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Hypersexualization of female avatars, cyberbullying: not easy to be a gamer!

2022-05-19T10:15:42.514Z


The stereotypes of female game characters, the heaviness of certain gamers and sometimes even gender-based cyberbullying make people cringe.


Disproportionate shapes, bloodthirsty fights in panties, lascivious voices and seductive eyes… The female avatars of video games are a far cry from their male counterparts, who are reasonably muscular and dressed appropriately for confrontations.

An essential example of the virtual super-girl, Lara Croft has been making a name for herself for two decades in Tomb Raider, most often dressed in mini-shorts and a crop top revealing both her cleavage and her navel.

Not many clothes for an explorer archaeologist who ventures across the world in ancient ruins full of dangers.

And yet, not enough to discourage the players, who are more and more numerous in France.

The statistics thus show an almost equal practice of video games: today, so-called regular players are made up of 53% men and 47% women.

Are they insensitive to the hypersexualization of the avatars supposed to represent them on the screen?

Far from there.

“I absolutely do not recognize myself in these characters”

Juliette, a 24-year-old seasoned gamer, estimates that she spends around four hours a day on the screen playing her favorite video game characters.

Among his favorite games are The Biding of Isaac, a PC action game in which the character explores a dungeon infested with monsters that must be fought;

or League of Legends, a strategy game in which two teams of five compete to destroy the opposing base.

"I am unable to identify with the female avatars, I absolutely do not recognize myself in these vulgar and stupid characters", she laments.

And for good reason, a large majority of the proposed champions are hypersexualized both in their outfits and in their attitude, whether for example Zyra, Vi,

Left to right hypersexualized League of Legends characters Jinx, Morgana, Ahri

With the aim of raising awareness and initiating a real reflection on the subject, the Women in Games association recently carried out the #GenderSwap experiment, widely relayed on social networks.

The principle is simple, it's about revisiting the biggest video game licenses by exchanging the animations of male and female characters, that is to say by reversing their behavior.

The playful video puts the ideas in place: Batman who wiggles, adopts suggestive poses or dances sensually allows an awareness of these same behaviors which, in the feminine, no longer shock out of habit.

Potiches of service thirsty for seduction, the vast majority of the female characters then seem constantly ridiculed.

"You don't need a bulletproof vest, just use your boobs"

"Never again online games", insists Juliette.

A few years ago, the student played a lot of World of Warcraft, another online game in which the player communicates with others, via a microphone or a team chat.

“I played a female character with a nickname of the same kind.

As soon as I activated the microphone, I took sexist remarks or insults.

Men can't bear to lose at all, but then against a girl... It's sad" she recalls, who to flee sexism has only played solo games since 2016.

Starting from the observation that 77% of female gamers have already suffered cyberbullying, the media CulturePub conducted a social experiment last March in which a Norwegian professional video game player, Joakim Myrbostad, embodies a female character from the game for a game. CS:GO.

The slogan of the experience "Don't change your name, change the game", refers to the 59% of gamers who use a male nickname to avoid sexism.

The player, equipped with a vocal modulator assimilating his voice to that of a woman, does not recover from the remarks that burst out like "you don't need a bulletproof vest, you just have to use your boobs,” to name the least.

"Slowing the spiral of online harassment"

"There is an urgent need to slow down the spiral of online harassment," said Christopher Klippel, president of the association We Are All Gamers (NSTG) and initiator of the #WePlayAsOne movement on social networks.

Fighting against all forms of cyberbullying in the world of gaming, the association wants to raise awareness among players, influencers, content creators, and even developers.

“The goal of the movement is to propose a law obliging social media platforms to communicate the contact details of harassers in cases of extreme statements such as death threats or rape,” he explains.

We are happy to announce the launch of the @Asso_NSTG!

Discover now our presentation video, our first actions and our #WePlayAsOne movement!

https://t.co/HRAq199KB1



Ready to join the movement?

#NSTG pic.twitter.com/WdKhAZvAAI

— Association #NSTG (@Asso_NSTG) December 1, 2021

If for him the hypersexualization of female avatars certainly disturbs the vision of women that some players have, the main problem of cyberbullying remains the conscious impunity of harassers on social networks.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2022-05-19

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