Landmarks in Gender Representation in
Video Gaming History
Our Project
The world of gaming has experienced unprecedented growth, evolving from niche entertainment into a multi-billion-dollar industry that spans across platforms, genres, and demographics. However, alongside this remarkable progress, a persistent and concerning issue continues to cast a shadow over the gaming landscape: gender based discrimination. Despite the increasing diversity of players and creators, gender-based discrimination persists, tarnishing the inclusive potential that gaming has to offer.
Our final project investigates gender based discrimination within the gaming industry and what factors may cause it to perpetuate. Specifically, we explore the representation of gender, sexualization of characters, and gender dynamics in top selling video games. We hope to reveal correlations with those factors with things such as the percentage of non-male game developers within teams.
To do this, we have selected the data set “Gender Representation in Video Games”. This dataset contains data on 64 video games releases between 2012 and 2022. The games have been selected for being the best-selling or top-rated games of their year. There are at least 5 games per year and information on the most relevant characters in the storyline. Games had meta-information such as average review scores, genre, and development team gender distributions. Each character in the game was assigned an age, playability, sexualization, and relevance. Sexualization was determined by appropriate clothing, objectification, cliché roles, and cutscenes.
Research Questions
Our research study focused on these three research questions.
- Which video game genres have the most non-male character representation from 2012 to 2022?
- What is the diversity of character gender representations in video games during the past decade?
- How does the ratio of female to male developers affect the sexualization of characters, and what is the trend observed in the diversity and inclusivity of character representations in video games over time?
Significance
As a research team, we are working on this project that delves into the analysis of sexualization and gender representation in video games because we want to find out how gender dynamics within the video game industry impact game development and perpetuate sexist stereotypes of gender. This research addresses a crucial aspect that has not received extensive attention in the existing literature, allowing us to shed light on the gender disparities within the gaming industry and their profound influence on how women are portrayed in games. By exploring the connections between gender dynamics, game development, and representations, we aim to help others understand the significant impact of these factors on shaping the gaming experience and the broader implications they hold for promoting inclusivity and diversity within the industry. Ultimately, as a team, we hope that our research will contribute to fostering a more inclusive and equitable gaming environment, while also promoting a greater understanding of the complexities surrounding sexualization and gender representation in video games.
