Sexism in Gaming

I’m a little bit new to the gaming world, having just purchased a PlayStation 2 for our kids this Christmas. Prior to that my experience with gaming systems included a Sega Genesis and if I really want to date myself I would mention Atari, although my family never owned one.

I did have one of these midway Pac-man machines, tho, and I am pretty sure that my determination to beat that machine is the reason I have to wear contacts or glasses at all times. Sexism in gaming back then was pretty much non-existent, at least on the games I played. Things seemed pretty fair – I mean there was Pac-Man and then there was Ms. Pac-Man – both with equal chomping abilities. Nowadays the video gaming industry has exploded and so has the gender stereotyping.

My video game interests mimic my personality to a tee. Being an INTJ, I love “system building” games like The Sims or anything else with a definite thinking strategy involved. So far, I have enjoyed the Sims (although in my first attempt at playing the game I admit I set the house on fire trying to cook and ended up killing my character because I couldn’t find the phone to call the Fire Department). Yeah, she was toast.

I have yet to encounter anything sexist in The Sims, however, I am aware that it does exist in other varieties of their games. I do have issues with the cover of the box. Take a look at the photo on the right. Does that girl in the blue top look a tad skinny to you? Get real. No one looks like that in real life. Cartoons shouldn’t look like that either.

I decided to do a little research on sexism in the gaming world. I figure there must be plenty of gender-stereotyping and discrimination out there and I should be aware of it so I can make sure to avoid buying games for my family that promote such things. What I found was staggering to say the least. I was aware of violence in various games, but I had no idea that included prostitution, rape, and killing women for extra points.

I don’t want to re-hash all the gory details from the various games, but let’s just say that this web site gives a really good description of games to avoid and why. It’s basically a rant by a female gamer who was fed up with being served a message by the gaming industry that she is “a brainless piece of trash and that any value I may have as a human being is to be based upon my sexuality.” Be advised – there are some rather graphic portrayals from such games as Grand Theft Auto, Blood Rayne, Ridge Racer and a few other extremely popular games.

I would like to hear from some of you female gamers on what games you recommend that don’t treat women as sex objects. Do they exist? I’d like to add a list on this site for reference. Please post your recommendations below. Thanks!