“They are not window dressing. They are lethal. And in games that take their one
from Marvel comics, they are flamboyantly lethal, in a distinctive female way.” (Herz,
178)

The object of a fighting game was to beat one’s opponent. Once one does this, he
or she moves to the next level and fights a stronger opponent. Usually the game was set
up as a tournament and one chose from a variety of characters to fight with. And though
highly sophisticated today, even in the beginning, each character was given something to
differentiate themselves from other characters. It was the fighting game that brought in
large numbers of female characters into the gaming arena.

In 1987, a game called Street Fighter was introduced and from then on gaming

would never be the same. It was this game that sparked the fighting game to become the

15

most popular type of video game today. However, though Street Fighter had various
characters to choose from, none of them were female.

This changed when the second version came out. In Street Fighter 2, which came
out in 1991, of the eight characters, only one was female. Her name was Chun Li and she
could put a man twice her size on his back. Fast and strong, Chun Li fought using Wu
Shu Kung Fu and years later was second only to Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series in
pepularity.

Since the first Street Fighter, there have been over 20 Street Fighter games to
follow, the most recent hitting the market in 1999. Over time, female characters became a
normal part of the game. Cammy was light and agile, and with long blonde braided
ponytails and a green leotard could fight using a “Special Force” technique. Sakura may
be a little girl but she also has mastered Shotokan Karate. Rose is a magician with a chip
on her shoulder.

In 1992, along side with Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat came out. Most known
for its controversial blood, gore and violence, the game prompted Sega and Nintendo to
institute their own version of the voluntary rating system used by music and movie
companies. However, Mortal Kombat outdid Street Fighter in one way. In its original
game, it had one female character. Sonya Blade was a US. Army Special Forces
Lieutenant and skilled fighter. However, in Mortal Kombat 2, though it had more new
female characters, Sonya Blade was kidnapped and the object of the game was to save
her. Nevertheless, in Mortal Kombat 3, she was free to fight again.

Aside fi'om the blood and gore, Mortal Kombat had a method to its violence. At

the end of a fight, the player had the option to perform a “fatality” on their defeated

16

opponent. A “fatality” was some sort of highly violent end move. Each character had his
or her own unique creation. Kano pulled out his opponent’s heart and held it high above
his head, Cage knocked off his opponent’s head, and Raiden electrocuted his opponent’s
head ofl’. Female characters tended to have stereotypically feminine fatality moves.

Sonya Blade blew a “kiss of death” to her opponent that burned or crushed him or
her alive, depending on how recent the version was. Kitana, depending on the game
version, either cut off her opponent’s head with her fan or kissed him, which resulted in
the person exploding. Only Shiva, a dark skinned, four-armed, terribly belligerent
monster wearing close to nothing had a somewhat neutral fatality. She would rip off her
opponent’s skin. Maybe her non-feminine fatility move was meant to counteract her
super sexual physique. There are about a halfdozen Mortal Kombat series games, the
most recent being fi'om 1997, and a dozen female characters.

As Cindy Vanous’ Gamecenter.com article said: “The Babe’s the Thing.” The
second, and by far the most successful event that popularized female characters was the
creation of Lara Croft, the star of the best selling Tomb Raider series.

A San Francisco Chronicle article in 1998 said, “The original 1996 ‘Tomb Raider’
game and its 1997 successor, ‘Tomb Raider 2,’ have sold close to 10 million copies
collectively. With an average per-copy price of $35, those sales outstripped the $312.8
million box-oflice take of Disney’s ‘The Lion King,’ touted as the biggest animated
feature in history.” (Evenson, 27).

“Tomb Raider 3,” which hit the market in 1998 was also predicted to be a best

seller. “Tomb Raider 3” is scheduled for Christmas of 1999.

17

The star of the adventure games was Lara Croft, an archaeologist in search of a
hidden treasure. She is also “has thin thighs, long legs, a waist you could encircle with
one hand, and knockers like medicine balls.” (Cassell and Kinder, 338). Critiques cited
that Croft’ physique was, like the Barbie Doll, impossrble. Two main criticisms were that
a real woman as thin as Croft would not have such large breasts and that if she had a
waist tlmt thin, she’d die instantly from compressed internal organs.

The object of the game was to go through a 3D network of ancient Peruvian
temples, caverns, and underwater passages. Along the way, traps and wild animals exist.
Part of the game’s success was due to its stunning 3D images and smoothness. However,
gaming experts said that it was Croft’s mass appeal that sent the game over the top.

What is so unique about the Lara Croft phenomenon was that her popularity
extends much farther than the actual video game.

Not only did droves of gamers build shrine-like websites dedicated to Lara Croft,
they also romanticized her life, posting fictional stories featuring her character in scenes
and exploits far beyond what her creators ever imagined. Young boys sent her virtual
flowers and love letters. Doctored artwork of Lara Croft in the nude called “Nude
Raider” also popped up all over cyberspace.

“She’s the only silicon character to become as big as Japanese pop cyber-star
Kyoko Date DK-96 and as beloved as Bean on both sides of the Atlantic, with 3 million
games sold worldwide. She’s also appearing with U2 on its PopMart tour, and she’s
popping up in magazines ranging from Britain’s Economist to the American Time
Digital, where she was the only synthetic character to rank with Bill Gates, Steve Jobs

and Steven Spielberg among the 50 cyber-elite.” (Evanson, Pixel-Packin' Mama D1).

18

In “Lara Croft reveals all,” a 1998 article, the Irish Times was one of a few
publications privileged enough to hold an interview with Croft.

“Q: Not so long ago you were a completely unknown entity and in a relatively

short space of time you have become a world famous heroine and sex symbol.

How has this fame affected you - has it changed you as a person?

A: I’ve always been my own person, and fame will never change my attitude to

life. If I did, my family and friends would not be slow in informing me if my

opinions of myself got out of hand. Fame has its difficulties but I just tend to get
on with it.”

The Irish Times claimed that the interview was “held on the net, of course.”

After the interview, the article even gave a short biography of Croft.

“Born on St. Valentine’s Day in 1967, Lara Croft started her education in
Cheltenham College for girls. She is the daughter of the wealthy Lord Henshingly Croft,
but was disowned by her father (her mother is deceased) for not complying with his
aspirations for her -- to get married, have kids and settle down. She has a B.A. in
linguistics, an MA. in anthropology and, most recently, a Ph.D. in archaeology from the
University of Chicago. She lives alone in a mansion in Surrey”. Everything fi'om her
favorite music and food to what she does with her free time can be found in great detail in
“The Tomb Raider’s Traveler’s Guide.”

Though Croft’s fame outweighs the fame of all other virtual women so far, there
are still a few who gained moderate fame.

After the fighting game was popularized and Lara Croft came along, the path was
wide open for female characters. Games such as Tekken, Final Fantasy, Dead or Alive,

Virtual Fighter, and Parasite Eve all had plenty of room for female characters.

Nevertheless, to grace down that path a virtual woman had to pay a hefty toll.

19

Issue of Beauty" and Technology

A virtual woman had to be “beautiful.” “Beauty” was the virtual woman’s most
valued and powerful asset, not her mastery of martial arts or her ability to shoot her way
out of danger. An “ugly” virtual woman was hard to find, if one could even be found at
all. This was consistent with ideas of women depicted in mass media as a whole (Wolf).

In traditional media, women are stereotypically portrayed in roles where their
sexuality and beauty is of utmost importance. If she does not have this attribute, she is at
a great disadvantage. The traditional media help to preserve these traditional patriarchal
roles. This is most obvious when looking at prevalent people in technology (Wolf).

“The most famous men in the world of technology are the likes of Bill Gates and

Michael Ellison, smart young bucks who have founded billion-dollar empires.

The most famous woman in the business, on the other hand, wears a short dress,

provocative smile and wields a mean Uzi. Faced with a virtual creation like Lara

Croft, is it any wonder women feel that technology isn’t for them?” (The Times,

6).

Webster’s College Dictionary defines beauty as “the quality present in a person or
thing that gives intense aesthetic pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind or the senses.”
According to this definition, beauty is a matter of personal opinion, in the eye of the
beholder. However, in the world of technology, this is far from the case. In video games,
beauty was defined as a female attribute and typically involved a robust chest, long legs,

a distinct facial structure (large eyes and a small nose and thick lips) and light pigmented

flawless skin This rigid mold is looked at more in-depth in Part Four’s content analysis.

 

3 The definition of “beauty” can be found in the Glossary

20

Experts have in-depth theories as to why it is so important for women to possess
this redefined version of “beauty.” Naomi Wolf explored a few of these reasons in her
book titled The Beauty Myth: HowIAages of Beauty Are Used_Against Women.

“We are in the midst of a violent backlash against feminism that uses images of
female beauty as a political weapon against women’s advancement: the beauty myth.”

(1 0).

According to Wolf, the demand for a woman to be “beautiful” is the male
population’s way of maintaining power over the female population. A fear of women and
their success is the reason Wolf cites for the male population to promote the “beauty
myth.”

“It is summoned out of political fear on the part of male-dominated institutions
threatened by women’s freedom, and it exploits female guilt and apprehension about our
own liberation- latent fears that we might be going too far.” (Wolf, 16). The redefined
definition of “beauty” is unattainable. However, it is presented as attainable, thus putting
women who strive to attain it in a helpless position.

“Cyborgasm,” a research article on the portrayal of technology in films, also cited
male fear of women and technology as the reason why certain images and themes about
technology began to appear in films in the eighties.

“In the films of the eighties, the figure of the cyborg combines violence and loss
of self in a hysterical response to the impact of the technological development and rapid
social change on masculinity and patriarchy.” (Kibby, Online). The study said that there
is an anxiety that the evolution of technology is causing a decline in the patriarchal

environment.

21

As a result of the anxiety “jobs were lost, men were retrained for positions they
saw as less manly, their place on the skilled/unskilled hierarchy became less certain, and
they were working with/competing against women for the first time.” (Kibby, Online).

“Computerized composition has hit the compositor’s craft a terrible blow, hacking
the class and gender relations that have been developing over hundreds of years, throwing
them into a maelstrom of confusion.” (qtd in Kiddy).”

The image of the technology portrayed in films was one expression of this crisis.
According to Cyborgasm, men feel displaced by technology, hence a way of taking back
control is to turn to the women and try to control them using the technology. An example
of this male control was the “breast bouncing switch” in the game called Dead or Alive.
When this mechanism is switched on within the game, the three female character’s
breasts significantly bounce. When the switch is off, they do not.

Combine the prior existing fear of woman that Wolf discussed with the more
recently developed fear of technology and the dilemma of the virtual woman seems quite
logical.

“Since middle-class Western women can best be weakened psychologically now

that we are stronger materially, the beauty myth, as it has resurfaced in the last

generation, has had to draw on more technological sophistication and reactionary
fervor than ever before. The modern arsenal of the myth is a dissemination of

millions of images of the current ideal; although this barrage is generally seen as a

collective sexual fantasy, there is in fact little that is sexual about it.” (Wolf, 16).

The new method that men have created to control women using the arsenal of
beauty is through technology; images created for magazines, television, film, billboards,

the Internet and video games. When bombarded with these images from so many angles

of media, the result is powerful.

22

The wish to “perfect” the “flawed” female sex by men through technology was
simply a way for men to take back the control of women that he had lost. This idea of
correcting the “flawed” sex is not a new concept, however. Before sophisticated
technology was altering women, more primitive measures were taken. “As the twentieth
century proceeded, so the substitution of gynoids (manufactured versions of women) for
women becomes more and more commonplace, and naturalized.” (Stratton, Online).

In Jon Stratton’s Man-Made Women, a painter named Oskar Kokoschka had a
gynoid created for himself after he broke-up with his girlfiiend of three years. The doll
was designed to be a life-size replica of his ex-girlfiiend. “Kokoschka describes his
anticipation before its arrival. ‘I was preoccupied with anxious thoughts about the arrival
of the doll, for which I had bought Parisian clothes and underwear.”’ (1). This mixture of
strong emotions for something non-living, seemed very similar to the way men and boys
reacted to Lara Croft.

For Kokoschka, the doll substituted the woman with whom he can no longer have
a relationship. However, the doll was something better to him, in ways. Unlike the real
woman, the doll was passive and accommodating.

Men were seen with their gynoids at operas, in carriages and at parties. For a time,
artists even took interests in them as subject matter.

“During the 19203, Hans Bellmer started making jointed dolls in the form of
adolescent girls. He arranged these in erotic poses and photographed them.” (Stratton,
Online). The concept of the gynoid seeped fiirther into European and American culture,
than one would think.

“In Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Eric Partridge writes that
the word ‘doll’ to describe an attractive and desirable woman, came into use in

23

Britain in the periods before 1864. In this way, language use also reflected the
new preoccupation with the gynoids.” (Stratton, Online).

The meaning of the word “doll” is also linked with the sexual attractiveness of a
woman, “particularly associated with her use of cosmetic and other fashion aids and a
general suggestion of her submissiveness to men’s wishes.” (Stratton, Online).

The concept has fiirther buried itself into the norm as time has passed. “At the
same time, in both American and British popular songs, men sang about their preference
for dolls over women. In 1961 , Johnny Walsh, in a song called ‘Girl Machine,’ sang “I’m
gonna make me a girl machine/ and build me a doll that looks like a dream.” (Stratton,
Online).

Computers and modern medicine took this concept a step firrther. The use of
technology to “perfect” images and the bodies of women is at all time high. Today, the
images of women on the cover of magazines are heavily make-up’d and airbrushed. The
actual women are very often surgically enhanced and even physically manipulated by
computer programs.

Aside from titillation, the allure of pornography is similar to all the forms of
media just mentioned. It provides illusion. It is fantasy presented as real. Most
pornography is presented from a male perspective. And the illusion presented by
pornography is reaching people by the millions.

Pornography generates enough money to compete with enormous money making
industries like film, TV, and magazines (Wolf). The newest technological way to modify
the image of women is the virtual woman.

Cal Jones, reviews editor for “PC Gaming World Magazine,” thought the problem

was very clear. In From Barbie to Mortal Kombat, Jones said, “The bad news is that

 

24

womankind have met an even more dangerous foe. She isn’t a supermodel or a movie
star--she isn’t even real. No, this threat comes in the form of a silicon chick--none other
than the Tomb Raider herself, Lara Croft.” (Cassell and Jenkins, 338).

“If you genetically engineered a Lara-shaped woman, she would die within

around fifteen seconds, since there’s no way her tiny abdomen could house all her

vital organs. More to the point, thin women do not have big jugs. Period. Any
woman who is skinny and appears to have big hooters is either a) surgically
enhanced, or b) wearing a Wonderbra with padding in it.” (Cassell and Jenkins,

338).

Naomi Wolf expressed a similar idea.

“The ‘ideal’ has never been about the bodies of women, and fiom now on

technology can allow the ‘ideal’ to do what it has always sought to do: leave the

female body behind altogether to clone its mutations in space. The human female
is no longer the point of reference. The ‘ideal’ has become at last firlly unhuman.”

(Wolf, 266).

“Women are comparing themselves and young men are comparing young women

with a new breed that is hybrid non-woman. Women’s natural attractions were

never the aim of the beauty myth, and technology has finally out the cord.” (Wolf,

267)

The same way that gynoids were basically cloth and stuffing, virtual women are
pixels and coding. Just like the gynoids of the 19203, once again the woman is replaced
by the inhuman. The human body being flawed and natural cannot compete with
something that is made to be one’s idea of perfection.

The reason for concern about the distortion of the female body and image is
because of the possible results. Plastic surgery is at a high where one in 40 American
women have silicone breast implants, and as a result are twice as likely to develop breast
cancer now than 30 years ago (Abbott, C12). According to new statistics, more teenagers

than ever are undergoing cosmetic surgery in the United States. Between 1992 and 1998,

25

there was a 20 percent increase in the number of breast implants teenage girls had.
Liposuction amongst teenage girls increased by 67 percent (Krum).

These statistics and the increase in the distortion of the female body and image is
not a coincidence. “The resulting hallucination materializes, for women, as something all
too real. No longer just an idea, it becomes three-dimensional, incorporating within itself
how women live and how they do not live.” (Wolf, 17).

These impossible images have the great potential and likelihood to affect the way
women perceive themselves. Jones had plenty to say on this issue.

“Show me a woman who is happy with the size of her thighs and I’ll show you a
rarity. Much of the blame for this has been put on the media’s portrayal of women
ultrathin model who live on a diet of Marlboro Lights and coffee, actresses who
have their own personal trainer and enough time to work out for four hours a day,
and heiresses who can afford cosmetic surgery, figure-enhancing designer togs,
and celebrity hairdressers. These are not realistic role models for women who
work eight or more hours a day or have children to bring up, yet we feel pressured
into looking like them.” (Cassell and Jenkins, 338).

The problem was not restricted to only women, Jones said.

“Now, you may well ask why such a ridiculous creature like Ms. Croft is
threatening to women. Obviously, we’re sensible enough as a sex not to take her
seriously, but the same cannot be said of impressionable teenage boys. It’s a well-
known fact that most youngsters get their first good look at the female anatomy
via porn mags, and come away thinking women have jutting bosoms, airbrushed
skin, and neatly trimmed body hair. Now, thanks to Lara, they’ll also think
women are superfit, agile gymnasts with enough stamina to run several marathons
back to back.” (Cassell and Jenkins, 339).

These images are detrimental to society as a whole. However, those most effected
are girls and boys. In the next chapter, the influence of the virtual woman on children will

be discussed.

26

Children and Games

As previously established, video games are a major form of media.

About 35 million homes in the United States own one of the console systems.
This means that 30 percent to 40 percent of American homes own a video game console.
Another 10 percent to 20 percent rent these consoles, or share with neighbors (Cassell
and Jenkins, 7).

Experts said that video-game systems, portable video games and video-game
software dominate the number one spot in what kids hope to get for Christmas. Even the
majority of girls wanted video games (Andrews, E2).

However, it has also been established that the majority of the game players are
male. To be more specific, seventy-nine percent of video game players are male (Jefliies
and Co., 1995). “80 percent of American boys play video games on a regular basis
(Cassell and Jenkins, 14).”

There are various reasons for such a gender gap.

In a 1998 study that examined the portrayal of women and the use of violence
utilizing a content analysis of 33 popular Nintendo and Sega Genesis video games
showed that the gender gap in game characters was very significant. There were no
female characters in 41 percent of the games with characters. In 28 percent of these,
women were portrayed as sex objects. Most of the characters in the games were white.

(Dietz).

27

In a study of one hundred arcade games “92 percent contained no female roles. Of
the remaining 8 percent, the majority (6 percent) had female playing the ‘damsel in
distress,’ and 2 percent had females in active roles.” (Provenzo 1991).

The video game arena in many ways is an exclusive boy’s club. Its audience is
assumed to be male. Game ads target males. The majority of game designers are male.
The characters are mostly male. The female characters are fashioned for males. As a
whole, game playing is viewed as a masculine past time.

Nevertheless, contrary to what many game companies believe, girls do play video
games.

A few games have always been popular to girls as well as boys, although they
were not specifically aimed toward the female market. “The most successfirl examples of
androgynous games have been abstract-pattern games such as Tetris and Baku Baku,
puzzle-based games such as Myst, and exploration games such as Donkey Kong Country,
Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, and Nights into Dreams.” (Cassell and Jenkins,
9).

“The most powerful challenge to the separatist logic behind the girls’ game

movement has come from an unlikely comer-organization of female gamers who

have embraced traditional fighting games, especially Quake, as a space where
they can confi'ont men on their own terrain and literally beat them at their own

game.” (Cassell and Jenkins, 32).

“All female” groups such as Crack Whores and Clan PMS (Psycho-Men-Slayers)
battled their male counterparts in the online version of Quake (a popular dark bloody

adventure game consisting of dungeons, mazes and gory monsters). They became well

known and respected due to their superior skills in the game.

28

According to many gaming experts, women and girls are more likely to start
buying computer and video games if they were included in commercial marketing. A few
companies tried to capture the evasive female audience using this tactic. By far, Mattel
was the most successful with “Barbie Fashion Designer Interactive.”

“‘Barbie Fashion Designer’ sold more than $50,000 copies its first two months,
outstripping such industry megaliths as Doom and Quake, and demonstrating that
interactive media aimed specifically at girls might have strong market appeal.” (Cassell
and Jenkins, 15). However, in many ways, these “girlie games” simply perpetuate the
problem. Many of these companies make the mistake of trying to attract the female
audience using stereotypes. The sad thing is, with today’s computer game market
overflowing with ‘games created for girls’ fiill of things like dolls, make-up, boys, and
fashion, this kind of theory is common.

In From Barbie to Mortal Combat. Vangie Beal, a writer for GameGirlz.com (an
online video game magazine for girls) said, “Like many other women gamers out there, I
dislike the image of females that many software companies have set. This is a topic I
have discussed at length with many of the women (both game players and women
working in the industry)” (Cassell and Jenkins, 337).

In a study by Heather Gilrnour of the University of Southern California on how
girls relate to interactive games, a gender-based formula was found in these games.

“According to popular wisdom, men like action, solving puzzles, lots of definite

and rigid rules, competition, challenging gameplay. Women are presumed to like

solving problems amongst characters, getting credit for trying, encouragement
and support from the game, few and simple rules, winning through cooperation,

quitting when they get bored.”

“The binary structure of this list essentializes women as neo-Victorian subjects
who have short attention spans, prefer interpersonal relationships to competition,

29

require encouragement to proceed with garneplay, don’t get as involved with

games as men, prefer not to follow rules, value competition over cooperation, and

are easily bored.” (Gilmour, Online).

The exclusiveness did not only discourage girls from enjoying the firn of video
games. By being excluded, girls miss out on something bigger. Studies showed that video
games also impact one area that was of great importance:

“The relationship between boys’ comparatively higher interest in computer games
and their comparatively larger representation in high-power computer jobs in not
accidental.” (Cassell and Jenkins, 11).

Studies showed that video games help to acclimate children to technology. This is
a significant problem in a time where knowledge of computers is of great importance.
However, studies showed that girls are at a disadvantage in terms of technology.

Computers as a whole are used more by boys than by girls. And thought to belong
more to boys than to girls (Cassell and Jenkins). Even in kindergarten children give a
male gender to video games, viewing them as more suitable toys for boys (Cassell and
Jenkins). This perception could become a reason more boys are “heavy users” of
computers than girls.

This gender problem becomes compounded as more and more fields (i.e.,
business, science, journalism, law) become heavily dependent upon computers. The area
of video games was yet another blow against girls.

One may think an easy solution would be to get girls playing more video games.
However, when one is portrayed in a stereotypical, even insulting, manner, it is natural to
avoid that place or thing. This sort of reaction is also a high possibility for female players.

Did negative female representations drive females away or did the lack of a female

30

audience cause game makers to ignore them? At this point, that does not necessarily
matter. What matters is that it is a vicious cycle that puts women and girls at a
disadvantage.

“Computers and video games provide an easy lead-in to computer literacy.”
(Loftus and Loftus 1983, Greenfield 1984; Greenfield and Cocking 1996, Kiesler et al.
1985). And so those children who aren’t playing them at young ages may end up
disadvantaged in later years. This should be the main concern.

The exclusion of females fi'om video games also could have possible effects in a
more general sense.

“Psychologists have discovered that children learn important cognitive skills by
playing video games, such as the ability to maintain attention and to orient things in
space, and these skills differ between boys and girls, apparently because of their
differential exposure to this medium (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield 1994). Video games
are not simply about entertainment. There is much more that a child can benefit from
playing them. However, there are also negative effects it can have on a child. Many of
these negative effects stem fiom the medium of animation.

The next chapter looks at issues of exclusion and stereotyping in cartoons.

Where Cartoons Fit In

Virtual women are a combination of animation and comic book heroines with a

dash of media induced life. Thus far, the exclusion and stereotyping of the female was

found in abundance in two of these influential media of today’s youth (comic books and

31

the traditional media). But what of the medium of children’s animation? Children’s
animation is not only a form of entertainment for today’s youth but it is similar to comic
books and video games it has a strong cultural influence.

Television is a powerful medium. Not only can television be a source of
information about others, but it can also be a source of information about those whom we
consider like ourselves and even ourselves. In other words, girls can learn what it is to be
a girl fi'om girl characters and boys from boy characters. If these characters are
stereotyped, the children will pick them up. Being a part of television, animation has the
same effect.

“Animation is one of the most efl°ective ways of teaching, according to Donald F.

Roberts, professor of communication at Stanford University and an architect of

the RSAC system that rates video games. ‘They’re striking, simple, and highly

colorfirl’. Cartoons grab kids without distracting background detail and can make

a strong impression” (Consumer Report, 38).

Nevertheless, the same trend of exclusion and stereotyping can be found in
yesterday and today’s animation.

“A quarter century of research has shown the world of children’s animated
programming to be a fairly homogeneous place. Content analyses conducted in the 1970s
found that the television world greatly underrepresented both nonwhite and female
characters.” (Seggar and Wheeler 1973; Gerbner and Signorielli 1979).

As video games and comic books, cartoons were problematic because of its effect.
Studies have shown that children easily observe the feminine stereotypes; North
American children report that viewing sex-typed materials lead to sex-typed attitudes

(qtd. in Davidson, Yasuna & Tower, 1979, Pingree, 1978). This study showed that these

cartoon images do have an effect on children.

32

A recent study of the top eight Saturday morning cartoons in 1995 showed that
“cartoons, in their current state, are depicting significant differences in the status,
behaviors, and capabilities of female and male characters. Thus, cartoons tell cultural
stories that can’t help but to inform young minds about who they are to beconre.” (Hudak
and Spicher, 14).

Male characters tended to be at the center of attention, as aggressors or victims or
both. Of all the characters categorized, 26 percent were categorized as prominent males
and only Spercent were categorized as prominent females. A prominent character was
defined as “one with a pronounced role in relation to other characters, and who was
central to the story.” (Hudak and Spicher, 5). “Prominent fermles tend to be more
androgynous.” (Hudak and Spicher, 13).

In “The good, the bad, and the foreign: the use of dialect in children’s animated
television,” another study done in the Fall of 1996 on children’s animation there were
similar results. According to the study, the animated world is “overpopulated by males.”

Twelve animated programs were selected out of the 76 programs running at that
time. All together, 323 characters were chosen, 69 percent were male and 27 percent
were female (5 percent had an uncertain gender). The data revealed that male characters
were portrayed as stronger and smarter than females.

“The majority of fermle villains were rated as heavier and uglier, whereas
heroines were uniformly identified as thinner and more beautifiil.” (Dobrow, Julia R And
Calvin L. Gidney, Online).

The study also found differences in the depiction of male and female characters.

Where there was little variation in female characters, “depiction of male characters is

33

somewhat more diversified. Generally, male heroes tend to be thin and handsome. There
were several exceptions, however, including male characters drawn as heavier (such as
Fred and Barney in the Flintstones) and male comic leads rated as unattractive (such as
Shaggy in Scooby Doo).” (Dobrow, Julia R. And Calvin L. Gidney, Online).

In the study, the majority of characters in children’s animated television are still
young, male, and Anglo-Saxon.

The results of the study “mirrored those of Thompson and Zerbinos (1995), who
found a three-to-one ratio of male to female characters; this is an improvement from prior
studies that noted a four-to-one ratio.” (Dobrow, Julia R. And Calvin L. Gidney, Online).

Video Games are a combination of both animated cartoons and comic books
heroism If both of these media yield the dire results of sexist stereotyping and influence
on kids, what makes the existence of the virtual women any better? Logically, if
animation and comic books depict female characters stereotypically, the likelihood that

video games follow suit is very high.

34

Chapter Two: Research Questions and Method

Research Questions:
1. How stereotypical are females in video games?
2. Does the treatment of females in video games vary according to the type of game?

3. Is the treatment of females in video games becoming more stereotyped over time?

This research not only presents what is but in the process, also, formulates an argument.
Video games provide a world of fantasy and imagination. Nevertheless it can be assumed
that not all human beings fantasize about the same things. Thus it would be logical (and
even economically smart) for there to exist a variety of types of characters to choose-~fat,

skinny, old, young, clothed, naked, etc. The argument made is that though this maybe the

case fore male characters, this is not the case for female characters.

Method:

In this study, to support the argument stated above, an investigation of the origin,
paradox and technology of the virtual woman will be conducted. The method is separated
into three parts: a study of character profiles, a content analysis, and study of character
profiles.

The research of character profiles, content analysis, and qualitative analysis of
various versions of games provide ftuther information about the depiction of virtual
women in video games.

In Chapter Three, the profiles of 21 characters were compiled and analyzed to
obtain character profiles. The information was obtained from official websites, game

booklets and game magazines. Their motives, background and personalities were

35

investigated. It should be noted that some of the characters had more in-depth personal
biographies than others. Other character’s biographies were combined with the plot. The
format varied depending on the game and the character. It is important to look at
character profiles because game players do read them. In many cases one must know the
character’s profile to know her strengths and weaknesses. In a fighting game, this plays a
role in winning or losing a fight. This also goes for action/adventure games. In a role-
playing game, knowing the character’s profiles is important to understanding the plot.
The purpose of studying character profiles is to answer research questions 1 and 2.

In Chapter Four, the same virtual women were selected and closely investigated.
The units of analysis were virtual women from 1993 to 1998. They had to be playable
female video game characters.

Prior to viewing the games, a coding sheet was developed that allowed an attempt
at answering the research questions. The author prepared a coding sheet with the help of
one male coder.

A list of virtual women was compiled for Chapter Three and Five using various
methods. All heroines were sampled from games that came out between 1993 and 1998.
This time period was chosen because this was the time when the trend of including
female heroines in video games began and up to the present time. Prior to the nineties,
game heroines were sparse and unpopular.

Since there is no official list of “the most popular virtual women,” top ten game
lists from two popular video game magazines (Electronic Gaming Monthly and Game
Center.com), numerous newspaper articles and word of mouth generated the list of

games. Top gaming lists were not enough because only a fraction of game heroines were

36

popular enough to even be in the general top ten game listings. Three serious game
players fiom the area (two male and one female) were interviewed about popular games
and well-known virtual women. Less popular characters that did not appear on top
gaming lists were chosen through information obtained using the interviews with the
gamers.

Games featuring these characters were from the Sony Playstation console games
because the Sony Playstation (next to Nintendo 64) is currently the most popular game
console. Also, most of the games chosen were available across various platforms,
including computer game platforms.

After obtaining the list of games with each chosen heroine, each game was played
and the instruction books read. The content analysis was used to collect information
about the portrayal of women in the video games. The unit of analysis and observation
was the character.

Games were analyzed both fiom the player point of view and the viewer’s point
of view. In other words, information for analysis was collected while playing the games
and viewing someone playing the games. The purpose of the content analysis is to help
answer research questions 1 and 2. No intercoder reliability was used in this content
analysis.

In Chapter Five, three games from three series were chosen for research on how
much virtual women changed over time (research question 3).

Since some female characters appeared only once in a game, various characters
were studied, depending on the game. One game series of each of the three types of video

games was chosen: a role-playing game, a action/adventure game and a fighting game.

37

The game chosen had to be a game series with at least three versions. No sports games

were studied in the content analysis or in the qualitative analysis because only one sports

game featuring prominent female characters exists thus far.

The games with these chosen characters were rented fi'om stores or borrowed

from individuals. Their instruction and introduction booklets were also analyzed for they

add to the perception of the game characters by giving story lines, pictures and other

background information that one does not get from the game itself.

The following characters were the units studied for Chapter Three (study of character

profiles) and Five (the content analysis):

CHARACTER
Aeris Gainsborough
Ayame

Aye Brea

Cammy

Chun-Li

Claire Redfield
Julia Chang
Kasumi

Lara Croft

Lei- Fang

Ling Xiaoyu

GAME TITLE
Final Fantasy 7
Tenchu
Parasite Eve
Street Fighter 2
Street Fighter 2
Resident Evil 2
Tekken 3

Dead or Alive
Tomb Raider 3
Dead or Alive

Tekken 3

 

" Game type definitions found in Glossary

38

GAuLTlea‘
Role-Playing
Action/Adventure
Role-Playing
Fighting

Fighting
Action/Adventure
Fighting

Fighting
Action/Adventure
Fighting

Fighting

Nina Williams
Pai Chan

Rose

Sakura

Sarah Bryant
Sheeva

Sindel

Sonya Blade
Tifa Lockheart

Tina

T ekken 3

Virtual F ighterj
Street Fighter 2
Street Fighter 2
Virtual Fighter
Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3
Final Fantasy 7

Dead or Alive

Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Role-Playing

Fighting

The following games were chosen for study in Chapter Five (study of various versions).

 

GAME SERIES TITLE CHARACTE_R GAME TYPE
Tomb Raider Lara Croft Action/Adventure
Street Fighter Chun Li Fighting

Final Fantasy Various Characters Role-Playing
Code Book Variables:

Below is the list and description of the character variables studied. Charting the different

variables below will give a better idea of just how stereotyped the characters are. Is there

variety in the types of variable attributes or are they fairly homo genous? If there is a lot

 

5 All Virtual Fighter characters are from the Megamix version of the Virtual Fighter Series

39

of variety then most likely the characters are not portrayed stereotypically. However,
homogeneity typically signifies the presence of stereotypes. Some variables are

numbered to make typing them in easier.

Hair:
Hair length of characters is important in that it can be a signifier of femininity. In
Western society, women typically have long hair and men have short hair. In many cases,

the longer the hair, greater the individual’s femininity, according to society.

Long -flowing past shoulder

Average -shoulder length

Short -shorter than shoulder length

Can’t Tell - for example, if it is long but it is tied in a bun on top of her head or if she is

wearing a hat.

Skin Color:

This is important because these characters are portrayals of women. If all the women are
portrayed as light skinned (European or Asian), then there is racial exclusion and
stereotyping. For these characters are portrayed as icons of “beauty” and if they are all
light, then what does that indirectly say about women of Afiican descent or Indian

descent?

Also, skin color is different from Ethnicity because looks can differ from words. For
example, Elena of the Street Fighter is supposed to be from Afiica yet she has white hair
and light skin and European facial features.

Light - white to peach

Medium - tan

Dark - brown to dark brown

40

Ethnicity:
Ethnicity’s importance goes along a similar line as “skin color”. Looking at ethnicity also
helps to detect “sexist racism.” For example, Strom, the comic book heroine, was

supposed to be Afiican American, however she had white long silky hair and light skin

Asian
Caucasian
African Decent

Can’t tell

Type of Being:

This is important in looking at beauty. A monster is typically unattractive. A creature can
be less sexualize, for part of being a human involves sexuality. To make her human
means, her attractiveness and sexuality can be clearer.

Creature

Monster

Human

Attitude:

The “attitude” of a character is important because it shows how she acts, her personality
(if she has one).

Angry - gritting teeth, scowling, mean, screaming, etc.

Sexy -sultry eyes, walks in a hip swinging way (like she’s modeling on the runway as
opposed to exploring a cave, for example), hand on hip other arm to side, etc.
Childish -jumps up and down and giggles, schoolgirl clothes

No Nonsense -stoic, serious, get job done, no monkey business

Spunky -hip shaking, snappy, sarcastic, etc.

Heart of Gold- fiiendly, humble, sweet, thoughtfiil

Other

41

Clothing:

Clothing or lack of clothing can imply what is most important about the character. If she
is borderline naked, then most likely the predominantly male players will look at her in a
sexual way. If she is clothed respectfirlly, the most likely she will be viewed less
sexually.

Sexy/Revealing -basically scraps, clothes are both tight and shows plenty of skin

Sexy -tight fitting but shows not much skin

Childish/Sexy

N eutral- does not highlight her sexuality. Example: Just wearing pants and a shirt that fit

normally (not tightly outlining her figure).

Chest Size:

This goes along the same lines as clothing. If she has breasts like giant balloons how
seriously will she be taken? If all the characters have balloon slmped breasts, this would
basically imply that female characters aren’t meant to be taken seriously.

Busty- Lara Croft is the standard
Large -a bit smaller than Croft
Medium

Small

Can’t Tell

ng Length:
The leg length is important in conjunction to height in that it’ll show a special stereotype.

For example, if all the characters look like they are over six feet tall but none of them are
taller than 5’5, this implies something odd. It would imply that male players and game
makers like the look of tall women but not the threat. Hence they use the fantasy factor of

video games to create the impossible: A tall short woman.

Long/Slim

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Long- long but not slim

Thick/Short- short and muscular

Thick/ Medium- Medium length but are muscular
Medium- Medium length but not muscular or fat.
Other

HARM

Tall - 5’8 and above
Average -5’4 to 5’7
Short - 5’4 and below

Victory Action (what she does when she wins a fight).

Victory Actions and Losing Actions show the characters personality and thus can be
another area where stereotypes can hide. Do most of the characters do stereotypical
feminine things when they lose, such as cry? Or do they do a variety of things?

1. Brought attention to her gender - ex: If her breasts bounce provocatively when she
wins. An action that would seem odd ifa male character did the same thing.

2. Did not bring attention to her gender

Losing Action (what she does when she loses)
1. Brought attention to her gender - ex: If she cries. An action that would seem odd if a
male character did the same thing.

2. Did not bring attention to her gender

How She Falls (what happens when she is knocked down, example: when Chun-Li falls
her panties show).

This is important because even the most respectable hard-core character can be brought
down to being “just a woman” in the eyes of players if she falls with her legs open
revealing her underwear. This is yet another area where a female character can be “put in

her place.”

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l. Brought attention to her gender — ex: If her panties show whenever she falls. An action
that would seem odd if a male character did the same thing.
2. Did not bring attention to her gender

Body Type:
The importance of body type goes along the same lines as chest size.

Curvaceous -an hourglass shape: wide hips, very narrow waist, large breasts, though
relatively slim (this is a very unrealistic body type)

Athletic - small waist, narrower hips, average chest

Athletic Plus - small waist, narrower hips, large chest (this is also an unrealistic figure)
Thick - an hourglass shape: wide hips, very narrow waist, large breasts and not slim
Stocky - small chest, wide hips, muscular, not slim but not fat

None of the above

Face:

This is important for two reasons. It will show the variation in facial structure of the
characters. Also the variation in ethnicity, for number one and number two would
exclude typical Afiican features (wide nose and large lips) and an Asian feature (slanted

eyes).

1. Large eyes, small nose, thick lips
2. Large eyes and small nose

3. Wide nose

4. None of the Above

Age:
Note: age may fluctuate in series of game by 1 or 2 years. Typically, in a game series, the

first game will happen and then the next game will occur years later. The characters

usually did not age from one game to another or their age even went backwards.

44

Note: Some characters will not have specific ages. In these cases, age is determined by

how they look, unless she is an immortal creature, where they have no real age.

45

Chapter Three: Character Profiles
Character Profiles-Results:

The following are the results of the 21 character profiles extracted from game
instruction booklets, documents and official websites. The character’s profile adds
context to the story, gives incite to her personality. It is important to look at character
profiles because game players do read them. In most cases, one must know the
character’s profile to know her strengths and weaknesses. In fighting games, this plays a
role in winning or losing a fight. This also goes for action/adventure games. In a role-
playing game, knowing the character’s profiles is important to understanding the plot.

A few of the character profiles include the general game storyline. This is to add
context to the importance of the character in the game. Some character profiles are more
in depth than others due to the fact that some games are more or character driven than
others. Other character profiles have more in-depth storyline due to the fact that some
games are more plot driven than others. Just how plot-driven or character-driven a game
is also tells about the significance and importance of the character herself. Understanding
the intricate plots of the games are not as important as understanding the character’s place
in the game studied. For, many of the games studied have plots that have been going for
many years.

Also, many of the plots and storylines of the games are incomplete, dropping or
ignoring sections of the story that do not pertain to the game. Last of all, fighting games
are also typically centered on a tournament. For example, in the Street Fighter series, the

games are centered on the Street Fighter tournament. In the T ekken series, it is the T ekken

46

tournament. The goal is to win this tournament and be the most talented fighter in the

land.

Lara Croft of Tomb Raider 3 - Action/Adventure:

“Born on St. Valentine’s Day in 1967, Lara Croft started her education in
Cheltenham College for girls. She is the daughter of the wealthy Lord Henshingly Croft,
but was disowned by her father (her mother is deceased) for not complying with his
aspirations for her - i.e. to get married, have kids and settle down. She has a BA in
linguistics, a Ph.D. in anthropology and most recently a Ph.D. in archaeology fi'om the
University of Chicago. She currently lives alone in a mansion in Surrey.” (The Irish
Times, 22). In her fiee time, Lara Croft raids tombs for magical objects.

The following is the opening storyline directly from the instruction booklet for
Tomb Raider 3, Lara Croft’s third adventure:

Millions of years ago, a meteor survived the plunge through the Earth’s
atmosphere impacting the then warm climate of Antarctica...

The first people to discover this land were a tribe of Polynesians. Despite the now
freezing conditions, there was an abnormal abundance of life and the tribe settled,
worshipping the meteorite crater for the powers it appeared to hold.

Generations later though, catastrophic events forced them to flee in terror.

Today, the same area is being excavated by the research company; RX Tech, who
are picking up unusual readings from the meteorite’s impact zone. It is in this zone that
they uncover the body of a sailor from Charles Darwin’s voyage on The Beagle. It seems

a few of his sailors had explored the interior of the crater.

47

Following a story from one of the sailor’s journals, RX Tech have started to take a
particular interest in, not only the crater area, but other parts of the globe where the
sailors traveled to...and died in...

One of these places is India, where Lara is currently searching for the legendary
Infada artifact. Unaware of its true history, she only knows that in local beliefs it was
supposed to hold great powers and has been revered by tribes there throughout the
years...

Soon she will discover a lot more.

Aye Brea of Parasite Eve - Role Playing:

The following is directly fiom the Parasite Eve Instruction Booklet:

After losing her mother in an accident when she was a child, Aya grew
determined to become a detective. She has been on the NYPD’s 17th Precinct force for 6
months. Although quiet on the surface, she can be very stubborn and unyielding. She and
her partner, Daniel, called ‘the father and daughter team,’ occasionally get into arguments

because of her stubborn nature.

Ling Xiaoyo of Tekken 3 - Fighting:

This young girl loves amusement and theme parks. Her dream is to build the
perfect amusement park in China when she grows up. She is both young and small in
statue, but Ling is a skilled martial arts expert. Many believe if she was more serious, she
could achieve real greatness. Having learned that the Michima Financial Empire is rich

and powerfirl, she seeks out Heihachi (president and CEO of the MFE) to make her

48

dream a reality. While on vacation to Hong Kong with her family, Ling stowed away on a
yacht bearing the name “Michima Financial Empire.” Heihachi was not on board and
MFE men discovered her soon after the ship left port. Heihachi was informed
immediately. Upon his arrival, Heihachi found his men beaten and strewn around the ship
as if it was hit by a hurricane. She threatened that she would go berserk again if he did
not accept her challenge. Roaring with laughter, he promises to build her the amusement

park of her dreams if she wins the T ekken tournament, (Instruction Booklet).

Nina Williams of Tekken 3 - Fighting:

In the last Tekken tournament she was ordered to assassinate a competitor names
Kazuya, but an untimely quarrel with her sister, Anna, prevented it. Shortly thereafter,
both sisters were captured by Kazuya’s corps and were used as guinea pigs in
Boskonovich’s “Cold Sleep No. 2” experiment. They did not wake for 15 years.
Heihachi’s private corps, the “Tekken Forces,” went to the burial site and excavated the
“God of Fight.” This unearthing unleashed the “God of Fight’s” spirit, which awakened
Nina’s resting soul. Now controlled by the “God of Fight,” Nina acts robotically with the

command to assassinate Jin Kazama (Instruction Booklet).

Julie Chang of T ekken 3 - Fighting:

Julia studies archeology in Michelle Chang’s tribal lands. As a baby, Julia was
deserted in the ruins of a Native American settlement where Michelle found her. Michelle
rescued Julia and brought her up with love. Julia loved Michelle plus her adopted tribe

and trained with Michelle to protect her beloved homeland. When Julia was 18, stories of

49

sudden disappearances of famous martial artists all over the world began to reach the
tribe. The tribe knew the cause, which was contained in the tubal legends. . . the legend of
the God Fight spirit. People in the tribe feared that Michelle’s pendant, the key to a
Native American sacred treasure, had something to do with the disappearances. With
apprehension spreading thorough the tribe, Michelle left for Japan to ask Heihachi why
he had sought to take the pendant during the second Tekken tournament. Michelle hoped
to learn about the origin of the God Fight’s power. Michelle did not return, Julia

suspected Heihachi and now seeks him out to discover the truth, (Instruction Booklet).

Claire Redfield of Resident Evil 2 - Action/Adventure

Claire went to Raccoon City in search of her brother, who was reported missing
and rumored to be afliliated with the evil Umbrella Corporation. Having arrived in town,
Claire and Leon, a police officer, go on separately to gather clues and solve the same
mystery.

“Claire is a light-hearted, articulate modern women. While she can be a bit of a
tomboy at times, she is somewhat wild. Self-confident and extroverted, Claire is the first

person to try something that many others would not” (Instruction Booklet).

Aeris Gainsborough of Final Fantasy 7 - Role-Playing

Aeris, her background mysterious, is a bright spot in the middle of a dark and
dreary town. While selling flowers near Avalanche’s first target, Aeris’ life was forever
altered with a chance meeting with Cloud (Final Fantasy 7’s main character). Now she

must fight against Avalanche (a group of rebels against the kingdom’s leaders and who

50

now wishes to enslave Aeris) and destroy what she holds most dear. Aeris is the closest
character Final Fantasy 7 has to a dedicated magic user. Her physical attacks are fairly
weak, but she possesses great skill with Materia (a form of magic) and its various forms,

(Instruction Booklet).

Tifa Lockheart of Final Fantasy 7 - Role Playing:

Tifa and Cloud were childhood fiiends, but parted ways when Cloud left their
hometown of Nibelheirn to join Soldier, a group of rebels against Avalanche. When her
parents died, Tifa also left Nibelheirn and headed for Midgar. Soon after opening her bar,
Tifa’s Seventh Heaven, she met Barret and joined his group of rebels known as
Avalanche. When fighting, Tifa lets her fists do the talking. Tifa is a great fi'ontline
fighter, (Instruction Booklet). Both Tifa and Aeris vie for Cloud’s heart, (Instruction

Booklet).

*Note-Final Fantasy series storyline has been going since 1987. Also, being of the role-
playing game genre means that the game is very plot driven. Therefore the storyline is

very intricate and somewhat confusing for those who have not been following it closely.
For this reason the character profile of Aeris Gainsborough and Tifa Lockheart are short

and many of the groups, such as Avalanche and Soldier, are not defined.

Chun Li of Street Fighter Alpha 2- Fighting:

Strong and light on her feet, Chun Li has practically unparalleled physical

prowess. Chun-Li has a rapid, flexible style that can accommodate any rival. Although

51

she represents China, it is understood that she grew up in America with her father, a
special agent. After his death at the hands of the crime syndicate Shadowloo, Chun Li
joined the Special Forces, vowing to find her father’s killer. After previous Street Fighter
tournaments, Chun Li discovered her target was Vega, the leader of Shadowloo. Through
the tournament, Chun-Li pursues Vega (Fielder, Joe, Jeff Gerstmann, Jer Horwitz, Greg

Kasavin, Ryan MacDonald, Justin Speer, Ken Williams 1999).

Sakura of Street Fighter Alpha 2- Fighting:

Naive and stubborn, Sakura’s fighting spirit soars, even though it has not fully
flowered. Unaware of the world around her, Sakura fights single-mindedly towards her
goal of winning the Street Fighter tournament. Sakura has been following Ryu for as long
as she can remember, slowly picking up the techniques of Shotokan Karate. At the Street
Fighter Alpha 2 tournament, Sakura feels the need for direct instruction, and seeks out
her idol.

Sakura uses many of the well-known moves of Shotokan, but has introduced her
own unique flavor to the style, which some say excels even Ryu’s (Fielder, Joe, Jeff
Gerstmann, Jer Horwitz, Greg Kasavin, Ryan MacDonald, Justin Speer, Ken Williams

1 999).

Rose of Street Fighter Alpha 2- Fighting:

Normally a tarot reader, Rose has entered the Street Fighter Alpha 2 tournaments

in hope of suppressing her evil cousin, Vega. Although they share the same power, Rose

52

employs hers for refinement and cleansing of the spirit (Soul Power), while Vega uses his
for manipulation and destruction (Psycho Power).

An unorthodox fighter, Rose must be used to making the most of her high priority
and well-balanced special moves. Rose is ranked second only to Vega in the Street
Fighter tournament of Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Fielder, Joe, Jeff Gerstmann, Jer Horwitz,

Greg Kasavin, Ryan MacDonald, Justin Speer, Ken Williams 1999).

Cammy of Street Fighter Alpha 2- Fighting:

Cannny is a l9-year-old British special agent working in a Special Forces unit
called “Delta Red”. Three years earlier, Cammy was found unconscious, and taken in by
a Colonel Wolfinan. She had no memory of her past, just a scar on her left cheek. Cammy
is described as being moody, fairly naive, having a quick temper, and possessing a
definite cruel side. Colonel Wolfinan recognized Cammy’s quick reflexes, and trained
her to fight. She did well, and eventually joined “Delta Red” to fight in the “Street
Fighter Tournament.” (Fielder, Joe, Jeff Gerstmann, Jer Horwitz, Greg Kasavin, Ryan

MacDonald, Justin Speer, Ken Williams 1999).

Sheeva of Mortal Kombat 3 - Fighting:

Sheeva becomes suspicious of Shao Kahn’s loyalty toward her (Sheeva’s) race of
Shokan when he places Motaro as head of his extermination squads. Shao Kahn is the
ruler of the Outworld (a world other than earth). In the Outworld, Motaro’s race of
Centurions is the natural enemy of the Shokan. She enters the Mortal Kombat tournament

to find out more, (Instruction Booklet).

53

Sindel of Mortal Kombat 3 - Fighting:

Sindel once ruled the Outworld at Shao Kahn’s side as his queen. Now, 10,000
years after her untimely death, she is reborn on Earth. Her evil intentions in the Mortal
Kombat tournament are every match for Shao Kahn’s tyranny. She is key to his

occupation on Earth, (Instruction Booklet).

Sonya Blade of Mortal Kombat 3 - Fighting:

Sonya disappears in the first tournament, but is later rescued by a friend named
Jax. After returning to Earth, she and Jax try to warn the US Government of the looming
Outworld menace. Lacking proof, they watch helplessly as Shao Kahn begins his
invasion. Sonya enters this Mortal Kombat tournament to keep an eye on things,

(Instruction Booklet).

Pai Chan of Virtual Fighter Megamix - Fighting

Quick tempered and moody, Pai Chan is a leading star in Hong Kong action films.
An only child, Pai was trained by her father, Lau, in martial arts from a young age. Lau
was jealous of her superior abilities, however, so she ran away from home at 16 when her
mother died. Two years later, she was a success in the movie industry. When she received
word that her father was going to enter the World Fighting Tournament, she also decided
to enter. She went on to fight her father in the World Fighting Tournament and again in

the Second World Fighting Tournament. She lost both times.

54

Pai left the second tournament with a new perspective on her father. What is it
that he seeks with his fists that is so important that he would forsake his family?
Pondering that, Pai began working on her new world spanning, big budget film, until she

heard that there would be a 3rd tournament, (Instruction Booklet).

Sarah Bryant of Virtual Fighter Megamix - Fighting

Sarah was suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her brother Jacky’s racing
accident. As she was investigating this accident, she was kidnapped. The kidnapper uses
hypnosis to control her actions. Her innate fighting sense heightened by the hypnotism,
Sarah was sent into the World Fighting Tournaments to deliver the knockout blow to her
brother Jacky. She does not succeed.

In the second World Fighting Tournament, Sarah is still held captive and
hypnotized. She is further trained by the Syndicate to become the strongest fighting
machine in order to kill her elder brother Jacky. Although Sarah was rescued at the
tournament by Jacky, who claimed to be her brother, all of her memories had been wiped
clean. Although occasional fragments of her memories began to return as she lived her
daily life, she found that they returned far more often during her training. Perhaps she can
recover the rest of her memories by fighting? With that hope, she decided to enter the 3rd

tournament, (Instruction Booklet).

Ayame of Tenchu - Action/Adventure

The following is directly from the T enchu Instruction Booklet:

It was a time of great turmoil.

55

Bitter wars raged as those in power sought yet more power, but only chaos
prevailed. There was but one beacon of hope shining amidst the madness- Matsunoshin
Gohda who ruled his people with wisdom, compassion and justice.

Behind the great man were two ninjas who were sworn to serve and protect their
master to the death. Rikirnaru, a leader of the Azuma Shinobi-ryu ninja sect, and Ayame,
a young fennle ninja, sully their hands with the blood of the wicked and unjust far from
the public’s eye. This is the tale of two shadows of justice born unto darkness and
destined to die in darkness.”

Ayame was “an orphan who has been trained since childhood as a ninja. Ayame
has served Lord Gohda since she was fourteen. She is renowned for her boldness,
spontaneity, and quickness. Ayame adores Gohda’s daughter Kiku as if Kiku were her

own baby sister. She is acerbic and tough and her tongue is almost as sharp as her sword.

Lei Fang of Dead or Alive - Fighting:

The following is directly from the Dead or Alive Instruction Booklet:

Lei Fang is an impulsive little vixen, which is actually how she ended up in
Missoula, Montana, anyway. She applied and was accepted to Montana State
University’s overseas scholarship program, and found herself in this small Montana
mountain-basin town. Her only regret is that her favorite hobby -karaoke- is an unheard-
of pastime up here, where mountain climbing and kayaking are the norm.

She stays busy between Dead or Alive matches (the tournament of this game is

called “Dead or Alive”), taking classes at the university, and teaching a course in the

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Chinese martial art, Taikyokuken. At 5’5 and 110 pounds, this Lethal Fighter is a real

eye-catcher and she’s one little vixen you’d better keep your eyes on at all times.

Tina of Dead or Alive - Fighting:

The following is directly fiom the Dead or Alive Instruction Booklet:

This blue-eyed beauty is no typical American woman--even though she is from
Kansas City, loves cycling marathons, won’t tell her age or her weight, and collects
fiiends like gnats on a ripe banana.

Tina isn’t typical, because she’s been a pro wrestler since high school, and is now
one of Dead or Alive ’s most feared competitors.

Tina shares an apartment with her chubby little black cat, Egger, where she lives,
breathes and eats fighting --between Lethal matches she fantasizes about the sport with
the help of her unparalleled collection of fighting video games fiom around the world.

Tina is no typical American woman: she’s a lethal fighter to be reckoned with.

Kasumi of Dead or Alive - Fighting:

The following is directly from the Dead or Alive Instruction Booklet:

At 17, Kasumi is the youngest competitor in Dead or Alive. This ultra-serious
high schooler is an accomplished escape artist and straight-A student who tells
horoscopes on her lunch hour. She loves strawberry pastries, the Angel Eyes video game,

and staying out past her curfew.

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She weight in at only 106 lbs. and stands just 5’5”, but watch out «if you think
this quiet little thing is a sweet kitten, you’re in for an ugly surprise. Kasumi’s expertise

is assassin-style Ninjitsu --and like a eat, you never see her coming until it’s too late.

b. Character Profile- Discussion:

Though there were slight references that could be interpreted as gender
discrimination, there was not enough to say that there was an issue of sexism in language
or the profiles of female characters. One example was the way that Ayame of T enchu was
described in the instruction booklet. “Rikimaru, a leader of the Azuma Shinobi-Ryu ninja
sect, and Ayame, a young female ninja.” Both Rikirnaru and Ayame were not given a
specific age. However, both looked to be in their twenties, though Ayame looked
younger. Nevertheless, Ayame was described as a “young ninja” and there was no
reference to Rikimaru’s age at all. Ayame’s gender was also pointed out while
Rikimuru’s was not.

“Rikimaru, a leader of the Azuma Shinobi—ryu ninja sect, and Ayame, a young
female ninja, sully their hands with the blood of the wicked and unjust far fi'om the
public’s eye.” (Instruction Booklet). Rikimaru’s gender was assumed and he is described
as a leader. However, Ayame’s gender is pointed out and she is described by her gender
and age.

There was also an issue with the way some of the characters were described. For
example, Lei Fang of Dead or Alive as a ‘Vixen” for no other reason other than the fact

that she is aggressive and “beautiful.”

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Of all games, booklets, and literature studied about female characters, a large
amount of the character’s strength was in their stories/profiles. The profiles and stories of
the characters gave them perspective and personality. Without her story, Lara Croft was
just a body, a “pretty” face. With her story, Croft was a Ph.D.-ed archeologist, seasoned
in raiding tombs and having the courage of a lion. The fact that Lei Fang of Dead or
Alive was accepted into MSU’s overseas scholarship program turns her into more than
just a female character whose breast can be set to bounce profusely. A history added
context, it made the characters more realistic not in the visual sense but in a real life
sense.

There would be an issue of discrimination if most of the stories/profiles had the
motivations of the characters as being driven by revenge against an unfaithful boyfiiend,
avenging the death of a brother or father or trying to win money for a new wardrobe. This
would show that women were only motivated to act only for love, male family members
and money for fiivolous things. A few characters were avenging the deaths of a brother
or father. For example, Chun Li of Street Fighter was searching for the killer of her
father. Claire Redfield of Resident Evil 2 enters a city infested with Zombies in search of
her missing brother.

Aeris Gainsborough and Tifa Lockheart of Final Fantasy 7 were both seeking to
gain the main character’s heart. However, of the 21 characters, stereotypical female
motivations were not the norm.

Some characters were selfish and hard headed. Lara Croft of Tomb Raider 3 was
driven by her own ambitions to obtain magical objects. Sheeva of Mortal Kombat of the

Shokan race (a race of four armed monsters) entered the Mortal Kombat tournament to

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protect her people. The childish Ling Xiaoyo of Tekken 3 entered the Tekken tournament
to win money to build the biggest amusement park in the world. Plenty of variety existed.

Across the board, there were no references to the character’s sexuality in their
stories/profiles. Most of stories/profiles were respectable, meaning that most of the
characters were intelligent and motivated. They were up to great things in their lives. And
the ones that weren’t, such as Ling Xiaoyo, were young and immature.

In terms of age, there was a complete lack of older women. The oldest woman
character was Lara Croft who is 31. A 50-year-old woman would have a different, even
more extensive story than this younger character. So in that sense, there is no variety.

Ageism was the only form of discrimination found in the character profiles.

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Chapter Four: Content Analysis

Results- Chart6

Content Analysis Discussion
Seventy-one percent of the games studied were rated Teen, meaning that one must

be thirteen or over to purchase the game. Twenty-nine percent of the games studied were
rated Mature, meaning one must be 17 or over. This meant that the majority of the games
studied were rated suitable for teenagers. Nevertheless, teenagers were the largest
audience of all the games studied, including those rated Mature.

The results of the content analysis showed that virtual women must fit a highly
specific mold that is mostly dependent on their “Beauty.” It showed that there was a very
specific definition of “beauty” and if a virtual woman didn’t posses it, she did not exist.
The virtual woman had a very specific facial structure: 62 percent of the virtual women
studied had large eyes and a small nose. In 1998, 90 percent of the characters studied had
this facial structure. The only characters that didn’t have this facial structure were less
cartoon-like, there was more shading in her face, more lines, more detail. The difference
is comparable to the difference between a cartoon and a painting. The less cartoon-er a
character is, the less possible it is to have such a standardized facial structure. Lara Croft
was the only character that had large eyes and thick lips. No characters had a wide nose,
however.

Age was also a big issue. Only one character with a given age (out of 12) was
over the age of thirty. And the characters with no given age looked well under thirty.
Strangely enough, that one character was Lara Croft. Lara Croft, however, was not

presented as a 31-year-old. In this case, Croft is an anomaly. Age-wise, Croft deviated

 

6 Content Analysis Chart: Appendix C

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greatly fi'om the norm, the majority. Hence, not much could be garnered from this fact
about her age. All the characters, except for Croft and Chun-Li were under 25.

In the games where there was more than one character, the female characters were
always on the younger end, in many cases significantly younger. The reason for this
might have been to make sure that the female characters were not too threatening. No
matter what extraordinary feats she was capable of doing, she was always close to the age
of the game players. Therefore, she’s not too threatening or intimidating. However, when
it came to nmle characters, since they are male, their ages can vary from 10 years of age
to 70 years. Youth also signifies inexperience, lacking the wisdom that comes with age.

For virtual women, to possess beauty one must be young. This is part of the rigid
“beauty” mold. As with other attributes discussed, without youth, a virtual woman is not
beautiful. Hence she will not exist. Thus, the vast majority of the virtual women studied
were young.

All the characters, except one (Sheeva of Mortal Kombat 3), were light-skinned.
The majority had at least long or medium length legs, long hair, sexy clothing and land
medium to large breasts. They were human, and Caucasian or Asian. The sum of the
content analysis added up to a very specific type of virtual woman. It defined a concept
of beauty. None of the characters studied in the content analysis were overweight, had
blemished skin, or wore loose clothing. Visually a message could be garnered about the
beauty of women from the information gathered in the content analysis. The message was
that this defined “beauty” was the virtual woman’s most important feature; that it must be

constantly displayed; that there is little variety in what is considered beautiful in the

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gaming arena; and that this problem of stereotyping has existed for years within the
medium.

The most popular virtual woman’s success lies mostly in her beauty (the rest lies
in the strength of the game). Lara Croft is Caucasian, has a very large chest, light skin, a
curvaceous figure, long legs, long hair, a small nose, and wears skimpy clothing. Most of
the virtual women migrate toward this type of physique. However, except for the
characters in Dead or Alive, most of the characters were not this extreme. Nevertheless,
Croft was the most successful of all the characters. Thus this formula was expected to be
emulated in the future.

In terms of attitude, the greatest number of virtual women, 43 percent, had a “no
nonsense” approach to the way they did things. The reason for this may have been to
compensate for the way they look. It would almost be comical for Lara Croft, for
example, to look the way she did and then to have a sexy attitude. That would have been
overkill. Or making her serious could have been a way of making her sexier. The number
of characters with a sexy attitude (meaning she behaved as if she felt that she was being
watched by men who liked the way she looked and she enjoyed this and played it up by
swaying her hips more, having sultry eyes, etc.) was the second largest number of attitude
types (19 percent). However, in 1998 that number increased to 30 percent.

This may be due to the fact that female characters as a whole are increasingly
becoming more stereotyped and sexualized. As time goes by, the issue of overkill (a sexy
physique with a sexy attitude with sexy clothes, for example) may become less and less

of an issue.

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There was also a hint of negative stereotyping in how a character behaved (many
of their actions were dictated by the fact that they were female). A singular individual is
more than just their gender. Virtual women were being toted as characters with feelings,
histories, likes and dislikes and motivations. Hence, there was no reason for their actions
to be so dictated by the fact that they were female.

Results were split down the middle when it came to victory actions, what she does
when she wins a fight. F ifty-six percent of the characters reacted in a way that brought
attention to a stereotype in some way. F ifty-six percent reacted in a way that did not bring
attention to their gender. It should be remembered that, many of the characters had more
than one victory action, some of which brought attention to their gender and some that
did not. Forty-three percent only reacted in a stereotyped way. And 44 percent did not.

Though it is a fifty-fifty split, the same conclusion could be made about the
studied characters: Virtual women were stereotyped by their gender. For fifty percent of
the characters to react to victory in stereotypical way is problematic, fifty percent is a
significant percentage. The same split was present in “Fatality or Taunt” and “Losing
Action.” Fifty percent of 21 prevalent virtual women is too large of a percentage of
virtual women to be behaving in a stereotypical female way. That left only halfof the
game heroines to have the fieedom of behaving in a variety of ways. The numbers were
not as split in the category of “character taunt” (she does this before the fight starts).
Thirty-three percent did something that highlighted their gender in a stereotypical way.
For example, Rose of Street Fighter Alpha 3 shook her finger and says "tut tu " with a
heavy accent and a mischievous smile on her face. This leaves 67 percent doing

something to taunt their opponents that did not stereotypically highlight their gender. For

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example, Chun Li of Street Fighter Alpha 3 said something in Japanese and chopped her
hand forward.

The results also showed that there is a possibility that virtual women behaving in
a stereotypical way is increasing. In 1998, 57 percent of the characters behaved in a
stereotypical way when they won a fight and 83 percent had a stereotypical losing action.
As opposed to the pre-1998 games where 29 percent had a gendered losing action and 44
percent had a stereotyped winning action. The curvaceous body type had increased in the
1998 games studied by about 10 percent.

However it isn’t across the board. The Athletic Plus build (which means an
athletic figure with large breasts) decreased over time by thirty percent amongst the
games studied.

As a whole, stereotypically feminine physiques and behaviors dominated and

increased or stayed the same over time.

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Chapter Five: Different Versions:

Tomb Raider (action/adventure) Results:

Three versions of Tomb Raider exist: Tomb Raider I (1996), Tomb Raider 2
(1997), and Tomb Raider 3 (1998). Tomb Raider 4 is due in December 1999.

In the first Tomb Raider, Croft’s mission was to find an artifact called the Scion.
In Tomb Raider 2, Croft searched for the Dagger of Xian. In Tomb Raider 3, Croft
searched around the globe for artifacts that fell from the sky in a meteor.

In this version, the opening movie (which the player watches to learn the plot)
was centered on Croft and the quest she decides to go on. Lara only encountered human
beings near the end of the game. The majority of the time, she explored environments
where he only enemies were vicious wildlife (bats, wolves, dinosaurs, bears, etc.).

In Tomb Raider, Croft only had one outfit, a pair of tight short shorts and a tight
white shirt. She wore it regardless of the temperature or terrain. Her chest size was
atypically large and her long brown hair was tied back so that it is not flowing fi'eely.
Croft’s personality was developed but not very realistic. She was a hard-core, no-
nonsense woman with excessive bravery and callousness.

In Tomb Raider 2, there were significant changes. The opening movie did not
feature Lara at all. The movie featured the history of the Dagger of Xian: Aside from a lot
of blood and gore and Croft’s absence in the opening movie, the variety of guns that
Croft collected throughout the game increased to include an underwater harpoon and M-
16. Also, there were more human beings as fees.

In the second version of the game, Croft’s wardrobe expanded. She began the

game with her original outfit of short tight shorts and a tight white shirt. However, as the

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game progressed, the player saw Croft in various different clothing including a wet suit, a
bomber jacket, and a camouflage winter coat and pants.

The graphics were much less grainy and smoother. There was a lot more color to
the game, and Croft moved more smoothly. Croft’s chest size increased and detail was
added to make it look softer and more lifelike. She looked closer to being made of flesh
as opposed to stone. Her skin also looked softer, less stone-like. Her ponytail was in a
braid that went down her back. It was animated to swing back and forth as she moved. At
the end of Tomb Raider 2, the player got a nice view of Croft’s “end,” as the game ended
with a view of Croft’s backside.

Tomb Raider 3 was not much different fiom the second Tomb Raider. Once again,
the opening movie did not include Croft. It showed when the meteor containing the
artifacts fell from the sky long ago. Croft did not have different outfits in this version.
She started off wearing the same outfit as in the first Tomb Raider, except for one
difference. The white tight shirt she was wearing became a halfshirt. The graphics are
even more sophisticated. Texture palettes were improved for greater detail. Croft also
was given new moves, including crawling, the monkey swing and a speed dash move.

In December of 1999, the fourth version, called Tomb Raider: Last Revelation, is
scheduled to hit the market. This version is coming out when Croft’s popularity is at an
all-time high. The official Tomb Raider website (www.tombraider.com) boasted that
“State of the art graphics: single skin technology allows a smoother character model with
no split elbow and knees; bit-mapping brings 3D textures to life. Completely new puzzle

types based on new moves and inventory development.”

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A film featuring Lara Croft is currently being discussed. Tomb Raider 4 is
predicted to be even more graphically sophisticated, blowing more life into Lara Croft.
Eidos Interactive (the makers of the Tomb Raider series) even boasts that the detail will
be so great that Croft’s nostrils will even flare.

Throughout all three games, regardless of her tight shirts and short shorts or black
skin tight cat suits, the men Croft encountered addressed her as if she were just one of the
guys. Only in the very first Tomb Raider did a man speak with Lara in a provocative

manner (and this was in the opening movie of the game).

Tomb Raider (action/adventure) Discussion:

Since 1996, Eidos Interactive has come out each year with a new version of Tomb
Raider. With each version, the star of the game, Lara Croft, becomes more real,
increasingly life-like. Not real as in more like a real woman. If Croft was made human,
she would not live because she has no room in her abnormally tiny waist to fit her vital
organs. Croft was more realistic in the same way that an alien in a movie with expert
special effects looks realistic.

In the first Tomb Raider, Croft’s reputation as a sex symbol was not yet
established. One could almost say that the first Tomb Raider was geared toward a female
audience. It was the first three-dimensional game to feature a female character as its one
and only character. Also, most of the foes in the game were animals such as bats,
dinosaurs and wolves. The first Tomb Raider was also the only version that centered the
opening movie on Lara Croft and her quest. In Tomb Raider 2 and Tomb Raider 3, the

opening movies gave perspective to the plot, but neither of them directly involved Croft.

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In Tomb Raider 2, the opening movie showed a bit of the history of the Dagger of Xian:
an artifact hidden in an ancient Emperor’s palace within the Great Wall of China. In
Tomb Raider 3, the opening movie showed what happened when British sailors
discovered a meteor buried deep in the earth and looted the artifacts inside it.

The exclusion of Croft fiom opening movies after the first version symbolized the
fact that the plot and Croft’s abilities and motivations as an explorer were secondary to
Lara Croft as a sex symbol. It also symbolized the change in the game’s audience. In the
next two versions, there were more human foes, more guns, Croft had more sexy outfits,
her chest size increased, and her body as a whole was more detailed and animated. The
crawling move that was added in the third version is yet another factor. When she
crouched and crawled, the player had a significant view of her backside.

There was a particular significance to Croft’s changes in clothing throughout the
game. It humanized her. Hurmn beings do not wear the same outfit all the time. They
change clothes. Though all of her clothes, at least, showed the outline of her physique
(including her winter coat and pants), it was more human to bundle up when it got cold.
Also, the player got a more rounded idea of what Croft looked like. When she changed
cloothes, one saw different aspects of Croft and in doing so, got a more solid idea of Croft.
A player could say “I’d know Lara Croft anywhere, no matter what she’s wearing.”

By the second version, Croft reputation had exploded within the media. Hence,
though her personath didn’t change much between Tomb Raider I and Tomb Raider 2,
it was still developed outside of the actual game in the media (the Internet, newspapers,
television and magazines). By the second version, not only was her personality solidified

but also Lara Croft became a cultural icon. The Tomb Raider movie being discussed,

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which features a real woman playing the part, is yet another attempt to bring Lara Croft
to real life. In cyberspace there is an argument ensuing about the fact that no real woman
will even “measure” up to the “real” Lara Croft.

Though the majority of Lara Croft’s fans view her as a sex symbol and that is how
she is packaged, the contradiction was that Lara Croft was also a Ph.D.-ed archeologist
with tremendous courage and strength. However, this is not focused on. For, if Croft had
all the brains without the physique, she would not be nearly as popular.

In conclusion, each year, a new Tomb Raider version comes out. Each year,
gaming technology evolves tenfold. Game experts are predicting Tomb Raider 4 to be
breath taking. Meaning that each year, this female game character gets closer to being a
“living” being. A human living being? Not exactly. For, her attributes are extremely

abnormal and she’s is not made of flesh and blood but well organized pixels.

Final Fantasy (role-playing) Results:

Only two games were studied in the Final Fantasy series; Final Fantasy 7 (1997)
and Final Fantasy Tactics (1998). This was because all the previous Final Fantasy games
could not be found due to their age. Final Fantasy 8 recently hit the market and was not
available at the time of the study.

Final Fantasy 7 did not start off with any female characters. The player begins the
game with Cloud Strife (a male) who was central as a character as can get in Final
Fantasy. The player quickly met up with another male character. The player encountered
the female characters later. Regardless of the female characters, the point of view of the

plot was fi'om Strife’s. The player had to decide how to act toward the two women, Aeris

70

Gainsborough and Tifa Lockheart, who both competed for his love. Also, other
characters addressed the player as if he or she were male. Three of the twelve main
clmracters in Final Fantasy 7, were female. Two of which were in love with the main
character. Aeris Gainsborough was a flower seller who gets caught up in a revolution.
Tifa Lockheart was a feisty woman who owned a bar and befriended Strife.

The objective of the game was complex. It involved joining a rebel group, saving
the world and whatever else popped up. The movement of the game revolved around
choices made by the player. The spectacular graphics appeared during the movies. During
actual play, the graphics were good however; the player did not control the player in real
time. For example, when one wanted to attack the enemy, one had to open the menu
screen and choose what one wanted to do. Then one went to the attack template and once
that option was chosen, the menu popped off the screen and the character attacked.

In Final Fantasy Tactics the game started off with two female characters, Ovelia
Atkashka, Agrias Oaks included within a band of six. Ovelia Atkashka was a princess
who was kidnapped after the first battle in the game. Very much like the classic Nintendo
game of the early 808, Double Dragon, she was punched in the stomach, slung over the
shoulder of the kidnapper and carried away. Agrias Oaks was Princess Ovelia's protector.
She was 25 years of age and a knight. She had a strong sense of loyalty and justice, and
joined the player when she saw the state in which the kingdom is in. The player
controlled all six characters. However, the point of view was from a male character
named Delita Hyral. Once again, other characters referred to the player as a “he.”

Graphic-wise, Final Fantasy Tactics looked different from Final Fantasy 7. The

graphics were surprisingly less sophisticated during actual game play. In Final Fantasy 7,

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there were three types of sections, the animated movie (which was the most sophisticated
part of the game, graphically); the segments where the character is moving fi'om place to
place (this was where the character looks squat and small, during these segments, no
matter how many characters the player has, he or she only saw Cloud); and the battle
segments, where the player fought enemies using all the characters he or she
accumulated. During the battle scenes, the characters looked tall and thin and more three
dimensional than during the segments where the character went from place to place.

In Final Fantasy Tactics, one saw all the characters all the time. However, during
battle scenes and the sections where the characters went from place to place, the
characters always looked squat. Only in the movie intervals did they look tall and thin.

Final Fantasy Tactics was also much more plot driven than Final Fantasy 7. The
characters spoke to each other much more. This meant that the plot was more developed
and intricate.

The object of the game was also complex and depending on the choices the player
makes. The method of attacking and acting was the same as in Final Fantasy 7. The
player did not move the characters in “real time.” The player had to go to the menu,
choose what he would do and then choose “execute.” Then the character did what the

player chose.

Final Fantasy (role-playing) Discussion:
The Final Fantasy series was very different fiom the Tomb Raider series. It was
an entirely different type of game. Final Fantasy was a role-playing game and Tomb

Raider was an action/adventure game. This meant that far more significance was placed

72

on plot in the Final Fantasy series; there was a lot of dialogue between the characters,
which develops the plot. The player must actually sit and read as the characters had
discussions and arguments.

The game also revolved around more than one character in the Final Fantasy
series. In Tomb Raider, the main and only character was Lara Croft. Typically in an
action/adventure game, the game focused on one character, even if there was more than
one to choose fiom (if the game was a two player game, then the plot normally revolves
around two characters). This was how it was in the Tomb Raider series. Everything was
fiom Croft’s perspective and her life was all that the player cared about maintaining.

In a role-playing game, the plot overshadowed the characters. For example, in
Final Fantasy, instead of controlling one character, the player controlled a group of them,
each with their own personalities, opinions, strengths and weaknesses. Some characters
were at the beginning of the game; other characters appeared along the way.

When there was a battle, the player used each character as if she had a variety of
weapons to fight the enemy. Some characters were of better use in defeating a particular
enemy than others. Hence that character would be selected for the given situation.
Altogether, there were nine Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy 8 recently hitting the
market. There’s already a rumor that a Final Fantasy 9 is currently in the making.

The Final Fantasy game came out in 1987 in Japan and 1990 in the United States.
For the time, it was a somewhat graphically sophisticated game. Out of the six main
characters, none of them were female.

In Final Fantasy 4 (1991), Rosa, 19, was a powerful wizard but she was in love

with the Dark Knight, Cecil. She became deathly ill when he left. Rydia was a seven-

73

year-old girl with magical skills and Porom was a five-year-old twin. Though Final
Fantasy 4 game makers finally decided to put female characters of importance in the
game, the characters were almost all young, Rosa (a knight) was literally sick with love,
and one of the three was a twin (meaning she does not stand alone). By Final Fantasy 6
(1994), there were 14 main characters and only two were female; Celes Chere, an ex-
general, and Terra Branford, who was highly gifted in the art of magic.

Though, thus far, there are no overweight or elderly female characters in the Final
Fantasy series. Nevertheless, Final Fantasy female characters tended to be more well-
rounded. They talked, they had natural emotions, some of them were tough and some of
them were soft hearted.

Over time, there was no progression of sexist stereotypes. The stereotypes of
female characters being overtaken by love and emotion, always being young and
“pretty,” and always showing more skin in terms of clothes than the male characters,
remained consistent from Final Fantasy 7 to Final Fantasy Tactics.

Though Final Fantasy 8 and the older versions of the series could not be played,
the character pro files and game reviews were available. According to the information, not
much changed in terms of female characters except for the fact that as time progressed,
more female characters were added to the game and the graphics of the game increased in
sophistication. However, graphic sophistication was not used to make the female
characters more sexualized. It was used to create increasingly advanced landscapes and to
make the characters less block-like.

What was most odd about the game was the difference in the way that the

characters looked in the interval movies versus the actual game. In the movie, the

74

characters all looked tall, thin with a definite homogenous facial structure. It was the
“Japanirnation” style (meaning character faces had small noses, large eyes and small
mouths, and characters were tall, thin and long legged). This was also the way the
characters looked in advertisements for the game and on game covers. However, when
actually playing the game where one controlled the character’s actions, the characters
looked short and squat, almost like dwarfs.

Thus, in the Final Fantasy series there was no room for a female character’s
breasts to bounce exaggeratedly as in the game Dead or Alive. There was no chance for
her dress to fly up showing her underwear as in Tekken 3. This was the case in both Final
Fantasy games that were studied and most likely the case in all the previous versions.
Whether this will change or remain the same in Final Fantasy 9, was yet to be
determined.

To sum, over time the number of female characters in the Final Fantasy series
increased. However, though virtual women were not as marginalized and stereotyped
compared to the other games, there were some issues. For one, the number of female
characters was significantly lower than the number of male characters. In Final Fantasy
7, only 3 of the 12 main characters were female. In Final Fantasy Tactics, it got a little
better. Two of the 6 characters were female. This was a vast improvement from Final
Fantasy I , where there were no female characters.

The point of view of the main character reflected whom the game was targeted
toward. There was no question that the majority of video game players are male.
However, if the games were not targeted only toward males, would there be more female

players? Most likely. At the same time, should the game makers produce game for an

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audience that was not known to exist? It is a cycle. However, was the gender of the main
character so important that the game must specify at the very beginning? Why not simply
leave it up the player to choose the gender. If the player could choose the character’s
name, why not the character’s gender?

It made a significant difference when the other characters addressed one as a “he”
or “she” as one moves through this complex game. Hence, this was a significant issue.
However, though improvements were made to include central female characters, some of
which were very strong figure, the game still maintains that its main character must be
male.

Also, though there were more female characters (some of some of which were
knights, queens and little girls) the problem of stereotyping still seemed to crop up. All
the female characters of both games studied had to fit the video game mold of beauty.
Two attributes of this mold were that she was never overweight and she was young with
flawless skin. This “beauty mold” was clarified in the content analysis.

Also, in Final Fantasy 7 the two main female characters were in love with the
main character. This was doubtfully a coincidence, since the game makers obviously
assume that the player was male. This twist in the plot put these two characters into the
powerless role of “love interest to the main character” as opposed to standing on their
own.

The graphics from Final Fantasy 7 to Final Fantasy Tactics increased only a bit
in some areas and somewhat decreased in others. More attention was focused on the plot,
for in Final Fantasy Tactics, the plot was even more intricate (i.e. there was a lot more

dialogue and interaction between characters).

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Final Fantasy 8 is being marketed as a love story and the main character, who is
male, must once again save the world. He must also save the woman he loves. Thus, once
again, the main female character is packaged as the main character’s love interest as
opposed to being her own person. She is also a “damsel-in-distress.”

Though the Final Fantasy series, over time, became more woman-inclusive. It
was still male-centered. However, its female characters tended to be more diverse
compared to most video games and the plot was more important than the visuals. This
meant that less attention was devoted to the female character’s looks. The outcome was
that the virtual women of Final Fantasy 7 and Tactics were somewhat stereotyped and
limited in their roles. However, the stereotyping was not as severe as in other video

games.

Street Fighter (fighting) Results:
By far the most extensive and groundbreaking game series in video games up to
date is the Street Fighter series. Starting with Street Fighter, the first of the series in

1987, the series has accumulated a very large dedicated following.

Below is a list of Street Fighter games up-to-date:

Street F ighter--August 1987- No female character
Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior «Released March 1991
Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition --Released April 1991

Street Fighter Alpha 3: Hyper Fighting -- Released November 1992

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Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers --Released August 1994
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo -- Released April 1994

Street Fighter The Movie (Arcade Game) -- Released First Quarter 1995
Street Fighter The Movie (Home Game) -- Released Mid 1995

Street Fighter Alpha -- Released June 1995

Street Fighter Alpha 2 -- Released August 1987

Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold -- Released July 1996

Street Fighter Three: A New Generation of Street Fighters «Released 1997
Street Fighter EX -- Released December 1996

Street Fighter EX Plus -- Released Early 1997

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha -- Released July 1997

Street Fighter 3 : Second Impact -- Released Fall 1997

Street Fighter Alpha 3-- Released 1998

Street Fighter Alpha 3-— Released July 1998

Street Fighter Alpha 3 Plus--Released Summer 1999

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha -- Released Summer 1999

Street Fighter 3: Third Strike -- Not yet released

The three games studied were Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold
and Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha. These three games were chosen because they were
readily available and fairly recent.

The first game studied was Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, which was released in

1994. Being a fighting game, the object of the game was very simple, to beat one’s

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opponent. Of the 16 playable characters, only 2 were female, Cammy and Chun-Li.
Cammy was an undercover British special agent fighting against anyone who stood in her
way of Bison, the key to her mysterious past. She wore a green thong leotard and combat
boots and wore her long blonde hair in two braids. When she won a fight she did several
different things, including turning around to show a majority of her bare backside.

Chun-Li secretly pursued the Shadowlaw organization, while seeking revenge for
the death of her father. She was short and stocky with incredibly powerful legs. Most of
her power was in her legs. Her special move was called the multiple leg attack where she
kicks her leg so fast that it looks like she was kicking more than one. She wore a blue
dress with slits up the side that went past her hips. Chun Li did three different things
when she won: stretched, folded her arms and nodded and jumped up and down and
giggled.

Both characters had her own fighting style. Cammy fought using the Special
Forces style and Chun-Li used Wu Shu Kung Fu.

Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold (1996) (the second game studied) was more
graphically sophisticated, the character’s intricate moves animated in more detail. It had
18 characters, three of which were female. Chun-Li was one of them and she remained
basically unchanged except for her clothes and her body. Instead of the dress with the
thigh high slits, she wore a green skintight fiill body suit and cleat shoes. She still was
short and stocky with powerful legs, but in this version her legs looked significantly more
muscular. The tight body suit showed every detail of muscle.

Sakura was a girl of about 12 or 13. Her mentor was one of the “Street Fighters”

named Ryu and she followed him to the Street Fighter tournament. She wore a schoolgirl

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outfit and her school skirt was well above her knees. Whenever she kicked, the player
could see her red underwear. When she won a fight she did a variety of things including a
little dance.

Rose was a woman whose age is unknown, though she looks to be between 20
and 30. She was a mystical figure who used a form of magic called Soul Power as her
weapon. She could multiply, magically change outfits before one’s eyes and animate
clothing into lethal weapons. She entered the tenement to track down an opponent whom
she believed was misusing Soul Power. She wore a purple dress with a slit all the way up
the middle that gave a fiill view of her legs. She wore purple pantyhose and high heels.
When she won a fight she did a variety of things including changing clothes in a split
second.

The third game studied was Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha (1997). This game was
the series’ 3D version of the game. Of the 23 characters, 5 of them were female: Chun-Li,
Sakura, Blair Dame, Pullum Puma and Hokuto.

Blair Dame Blair traveled the world looking for action and riches, and her journey
lead her to the tournament where she hopes to make a killing monetarily. She wore a
white armless leotard with a thong back and black book that reach her thighs. When she
won a fight she would either turn around and say something in Japanese or she did an no-
handed cartwheel and posed sexily.

Pullum Puma w as the daughter of an Indian multimillionaire, until one day she
happened upon a secret which revealed that her family's riches were granted through the
organization called Shadoloo. She vowed to find out the nature of Shadoloo, She was

medium skin toned, however she had blue yes. She wore the attire of a belly dancer and

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her fighting moves reflected her dancer’s background. Her victory actions included a
little dance with a tambourine.

Hokuto was a member of Guy's Bushinryuu Ninja Clan. Her search for her
missing brother lead to the tournament. She fought wearing big wide pants and a white
top. She is slight in fi'ame. Her victory actions included posing with one hand on her knee
and smiling.

The greatest change in this version was that it was three dimensional, meaning, it
was not cartoon-like as the previous versions. The characters were much more realistic.
The player also viewed the character from rmny angles. Sometimes the angle was fiom
the point of view of the player’s character. So that the player did not see his or her
character. He or she only saw the character that he or she was fighting fiom a frontal
view. Or the angle can show both of the characters fi'om behind. The angles could also be
from the front, side or above. Being a three dimensional game meant that all angles
existed and could be viewed.

This allowed for the characters’ moves to become more real, for instead of
moving along a 2D plain, he or she was moving in a 3D plane. They could spin 360

degrees, kick to the side, etc.

Street Fighter (fighting) Discussion:

The first Street Fighter, released over a decade ago, had twelve playable
characters, none of them female. It emerged during the period in the late 803 when the
popularity of video games was waning. With the emergence of Street Fighter and other

fighting games such as Fatal Fury, video gaming came back to life. Not surprisingly, the

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popularity of fighting games also sky rocketed. Today, fighting games are the most
popular type of video games.

It was Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior (1991) that brought the gaming world
the first popular virtual woman Chun Li. Prior to Chun Li, female characters only made
small ripples in the sea of video games. She was the sole female character of eight
playable characters. Chun Li was unique among females who appeared in video games
because she was not tall, slim and leggy. She was short, stocky and had thick powerful
legs. She was toted by the game as "the strongest woman in the world."

It took the series three years (two versions hitting the market within those two
years) to come up with another female character. In Street Fighter 2: The New
Challengers (1994), Cammy of the Special Forces, joined the game. She and Chun Li
were the only female characters of 16 playable characters. The success in popularity of
these two characters pushed Street Fighter game makers to continue to add more virtual
women to the games from then on.

From the beginning, the Street Fighter series was developed based on the concept
of variety in playable characters. This allowed for the female characters to eventually
procure some variety over time. This variety grew in number as time progressed.
However, as the number of characters increased, the number of male characters also did.
Hence the percentage of female characters did not change much.

In the beginning there were no female characters. As time progressed, one could
find a female magician, some school girls, a special agent and many more. Chun-Li was
one of the video game arena’s most unique characters for she does not migrate toward the

typical virtual woman look of looking tall and having long legs and a large chest. She is

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short and stocky with powerful legs. From the beginning, all of the series’ virtual women
had their own special intricate fighting style. And as the number of virtual women
increased, so did their variety.

Nevertheless, though there was more variety in the virtual women compared to
most games, that variety was limited to staying within the boundaries of the “beauty
mold.” None of the virtual women studied were overweight, all had flawless skin and all
of them had a very particular facial structure (small lips, large eyes and small nose)
regardless of their race. This was also the case fiom Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo to
Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha.

The same went for the character’s behavior. If one were to watch Chun-Li fight,
one would think she was serious, mature and a great fighter. However, this image was
shattered when at the end of one--third of her victories, she throws her hands in the air,
jumps up and down and giggles. The change was incredible, for when she fought, she
looked focused and serious. And the other two--thirds of her victory actions were very
solemn and serious. This reaction made Chun-Li significantly less threatening. Who
could fear a woman who behaves like a little girl?

The character’s clothing in all three games also lacked much variety in terms of
the amount of flesh that was shown. The only character that did not show skin was
Hokuto. All the other showed at least the full length of their legs. And characters such as
Blair Dame, showed a lot more than that.

The one difference (aside fiom the evolution of graphic sophistication) in the
three games was in Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha. Street Fighter virtual women with

dresses suffered most in this version. The various angles often showed close up shots of

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their underwear when they kicked or jumped. If the angle was fi'om the player’s point of
view and he or she was fighting Sakura, every time she kicked, the player could see her
red underwear under her schoolgirl dress. Blair Dame’s backside also was the focus of
many of the angle shots. The camera in this 3D game definitely took on a “male gaze.”

The Street Fighter series was the series that really started the trend of the virtual
woman. Much of Chun-Li’s success was due to her sexy attire and physique. Though not
the traditional “beauty,” she still possessed the attribute. Then Cammy, who was very
traditional in her “beauty,” came along. Game makers simply copied the idea of the sexy
virtual woman and thus the type of the virtual woman was born.

For this reason, it is not surprising that not much changed fiom Super Street
Fighter 2 Turbo to Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha. The Street Fighter series came up with
the successful form of the virtual woman, so why would she change much over time?
From the very beginning, beauty and sexuality were of utmost importance to Street

Fighter virtual women.

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Chapter Six: Summary and Conclusion

Summary
Though, this research is one of the first of its kind, fairly solid answered were garnered

from it. The three main questions for this thesis and the results were the following:

1. How stereotypical are females in video games?
This research found that female playable characters in the video games studied were
highly stereotyped by their sex. They tended to fit the existing western stereotype of what

feminine beauty should be (this stereotype is unrealistic and exaggerates femininity).

2. Does the treatment of females in video games vary according to the type of game?
The severity of the stereotyping of the virtual women studied did vary depending on the
type of videogarne it was. Action/adventure and fighting games tended to stereotype
females more than Role-Playing games. Though all types of the games studied
stereotyped virtual women in some way. This difference may have been due to the fact
that role-playing games were more plot driven and fighting games and action/adventure

games were driven more by visuals.

3. Is the treatment of females in video games becoming more stereotyped over time?

Stereotyping does increase over time.

Conclusion

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So far, there have been studies on gender and gaming, sexism in video games,
violence in video games and video games as a form of influential media. However, this is
one of the first studies focusing on the female characters. The purpose of this study was
to start a dialogue and state an argument about such an issue. This study suggests tlmt as
each year goes by, game makers and the media breathe a bit more life into female video
game characters. However it is not for the purpose of bringing reality closer to fantasy
but to bring fantasy closer to reality --to make the unreal more realistic.

In the beginning there were only drawings, comic book characters. Today, these
characters are amazingly animated. They can perform fluid complex martial arts moves
that will amaze any expert. They have in-depth histories created through their personal
profiles and biographies, which give them personalities, motivations, likes and dislikes,
ages, a past, and other experiences. Many of them are featured in commercials and some
of them even graze the covers of magazines. If the video game industry were a utopian
fantasy world, there would be variety in both male and female characters.

Nevertheless, many of these female characters are highly stereotyped. As one can
see in the content amlysis, only one of the 21 characters studied was over thirty (Lara
Croft, 31). Compared to the male characters, the female characters were significantly
younger then the males. There were no “fat” virtual women of the 21 characters studied.
The facial structure of the majority of the characters studied was very distinct. The
majority of them had long legs. And a huge chest size was always a factor.

When it came to looks, there was definitely a very ridged mold that each must fit.

Only a few deviated. And this mold did not represent in any way the typical or majority

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of real women. Game experts said that most of these virtual women were actually
anatomically incorrect.

There was plenty of variety when looks were not the issue. Character profiles and
motivations were very diverse. Also, the virtual women tended to be very serious and
mentally strong. And when she wasn’t, it was either because she was very very young or
she just wasn’t a serious person.

Nevertheless, due to the nature of video games, the visual aspect came first. If
these were books, the impact of a virtual woman’s personality and history would have
much more of an impact on the feminine portrayal in games. Hence, the fact that she had
a strong personality and an amazing past had little impact on the portrayal of the female
in video games. In a role-playing game, such as Final Fantasy 7, the character’s past and
accomplishments may have a little more impact since role-playing games are plot driven.
However, this is not the case in action/adventure or fighting games.

Also, in terms of ethnicity, character portrayals were highly homogenous and
borderline racist. A virtual woman’s most prized possession was her “beauty.” Much of
the Tomb Raider series’ success lies in the sexualization of Lara Croft. If she did not look
the way she looked, her popularity would not be nearly as high. The same goes with
Chun-Li and most of the other virtual woman. This was why there were no “fat,” or
“ugly” virtual woman out of all the characters studied. The key to the success of a virtual
woman lay in her beauty.

One must question that there was no female character of Afiican descent of all the
characters studied. The closest any of the characters came was Sheeva of the Mortal

Kombat series. She was the only character with dark skin. She was also a four-armed,

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terribly angry monster who liked to stomp her opponents to death. What does this fact
say?

Of all the virtual women that were looked at during this study, only one was
described as being of Afiican descent. Her name was Elena of the Street Fighter series.
Nevertheless, she bad light skin, blue eyes and white hair. Oddly enough, this was the
same treatment that was given to the first Afiican character in comic books in the 705,
Storm of the X-Men series. Storm was a goddess fi'om Afiica who could control the
weather. She also had white long silky hair and pupil-less white eyes. This was not a
coincidence.

Could it be that game makers felt that beauty existed only in those of “fair” skin,
straight hair, and small noses? The under-representation of dark skinned and Afiican
virtual women is an issue that needs to be further looked at in future studies on virtual
women.

Another suggested firture study is a study on the difference in portrayal of female
characters that started out as film or TV characters. For example, Xena, the main
character from the television series “Xena”, and Ripley, the main character from the
Alien movie series, are two characters that started out as “real” super heroines in movies
and on television and were turned into video game characters. Are these characters more
likely to be portrayed in a more realistic manner than virtual women, who were created
from scratch through the minds of game makers? Most likely, yes, because they were not
created fi'om scratch. Even if their attributes are enhanced and altered, they must remain

recognizable as the characters from the movies. For example, Ripley did not have balloon

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breasts. If she did as a video game character, the game may lose credibility or not be
taken as seriously. Nevertheless, an in-depth study is needed.

A study of the portrayal of men in video games is another future study suggestion.
Are men just as stereotyped as women in video games? What are some of the
stereotypes? And do they have more flexibility?

The medium of video games is highly influential, especially to boys. Virtual
women are often the first women young boys spend a lot of time with. These women are
not presented as characters to play with or look at. Video games are an interactive
medium. Thus, the player interacts with the character. Many young boys may view a
virtual woman as their girlfiiend. Hence, the way these women are presented is very
important. These characters are also just another form of the media. In other words, they
present yet another image of women to the world.

The future of virtual women can go in many directions. It could simply be a trend
that will soon dissipate. Or it could continue to develop. The latter is the more likely
predictions.

Virtual women will continue to evolve. They will continue to look more realistic;
their skin more life-like, their facial expressions more detailed, their hair more animated,
and their movements more fluid. They will also continue to be stereotyped. If things
continue going the way they are going, it would not be surprising if the concept of virtual
woman took a dark path.

Down this path, there is more focus on their bodies. She will develop the ability to
talk and even converse with the player. There will be the option of seeing her nude and an

option allowing the player to customize her personality. As the science of virtual reality

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develops, the virtual woman will go down an even darker path. The path of the virtual
woman is dictated by the purpose she serves in the game. As long as her top reason for
being in the game revolves around her looks and her sexuality, the future does not look
too rosy for her.

This study can be used for many things. It can be used to help show how the
media as a whole misrepresents the feminine being. It can, in particular, be used as a
study to strengthen the argument that videogames need to be taken seriously, for young
boys are spending hours playing them. It can also be used to help figure out why girls and
women tend to avoid playing most video games.

As in every study, this study had its flaws. The availability of games was an issue
in that a pertinent game couldn’t be studied. In the gaming arena, the age of a game
greatly reflects its availability. For this reason, Final Fantasy 6 could not be studied.
Another problem with this study was that the images of virtual women in commercials
and in magazines was not studied. The image of the virtual woman exists in more than
just the platform of the actual video game. She is also in magazines, television and
billboards. These images are also part of the portrayal of the fermle in video games,
though not directly in the video games. The more characters studied the better a study is.

Although this study did cover a number of characters, it could be updated

immediately.

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Chapter Seven: Final Note

After researching female characters in video games for over a year, it’s not
surprising to say that I have a few things to say.

The first has to do with the amount of violence in these games. I have watched my
share of scary violent films and television. I’m not someone who actively seeks it out but
it doesn’t deter me from watching something.

That said, I must voice my personal disgust with one game in particular that I was
forced to study. The game Resident Evil 2 was appalling. The amount of violence in the
game was incredible. It makes me shiver to know that vast numbers of young boys in
their teenage years and maybe even younger are playing this game for many hours and
enjoying it.

I found myself only able to play the game at short intervals with lots of time in
between. When I did play it, I had to mute out the sound. There were images of
cannibalism (for, zombies at one time were human beings). With the sound on, I could
hear the crunching and slurping. And there was plenty of blood. The game revolved
around killing these zombies. If they get you, they bite your neck and or pull you to the
ground and feast on you. The game’s environment was dark and dirty. It was like running
around in a horror movie. And the graphics were highly sophisticated and not in a good
way. Some of the things in it, I’d rather have seen in less detail.

All this equals a very unpleasant experience. As with all the games, after playing
them for a while, I’d dream about them when I went to bed. Needless to say, Resident

Evil 2 gave me plenty of nightmares. The game also made me physically nauseated.

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However, I’m sure if I played this game long enough, I’d cease to have this reaction. I’d
become numb, desensitized. I also doubt I’d be as saddened when I see road kill. And I’d
venture to say I might not be as horrified if I were to see someone shoot someone else.
After playing this game, my take on the partial blaming of video games for the recent
brash of school violence has changed.

I see their point now. These games have to have some impact on the player,
especially if the player is young and impressionable. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t
want to kill the zombies. They were so vile that I wanted to put them out of their misery.
Basically, the game made me want to kill. Even if it was all make believe, is that not
somewhat problematic?

The second thing I’d like to discuss a bit were the results of studies done on
female persons and what we look for in games. At first, my hackles went up. There’s
something about clumping a certain group of people into a category and then saying that
they all behave in some particular way. The studies that I encountered said that women
preferred to play with female characters. Studies also showed that women and girls
tended to buy and play certain games, Myst, Riven, Tetris, and Super Mario Brothers
were the most popular.

Nevertheless, I must say that I was more prone to choose female characters to
play with and all the games that studies showed were preferred by women and girls were
my favorite games. The Barbie CD-ROM was the only one that was not on my list of
favorites. This made me feel that there was something behind the studies of female

players and what we (women and girls) like. However, there’s a definite line between

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being just plain discriminating and using studies to help understand something.
Segregating games by sex is not the way to go.

All in all, I learned a lot from doing this study. I came into it feeling that I would
find an even mixture of positive and negative qualities in the virtual woman. What I
found were more negative than positive. There was little variety in the characters that I
came across in my studies. And I’m willing to bet if all the virtual women were studied,
that the same results would be found. If I were Goddess of the world and I could mold,
change and alter video games however I wanted to, here is what I’d do first: add more
variety of female characters. Among the virtual men, I saw plenty of variety. I saw old,
fat, young, skinny, ugly, half-naked, fully clothed, and more racial diversity (though not
much).

The existence of sexy, scantily clad, large-chested, “beautiful” women is not
necessary the problem, it’s the lack of many other types of women. In the real world there
is an infinite number of different types of women, why not represent this diversity in
video games? And thus to young boys? This would not alleviate the issue completely. For
most likely the “beautifirl” characters will be the most popular due to preexisting notions.
However, if I, a Goddess, instilled each and every character with a special talent unique
to only tat character (no talent better or worse than others), more of the problem will chip
away. Each character will develop it’s own beauty, something that makes him or her
special.

Video games are a form of media. Hence they have an impact on the way a large

amount of individuals think and behave. This is very important. And I hope this study is

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taken seriously because, in these days of technology, fantasy is just as important as the

real.

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312—"
L .

APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A

Glossary

Virtual Woman — A playable female video game character (including feminine creatures

that were not necessarily human).

Super heroine - A female character that is a hero. She can be in a comic book, video

game, TV show, etc.

Beauty- 1. The traditional dictionary definition: the quality present in a person or thing
that gives intense aesthetic pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind or the senses
(Webster’s Dictionary). 2. The limited mold created for female characters by video

games.

Action/Adventure Game - Action/adventure games are games such as Tomb Raider,
which stars Lara Croft. In an action/adventure game, the player is a character whose
purpose is to achieve some sort of simple direct goal, i.e., by going through a maze of
caves, fighting wild animals, scaling cliffs and finding one’s way through a tombs in

order to get to the magical. The focus of the game is on adventure. The plot is not terribly
complex or central to the game. The character also stays relatively the same throughout
the game. In other words, he or she does not become able to do a sort of magical move

that he or she was not able to do before. The character does not become more intelligent

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or grow old. If the character does change, this change is relatively small or simple. For

example, Lara Croft accumulates weapons as she moves through the game.

Role Playing Game - A role-playing game is similar to an action/adventure game. In
many ways, the line between the two is not clear-cut. However, typically, what sets them
apart is that in role-playing games the focus is on plot, the story. The plot is more
intricate and important to the game. The plot involves more than just the character being
played with.

Without a strong grasp of the plot, it is virtually impossible to progress very far in
the game. Also, the characters are more detailed; they may have likes and dislikes, react
differently in a situation than another character in the same game, etc. These characters
also develop as one plays, depending on the choices the player makes, whereas in
action/adventure games the pace is fast and requires less brainwork. An example of a
role-playing game is Final Fantasy 7. In Final Fantasy 7, one must stop and talk to
people to figure out where to go. Characters also gain or lose powers as one moves

through the game.

Fighting Game - A fighting game is a game in which the object of the game is to win a
one-on-one fight against an opponent. The setting of the game is almost always within a
tournament. For example, in the Mortal Kombat series the tournament is called Mortal
Kombat. An example of a fighting game is Tekken 3. In the game, a character, Ling
Xiaoyu, for example, competes with others in physical one-to-one combat. The object of

a fighting game is to defeat the opponent. Typical each character has his or her own

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fighting style, the complexity and variety depends on the sophistication of the game. Ling
Xiaoyu’s uses the martial art forms of Hakke Ken and Hike Ken as her style of fighting.

Most of the virtual women are found in fighting games. This is because fighting
games typically allow for significantly more characters to choose fiom than the other two
game types. The Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken series all have over ten
characters. Fighting games were also the game type that initially spurred the

popularization of the virtual women.

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APPENDIX B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Content Analysis
Character Game Ratingfi Type of Game
Aeris Gainsborough Final Fantasy 7 Teen Role Playing
Aya Brea Parasite Eve Mature Role PlayinL
Ayame Tenchu Mature Action/Adventure
Cammy Street F Lghter Alpha 3 Teen Fighting
Chun-Li Street Fighter Alpha 3 Teen Fighting
Claire Redfield Resident Evil 2 Mature Action/Adventure
Julia Chang Tekken 3 Teen Fighting
Kasumi Dead or Alive Teen Fighting
Lara Croft Tomb Raider 3 Teen Action/ Adventure
Liei- Fang Dead or Alive Teen Fighting
Ling Xiaoyu Tekken 3 Teen Fighting
Nina Williams Tekken 3 Teen Fighting
Pai Chan Virtual Fighter Megamix Teen Fighting
Rose Street Fighter Alpha 3 Teen Fighting
Sakura Street Fighter Alpha 3 Teen Fighting
Sarah Bryant Virtual Fighter Megamix Teen Fighting
Shiva Mortal Kombat 3 Mature Fighting
Sindel Mortal Kombat 3 Mature Fighting
Sonya Blade Mortal Kombat 3 Mature Fighting
Tifa Lockheart Final Fantasy 7 Teen Role Playigg
Tina Dead or Alive Teen Fighting
Results 71% Teen 70% Fighting

29% Mature

 

 

 

 

99

 

Role
A Main Character
The Main Character A
A Main Character A
‘ size 86 inches
C
A Main Character
C

The Main Character

A
Above A
A
Above A
A
A

A
C ' A
A Main Character Above A

33% 48% A
14% Above A .5% Small
F' ' Game—40%
47% A 13% Above A
33.3% Above A
33.3% 33.3% A
Action/Adventure 33.3% 66.6% A
1998-40% 50% A 10% Above A
1997- 50 % A 25% 25% Above A

 

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Skin Color Weight Height Body Type
Light N/A 5'3 Athletic
Light N/A N/A Athletic
Light N/A N/A Athletic
Light 101 lbs 5'5 Athletic Plus
Light won't tell 5'8 Curvaceous
Light N/A N/A Athletic
Light 54kg 5'4 Athletic
Light 1051bs 5'5 Curvaceous
Light N/A Curvaceous
Light 1 10le 5'6 Curvaceous
Light 42kg 5'2 Stocky
Light 49kg 5’4 Curvaceous
Light 48kg 5’6 Athletic
Light N/A 178cm Curvaceous
Light 42kg 157cm Athletic
Light 55kg 5’8 Athletic Plus
Dark N/A N/ A Athletic Plus
Light N/A N/A Athletic Plus
Light N/A N/A Stocky
Light N/A 5’4 Athletic Plus
Light 129lbs 5'7 Athletic Plus
95% Light, 5% Dark 29% Curvaceous,
1998-100% Light 29% Athletic Plus,
33% Athletic, 10% Stocky
1998-40% Curvacoues,
30% Athletic,
10% Stocky, 10% Athletic Plus

 

 

 

 

101

 

Lo lim
lim
Medium
lirn
Thick/ Short
Lo lim
Medium
Medium
Lo lim
Lo
Thick/Short
lim
Medium
Muscular/Medium
Lo lim
Medium
Lo
Medium
Medium
lim
Lo
33.3 ' 14% 48%
38% Lo ' 52% Not
5 % Muscular '
10% Thick Short
1998-40% Lo '
10% Thick/
20% 30 % Medium

102

Medium

62% 19%

19%
75% Curvaceous or

1998-40%
20% 40% Medium
Before 1998-81%
19% Short

 

Attitude
Heart of Gold
No Nonsense

S
No Nonsense

Childish
No Nonsense
No Nonsense

DJ

No Nonsense
Childish
Childish

No Nonsense

Childish
No Nonsense
No Nonsense

No Nonsense
S

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
l
2
2
2
3
2
2
3
3
3
3
2
2

Neutral
62% are 5% are 1 43% No N 19% 81%
29% are 4 0% are 3 5% S 14% ' 43% '
1998- 90% are 19% 5% Heart of Go 1998- 80%
10% are 1 5% 40% Rev. 20% Neutral
Before '98- 54% 4 1998-40% No N Before '98- 81 %
46% 2 30%
10% S 20% Childish
9% S 18% '
9% Heart of Gold

 

103

or Taunt Action
N/A N/A
N/A N/A
N/A N/A

2
1 42%are1 58%are2 54%are146%are2
56% did a 1 1998- 20% are l 80% are 2 1998- 83% are l 17% are 2
56% did a Before 1998- 57% are 1 Before 1998- 71% are
43% did 0 a l 43% are 2 29% are 1
44% did 0 a 2
1998- 57% did 0 a
43% did 0 a 2
Before 1998- 67% did a
56% did a 1

 

104

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fighting Method Special Powers How She Falls

Uses a Rod Materia (form of magic) 2
None Parasite Power 2
Ninjitsu (Ninja) None 2
Special Forces None 2
Wu Shu Kung Fu None 1

None None N/A
Various Chinese Martial Arts None 2
Assassin Style Ninjitsu None 1
None None 2
Taikyoke- Ken None 2
Hakke Ken/Hike Ken None 1
Aikido None 2
Ensei— Ken None 2
Soul Power Magic Clothes 2
Karate Shoots Fire Balls 2
Jeet Kune Do None 2
N/A Four Arms 2
N/A Spits Fire, Shreeks, F lys 2
N/A Shoots Rings 2
Uses a Glove None 2
Pro- Wrestling None 2

15% are], 85% are 2
1998-22% are l,
78% are 2
Before '98 —91% are 2,
9% are 1

 

105

 

Characters

22
Unknown 203
21
19
29
Unknown 20s
18
17
31
19
16
22
N/A
Unknown
Unknown 10-14
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
20
22

Under 30- Over
A is 20

 

106

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Type of Being Ethnicity
Human Caucasian
Human Caucasian
Human Chinese
Human N/A
Human Japanese
Hurmn Caucasian
Human Chinese-American
Human Japanese
Human Caucasian (British)
Human Caucasian (American)
Human Chinese
Human Caucasian
Human Caucasian (American)
Human Caucasian (British)
Human Caucasian (Italian)
Hurmn Japanese
Monster N/A

Creature Caucasian
Human Chinese
Human Chinese
Human Japanese

91% Human, 48% Caucasian,
4% Monster, 38% Asian, 14% N/A

 

4% Creature

1998- 50% Caucasian,

 

1998- 100% Human

l

50% Asian

 

 

 

36% Asian, 19% N/A

 

107

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

108

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Andrews, Paul 1992. “Two Front Teeth? Not! Video Games Top The Holiday Gift List.”
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Balsamo, Anne Marie 1996. Technologies of the Gendered Body: Reading Cyborg
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Tomb Raider I, 2, 3

Parasite Eve

110

T ekken 3

Resident Evil 2

Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy Tactics
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo

Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha

Virtual Fighter Megamix

Thnchu

Dead or Alive

GENERAL REFERENCES

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111

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