Video games are a multibillion dollar industry and a form of media in their own right. Which is precisely why it’s so important for people like Anita Sarkeesian — a media critic and the creator of Feminist Frequency — to speak out against sexism and misogyny in games. Her web series, Tropes vs. Women in… Continue Reading →
Fun, games, and misogyny at E3
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is meant to highlight upcoming video games and advances in game technology. But this year’s event, which took place from June 11-13th, was overshadowed by a few unfortunate incidents that highlighted the still-present sexism in video game culture instead. On the first day of E3, feminist video game critic, Anita Sarkeesian, tweeted… Continue Reading →
A damsel in progress: analyzing BioShock Infinite’s Elizabeth
From Peach to Zelda, the damsel in distress is a classic video game figure. Countless games have featured the helpless princess in need of rescuing, and despite its blatant sexism, the trope is still widely used. When Irrational Games’ BioShock: Infinite was released March 26th, female character Elizabeth seemed to be just another damsel in… Continue Reading →
The reinvention of girl power: new Lara Croft is still a bad-ass, with a new bra
Since Tomb Raider’s debut in 1996, the game’s hero, Lara Croft, has been most every adolescent boy’s dream and every grown woman’s nightmare. Despite her bad-ass moves, Lara’s body—most notably a pair of laughably enormous breasts—has always been overtly objectified and sexualized. But in the most recent iteration of the Tomb Raider franchise, Tomb Raider:… Continue Reading →
Let girls be the heroes for a change
A couple of weeks ago, the Huffington Post released a pretty phenomenal article about gender representation in the virtual world. Mike Hoye, a self-employed programmer, was tired of the enormous gender gap between strong male and female characters in video games. He and his three-and-a-half year old daughter Maya regularly played Zelda: Windwaker together. Link,… Continue Reading →
A media juggling act
When I read about media multi-tasking, or the act of using multiple screens at once, my mind jumped to a vision: a child watching the images of an advertisement on a muted television screen–“dial this number for weight loss supplements!”—while hearing a commercial between songs on Pandora—“stop by for our new double bacon Hawaiian burger”—while… Continue Reading →
Game designer Jane McGonigal shows that gaming can change the world
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Crowdstar’s new mobile game app for girls, Top Girl. I was disheartened that a game targeted at girls and careers only allowed you to aspire to be a model and have a boyfriend. After reading the article, a friend – no doubt trying to cheer me up – directed… Continue Reading →
Top Girl: A new way to train girls to be vacuous fashionistas
Crowdstar, a game developer specializing in Facebook games, has just released their first mobile-only title aimed at girls: Top Girl. Top Girl is a social role-playing game wherein players can use real money to purchase in-game money, or earn money through modeling jobs, to make in-app purchases of clothes, hairstyles and more. The app description… Continue Reading →
Foolish Games: Breaking My Heart
“Power,” “glory,” and “women” are all objects to seize in R2Games’ “Ceasary.” I mean a woman gamer, of course. I grew up playing video games. Zelda for the SNES is one of my happiest childhood memories. I always have my eye open for new ways to while away my downtime. But what was this I… Continue Reading →