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Video Games Promote Sexism

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Do Video Games Promote Sexism?

Did you know that a new statistic has determined approximately 48% of all “gamers” are female? Recently many feminist journalists use this study as evidence that video game culture is falling behind in terms of appealing to a female audience, and that a culture of sexism and misogyny is perpetuated and rampant throughout videogames. As a component of this culture we must question whether these accusations are valid.

In order to understand this argument we must answer the question, what is a gamer? According to this study a gamer is anyone who plays, however occasionally, any form of game including mobile games like “Clash of Clans” or “Candy Crush”. Even a person who played “Pong” even a single time in the 1980s …show more content…
My answer is no. When looking at the literature published on gaming, gamers are generally painted in a bad light. Most gamers are male, and the games they play are action packed, competitive, violent and are played frequently. Gamers have long faced disapproval from all of society whether it be teachers, researchers, politicians and even their own parents! For years games like “GTA” and “Mortal Kombat” were believed to motivate violence, even though nobody was able to establish a clear correlation. Those concerns have dissipated soon after the “Psychological Bulletin” published an article in 2010 declaring the video game scare was much ado about nothing, with one statistic even showing that an increase in videogame sales results in a decreasing youth crime …show more content…
Why aren't games more inclusive, why are the protagonists generally males, why are women seen as damsels in distress or sex objects? These critics have made valid points concerning tropes that encompass video game culture, but at the same time cherry pick their arguments and ignore the fact that gaming is now more inclusive than ever. There are games that encompass a vast array of preferences with reasonably proportioned and appropriately dressed female protagonists. Feminist policing on videogames have become harsh, intolerant, even relentless to the point where rather than wanting more women on both sides of the screen, they want male oriented video game culture to disappear as a whole. Male gamers as a group have a strong preference towards games with male heroes and attractive women, this most likely is credited to these gamers being male. There is no evidence that games that have these traits make men misogynistic, racist, homophobic or violent, instead evidence is saying people born in the 2000’s, the same who grew up with videogames, are far less prone to these prejudices than any previous

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