ghostfishy : Just like there's no evidence that video games make people violent, there's no evidence that video games make people sexist. Video games are a form of entertainment. I don't really want to see people making video games with the intention of changing people's perspectives. I want a fun game not propaganda.

I'm going to say that no. They're not underrepresented, it's more like they're not represented in a way most people want. I've noticed a lot of complaints that women are stereotyped and oversexualized. I will admit that characters like that do exist. However there are a lot of different kinds of women portrayed in gaming.

Many female characters in RPGs and fighting games are shown in a positive light. Look at Fire Emblem(with Lyn, Eirika, Lucina, etc) or even Final Fantasy with Lightning. Soul Caliber, Street Fighter, Tekken all have strong female characters. They're all in what are considered roles for males(they fight and in the case of Fire Emblem they participate in wars).

Other games like Saints Row(I've only played the second and it is very similar to GTA) have female characters acting just as men are.

Modern day games even have stories that revolve around females such as Life is Strange, where a good majority of important characters(that are good) are females.The mascot for the upcoming game Overwatch is female(I'm assuming Tracer is the mascot since she's the one shown the most and is even on the cover of the game). There are also iconic characters like Samus, Lara Croft, and even Peach(who you can play as in the party games and even has her own game).

I've listed so many different kinds of female characters. All of which are portrayed differently from the other. Video games have shown a diverse cast of women as well as men. So because of this diversity(and how many female characters there actually are) I cannot say that they are underrepresented. Even so it would be nice to see more women, since even though there are a plethora of games with female protagonists, there are still more(a lot more) with male main characters.

I like pudding but, I don't think so. There's Tomb Raider, Lollipop Chainsaw and many other games were the main character or player is a female. Also, I think female secondary characters are now given more skills and functions in games for instance Resident Evil Revelations II has the Assistive co-op play so players will need to switch between characters. I think game developers realized there's a big female gamer audience they can tackle and well now, nothing is more romantic than killing zombies or beating a game with your girlfriend/boyfriend so it's nice to see more being done in that aspect. 

In today's age of games, no. I feel like most of the good points have already been taken, but there is one missing. Women are now even in National League sports games like NBA, NHL, Fifa. Also, just a rumor but they might even be in the next Madden game. So I think developers are doing everything they can to try and keep women "involved", even if there isn't a reason for them to be. I'm not trying to say they shouldn't be in video games, but there has to be a certain line.. And with the games I've listed, I feel like that line has been crossed. When was the last time you saw a woman play in the NBA? NHL? I don't know I just feel like this whole perception of women not being represented in games is unfounded. 

While there aren't an equal amount of playable female heroes as there are male heroes. I would say that there are a lot of female characters anyway. Shantae? Fire Emblem? Metroid? Any game where you can make your own character? Well, actually, TAKE IT AWAY UNKNOWN SINGER!



But personally, I agree that some more female heroes would be nice. But if you ask me, it is more important to have a fun and well made game, with a good story and characters with good writing. The gender of the characters isn't what should be driving point of a game, character, or series. The problem is, people write really flat characters of both genders. We need better writers to help make more memorable male AND female characters.

I'm going to go against the crowd here and say yes I feel it still is though there has been progress compared to how it was maybe 10-20 years ago. I agree to a large extent with what ghostfishy said. Now I'm not going to be one of those people who say every game needs strong females because of course there are games that just wouldn't make sense given the context. I actually do still also think games aimed at men specifically should be allowed to exist and vice versa. I don't think it should be the norm however the way it is now.

While there are a lot of female characters in gaming they are given less diverse roles and are very often sexualized. Now while men being portrayed as strong and having big muscles can be seen as sexualizing them too I think it's still obvious most games are aimed at men specifically.

While games  with genuinely good female characters do exist there also exist a ton of games with guy leads that are more realistic seeming while there's typically less as far as women goes. Rise of the Tomb Raider is a great example. It does have a "strong" female lead but Laura Croft is still very much sexualized in an attempt to appeal to men since the game is still mainly aimed at men (in fact that's part of what was so marketed about her in the first place). Which I feel is what most people don't acknowledge when it comes to many games with popular female characters.

So I guess I feel there should be more games that are equally aimed at both males and females. Which by the way doesn't neccessairly require it to even have a female lead all the time. You could say because gaming is male dominated  (at least less casual gaming) it makes sense for more games to be aimed at men but I feel like this is why this would be a good thing. Since more games being aimed at men contributes to why it's a male dominated field in the first place along with just how many in the gaming community treat other females. To understand that, just go to any twitch stream with a female streamer or female gaming channel on youtube like ghostfishy said.

In the end though gaming is just a form of entertainment for me so I'm not really going to care most of the time unless it's a really extreme case. Since I am a male it doesn't really impact me in the same way either. I feel like more progress here would be a good thing though.

Vincent1875 : What's wrong with a change in perspective? It can help one look at something from a different angle rather than their own. It's a part of life to explore through different kinds of people, views, and creations. Video games are not only a form of entertainment but they teach life lessons as well like songs, television shows, books, and etc. They are influential to everyone whether you like to admit or not just like media. You have your perspective on how video games should be to you like I have my own. Nobody is stopping you from playing fun games that you like. 

ghostfishy : I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having different perspectives. I'm saying that it shouldn't be thought of as a primary purpose of games and shouldn't be shoehorned into them. I'm not interested in games being a tool for propaganda. That sort of thinking opens the doors for people like Anita Sarkeesian to come in and say that this or that kind of game is bad. People should make the games they want to make. If they're good then they'll sell.

I think they are. Really a lot of the time when women are in games, they are either a "sidekick" or there as a sex object. So I could understand where females might be kinda upset at the representation they DO have in video games. Especially now since Female gamers are such a big part of the market.

supernerd117 : Well I can see what you mean, but at the same time a female character in tight clothing is no different than a man out of his shirt, people just take it more offensively because women are perceived as the victims I think. Like everyone flipping out over R. Mika in SFV but not saying a word about "Sexy" Ryu. Showing flesh is showing flesh, but women were sexualized for so long in games that everyone is more sensitive about it. So while I'm all for stopping the sexualization of women in games, I'm also for opening the general public's eyes about sexualization of men in games and stopping that as well. Games should sell because they're fun and entertaining. I would also point out that a woman having large breasts in a game doesn't make it an attempt to sexualize them. Some women just do, and some men just have large muscles. What matters is how they are portrayed.

But I'm getting off topic so I'll move on.

I do agree that it would be great to see more good games with good stories and female leads that aren't trying to be sexy, but I also don't think we "need" them. I think developers should make them because they make sense and make a good character, and not because there's an agenda in mind.


ghostfishy : Similar to what I said to supernerd117, I agree but I think the problem of stereotypical portrayal is affecting more than just female characters in games. Basically it feels like many story writers are lacking in originality with character designs. Take for example, most popular games from the past decade that star a man, study them and you'll see a trend: early thirties, white, good shape, slight amount of stubble...because all men have great muscle definition and only shave every three days. Lol And of course all of their action packed adventures happen toward the end of those three days to maximize stubble.
And so all women are super thin, wear DD size bras, and dress in revealing clothing, because what woman in real life wouldn't charge into a sword fight in a metal bikini?

So basically I agree that many are portrayed as sexual stereotypes, but also men are as well. Look at Nathan Drake, Ryu, or really just about any other male lead since PS3/Xbox 360 and say they weren't meant to be attractive. Even the male leads in games that are marketed to men are good looking. I think modern entertainment is just obsessed with good looking people, and as a result they try to find society's "ideal" appearance and model game characters after them. The simple solution would be to make characters that better reflect normal people. For example, how come no skinny guys go on Uncharted style adventures? Or why are no slightly heavier men or women ever leads in a game?

In the end I don't think we "need" game developers to make characters that portray a different side, just to stop making games about sex appeal. We have too much propaganda trying to sneak it's way into gaming already, so pushing an agenda doesn't appeal to me, but cutting back on sex appeal like you mention does.
So yeah...basically I agree. Lol


Nexorla : Well said. I think a lot of games do portray them improperly, but I also think that more of an issue is made about those than is necessary. Games doubtless had an era where most women were made that way, but it's in the past and we're moving forward. There are tons of great female leads out there, and though I would love to see more GOOD female characters, I don't think we're really lacking in that area anymore.


Domdof : Now those are some examples of what I said earlier: forcing characters into settings where they don't belong. Making a women's league version makes sense, but not those. That would make as much sense as putting men in an LPGA game.


A user of this : So much that! You sir have hit the nail on the head. We don't have a problem with equality, we have a problem with writers. Thankfully Naughty Dog is getting stories right and bringing in a heavy focus on story. It seems to be catching on too. If only they could shake game stereotypes (mid thirties, stubble faced men rule the world! ).


Zlinqx : Well with Lara Croft you have to remember her character was born in the mid nineties when womanizing content abounded in games. Also I hate what Crystal Dynamics(?) has done with Lara. They made her weaker and even got her name wrong. I mean seriously, did they even play the original games?

And while we could argue that Lara having large breasts (sorry if this seems to not be family friendly) is to attract male gamers, could we not also argue that games with shirtless overly exaggerated muscled men are trying to appeal to women? Tomb Raider (to my knowledge) doesn't have any other aspects to make it be considered male oriented or targeted at men aside from Lara's body, but again, she was made in the nineties. Also some women are actually built that way, so I don't agree with saying a female character is sexualized because she looks like some real women do in real life. Granted not all women look that way, but why do we make women feel like it's a bad thing to look that way? A culture shock video on YouTube addressed this same thing, and I feel they said it much better than I can (on here at least). I highly recommend checking it out.

As for female YouTube channels, I haven't noticed GadgetGirlKylie (only female YouTube I've watched) getting treated poorly. Granted I don't often read the comments in their entirety. I do understand womanizing comments are an issue, but sadly that's as much a society issue as it is a game issue.


Gosh...this whole topic change on everyone's part tempts me to make a new thread altogether for this.

Eirinn: I didn't really deny that, I'm just saying that's the case with a lot of these strong female protagonist games today. Sure there are women built like that but they're in the minority just like most men aren't big muscular body builders. I think it's still pretty clear what the intention of her character was. My point that even though games like that have a female lead they're still aimed at men primarily, not women. You see that with metroid too, ever since zero suit Samus became more of a regular thing and don't even get me started on Bayonetta.

I think you skimmed through my post since I did bring the point about muscular men up. While there may be some few cases of that being to try and appeal to women I think in most cases it's still trying to appeal mainly to men like for example to make you feel powerful. Take Call of Duty or Gears of War, for example. Obviously features muscular guys, but it's obviously still both games that are aimed at men not trying to appeal to women. Because in that setting the game wouldn't be as fun if the characters looked closer to how the average person does.

The point I'm making is that, my gripe isn't with the sexualizing of characters per say because like I said I do feel like games like that should be allowed to exist (yes even DoA ) we like to see more idealized characters in some games. It's more with how most games are either solely or at least very much aimed at men or teenage boys in stead of trying to appeal to both men and women. With women as a side effect of that having much less diverse roles. Which I also feel is contributing to why hardcore gaming is such a male dominated market.

Zlinqx : No, I read where you said that. That's why I brought it up actually. And I agree that not all males portrayed that way are intended as such, just like I said not all women portrayed as Lara were meant that way, though I do feel that they are meant that way at times. And really the issue in my post wasn't so much about using them that way as it was about them being the norm. Basically developers (for various reasons) try to give every character an "ideal" body. And more often than not it's to be attractive. And as I said to ghostfishy, there's no denying most male characters are made with intention of them being sexy. Again, Nathan Drake anyone? That stubble isn't for dramatic effect. Lol xD

But I didn't mean to sidetrack from your point. You made valid points and I definitely appreciated the feedback.

Barathemos :   I would have to say no just on my own personal experiences.  Some, if not most of the greatest characters I have come across were female, such as Aerith and Tifa from Final fantasy 7, Samus from Metroid, Terra from Final Fantasy 3, Yuna and Lulu from Final Fantasy X ( I am a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series by the way )  Marle from Chrono Trigger was always a must.  Any great rpg has incredibly strong, well rounded female characters.

I don't think you're likely to find many normal looking main characters in games for the same reason you won't find them in movies(except comedies). Good looking people draw more people in.. It's also why Barbies and Bratz look the way they do despite being targeted at little girls. Besides most game characters are highly athletic to start with so it makes sense for them to be in good shape.