Power Relationships as Understood by Michel Foucault in Female Roles in Computer Games in the Two First Decades of the 21st Century
Abstract
In one of the most popular media of contemporary culture, which are computer games, there is an informal message encoded, which may discourage women from playing. It involves unrealistically slim and exposed bodies of female avatars. One of the reasons for the sexualisation of women in games is the fact that the designers of games are usually men. They create not only fantasies about women, but also about themselves – men are supposed to act, and women are supposed to be attractive. However, these are not blameless fantasies, but the outcome of social arrangements. The thesis regarding the patriarchal structure in the industry is reinforced by data showing that the sexualisation of women does not equal sales success. The author addresses research on the female gender stereotype contained in computer games over the past two decades, providing her own narrative as a commentary on the findings of the most important of these studies.
Keywords:
roles of females within video game culture, female protagonists in games, gender stereotype, male gaze, computer gamesReferences
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Behm-Morawitz, Elizabeth; i Mastro, Dana. 2009. The Effects of the Sexualization of Female Video Game Characters on Gender Stereotyping and Female Self-Concept. Sex Roles, 61 (11–12), s. 808–823.
Belsey, Catherine. 2002. Poststructuralism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bergey, Bradley W.; Ketelhut, Diane J.; Liang, Senfeng; Natarajan, Uma; i Karakus, Melissa. 2015. Scientific Inquiry Self-Efficacy and Computer Game Self-Efficacy as Predictors and Outcomes of Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Performance in a Science Assessment in a Virtual Environment. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24 (5), s. 696–708.
Bielecki, Maksymilian. 2015. Przyjemne z pożytecznym? – badania nad wpływem gier komputerowych na procesy poznawcze. Wszechświat, 116 (1–3), s. 26–30.
Bogucka, Maria. 2005. Gorsza płeć. Kobieta w dziejach Europy od antyku po wiek XXI. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Trio.
Chess, Shira. 2017. Ready Player Two: Women Gamers and Designed Identity. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Collins, Lorna. 2017. Mulvey, Patriarchy and Gender: Expression and Disruption in Visual Art.
New Review on Film and Television Studies, 15 (4), s. 415–420.
Dietz, Tracy L. 1998. An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior. Sex Roles, 38, s. 425–442.
Downs, Edward; i Smith, Stacy L. 2010. Keeping Abreast of Hypersexuality: A Video Game Character Content Analysis. Sex Roles, 62, s. 721–733.
Dziamski, Grzegorz. 2018. Estetyka wobec feminizmu. Dyskurs. Pismo naukowo-artystyczne ASP we Wrocławiu, 25, s. 40–66.
Ferguson, Christopher J.; i Donnellan, M. Brent. 2017. Are Associations between “Sexist” Video Games and Decreased Empathy toward Women Robust? A Reanalysis of Gabbiadini et al. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46 (12), s. 2446–2459.
Fisher, Howard D. 2015. Sexy, Dangerous – and Ignored: An In-Depth Review of the Representation of Women in Select Video Game Magazines. Games Cult, 10 (6), s. 551–570.
Foucault, Michel. 2009. Nadzorować i karać. Narodziny więzienia. Tłum. Tadeusz Komendant. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Aletheia.
Gutting, Gary. 2005. Foucault. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Helios, Joanna; i Jedlecka, Wioletta. 2018. Urzeczywistnianie idei feminizmu w ogólnoświatowym dyskursie o kobietach. Wrocław: E-Wydawnictwo. Prawnicza i Ekonomiczna Biblioteka Cyfrowa.Wydział Prawa, Administracji i Ekonomii Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.
Kaye, Linda K.; Gresty, Claire E.; i Stubbs-Ennis, Natasha. 2017. Exploring Stereotypical Perceptions of Female Players in Digital Gaming Contexts. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20 (12), s. 740–745.
Kaye, Linda K.; i Pennington, Charlotte R. 2016. “Girls Can’t Play”: The Effects of Stereotype Threat on Females’ Gaming Performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, s. 202–209.
Le Diberder, Alain; i Le Diberder, Frédéric. 1998. Lʼunivers des jeux vidéo. Paris: La Découverte.
Lopez-Fernandez, Olatz; Williams, A. Jess; Griffiths, Mark D.; i Kuss, Daria J. 2019a. Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, s. 1–14.
Lopez-Fernandez, Olatz; Williams, A. Jess; i Kuss, Daria J. 2019b. Measuring Female Gaming: Gamer Profile, Predictors, Prevalence, and Characteristics from Psychological and Gender Perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, s. 1–13.
Lynch, Teresa; Tompkins, Jessica E.; van Driel, Irene I.; i Fritz, Niki. 2016. Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 years. Journal of Communications, 66 (4), s. 564–584.
McLean, Lavinia; i Griffiths, Mark D. 2013. Female Gamers: A Thematic Analysis of Their Gaming Experience. The International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 3 (3), s. 54–71.
Mou, Yi; i Peng, Wei. 2008. Gender and Racial Stereotypes in Popular Video Games. W: Ferdig,
Richard E. (ed.). Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education. Hershey – New York: IGI Global, s. 922–937.
Paaßen, Benjamin; Morgenroth, Thekla; i Stratemeyer, Michelle. 2017. What Is a True Gamer? The Male Gamer Stereotype and the Marginalization of Women in Video Game Culture. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 76 (7–8), s. 421–435.
Petrowicz, Marcin. 2016. Gry wideo – medium XXI wieku. W: Gałuszka, Damian; Ptaszek, Grzegorz; i Żuchowska-Skiba, Dorota (red.). Technokultura: transhumanizm i sztuka cyfrowa. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Libron, s. 155–171.
Shen, Cuihua; Ratan, Rabindra; Cai, Y. Dora; i Leavitt, Alex. 2016. Do Men Advance Faster Than Women? Debunking the Gender Performance Gap in Two Massively Multiplayer Online Games. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 21 (4), s. 312–329.
Stasieńko, Jan. 2011. Gry komputerowe – jestem na „tak”, jestem na „nie”. Zagrożenia, szanse i wyzwania rozrywki komputerowej. Wrocław: Dolnośląska Szkoła Wyższa.
Stasiuk-Krajewska, Karina. 2018. Media i dziennikarstwo. Struktury dyskursu i hegemonia. Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa.
Szpunar, Magdalena. 2012. Nowe-stare medium. Internet między tworzeniem nowych modeli komunikacyjnych a reprodukowaniem schematów komunikowania masowego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk.
Vermeulen, Lotte; Nunez Castellar, Elena P.; i Van Looy, Jan. 2014. Challenging the Other: Exploring the Role of Opponent Gender in Digital Game Competition for Female Players. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17 (5), s. 303–309.
Wang, Ziliang; Hu, Yanbo; Zheng, Hui; Yuan, Kai; Du, Xiaoxia; i Dong, Guangheng. 2019. Females Are More Vulnerable to Internet Gaming Disorder Than Males: Evidence from Cortical Thickness Abnormalities. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 283, s. 145–153.
Warzecha, Adam. 2014. Krytyczna analiza dyskursu (KAD) w ujęciu Normana Fairclougha. Zarys problematyki. Konteksty Kultury. Pismo Kolegium Nauczycielskiego w Bielsku-Białej, 11 (2), s. 164–189.
Yao, Mike Z.; Mahood, Chad; i Linz, Daniel. 2010. Sexual Priming, Gender Stereotyping, and Likelihood to Sexually Harass: Examining the Cognitive Effects of Playing a Sexually-Explicit Video Game. Sex Roles, 62 (1), s. 77–88.
Netografia
Blore, Jocelyn. 2017. Women Breaking Barriers in the Video Game Industry. [Online]. University of Silicon Valley. Dostęp: https://usv.edu/blog/women-breaking-barriers-in-the-video-game-industry/ [7.01.2020].
Caddy, Becca. 17.02.2020. ‛I Was Always Told I Was Unusual’: Why So Few Women Design Video Games. The Guardian. [Online]. The Guardian. Dostęp: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/feb/17/i-was-always-told-i-was-unusual-why-so-few-women-design-video-games [23.09.2020].
Kędzierski, Michał. 2017. Game studies – nurty. [Online]. Gry Wideo. Dostęp: https://grywideoblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/game-studies-nurty/ [12.01.2020].
Melosik, Zbyszko. 1998. Konstruowanie kobiecości i „męskie oko”. W: Nurczyńska-Fidelska, Ewelina; i Batko, Zbigniew (red.). Media a przemoc. Łódź: Centralny Gabinet Edukacji Filmowej Dzieci i Młodzieży. [Online]. EdukacjaFilmowa.pl. Dostęp: http://edukacjafilmowa.pl/konstruowanie--kobiecosci-i-meskie-oko/ [7.01.2020].
OʼBrien, Lucy. 2017. Women in Video Game Development in 2017: A Snapshot. [Online]. IGN– Imagine Games Network. Dostęp: https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/12/20/women-in-videogame-development-in-2017-a-snapshot [7.01.2020].
Sampson, Rachael. 2015. Film Theory 101 – Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory. [Online]. Film Inquiry. Dostęp: https://www.filminquiry.com/film-theory-basics-laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/ [7.01.2020].
Taylor, Mark. 2020. UK Games Industry Census: Understanding Diversity in the UK Games Industry Workforce. [Online]. UK Interactive Entertainment. Dostęp: https://ukie.org.uk/UK-games-industry-census-2020 [23.09.2020].
Yee, Nick. 2019. Female Gamers Want to Kill You, Just not with Guns. [Online]. Medium. Dostęp: https://medium.com/ironsource-levelup/female-gamers-want-to-kill-you-just-not-with-guns-bd62ee91916b [23.09.2020].
Gry cyfrowe
Final Fantasy VI. 1994. Twórcy: Yoshinori Kitase, Hiroyuki Itō, Yoshitaka Amano, Tetsuya Nomura i in. Gra konsolowa, jednoosobowa, typu jRPG (tzw. japońska gra fabularna). Japonia: Square Co., Ltd.
Metroid. 1986. Twórcy: Satoru Okada, Hiroji Kiyotake, Makoto Kano i in. Gra konsolowa, jednoosobowa, przygodowa gra akcji. Japonia: Nintendo.
Ms. Pac-Man. 1981. [B. a.]. Gra komputerowa, jednoosobowa, zręcznościowa, typu labirynt. USA: Midway Games.
Street Fighter II. 1991. Twórcy: Akira Yasuda, Akira Nishitani, Eri Nakamura i in. Gra komputerowa, jednoosobowa/dwuosobowa, typu fighting game (tzw. bijatyka). Japonia: Capcom.
Tomb Raider. 1996. Twórcy: Toby Gard, Heather Gibson, Neal Boyd i in. Gra jednoosobowa, przygodowa gra akcji. USA: Eidos Interactive.
Beasley, Berrin; i Standley, Tracy C. 2009. Shirts vs. Skins: Clothing as an Indicator of Gender Role Stereotyping in Video Games. Mass Communication and Society, 5 (3), s. 279–293.
Beauvoir, Simone de. 2014. Druga płeć. Tłum. Gabriela Mycielska i Maria Leśniewska. Warszawa: Czarna Owca.
Behm-Morawitz, Elizabeth; i Mastro, Dana. 2009. The Effects of the Sexualization of Female Video Game Characters on Gender Stereotyping and Female Self-Concept. Sex Roles, 61 (11–12), s. 808–823.
Belsey, Catherine. 2002. Poststructuralism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bergey, Bradley W.; Ketelhut, Diane J.; Liang, Senfeng; Natarajan, Uma; i Karakus, Melissa. 2015. Scientific Inquiry Self-Efficacy and Computer Game Self-Efficacy as Predictors and Outcomes of Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Performance in a Science Assessment in a Virtual Environment. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24 (5), s. 696–708.
Bielecki, Maksymilian. 2015. Przyjemne z pożytecznym? – badania nad wpływem gier komputerowych na procesy poznawcze. Wszechświat, 116 (1–3), s. 26–30.
Bogucka, Maria. 2005. Gorsza płeć. Kobieta w dziejach Europy od antyku po wiek XXI. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Trio.
Chess, Shira. 2017. Ready Player Two: Women Gamers and Designed Identity. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Collins, Lorna. 2017. Mulvey, Patriarchy and Gender: Expression and Disruption in Visual Art.
New Review on Film and Television Studies, 15 (4), s. 415–420.
Dietz, Tracy L. 1998. An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior. Sex Roles, 38, s. 425–442.
Downs, Edward; i Smith, Stacy L. 2010. Keeping Abreast of Hypersexuality: A Video Game Character Content Analysis. Sex Roles, 62, s. 721–733.
Dziamski, Grzegorz. 2018. Estetyka wobec feminizmu. Dyskurs. Pismo naukowo-artystyczne ASP we Wrocławiu, 25, s. 40–66.
Ferguson, Christopher J.; i Donnellan, M. Brent. 2017. Are Associations between “Sexist” Video Games and Decreased Empathy toward Women Robust? A Reanalysis of Gabbiadini et al. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46 (12), s. 2446–2459.
Fisher, Howard D. 2015. Sexy, Dangerous – and Ignored: An In-Depth Review of the Representation of Women in Select Video Game Magazines. Games Cult, 10 (6), s. 551–570.
Foucault, Michel. 2009. Nadzorować i karać. Narodziny więzienia. Tłum. Tadeusz Komendant. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Aletheia.
Gutting, Gary. 2005. Foucault. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Helios, Joanna; i Jedlecka, Wioletta. 2018. Urzeczywistnianie idei feminizmu w ogólnoświatowym dyskursie o kobietach. Wrocław: E-Wydawnictwo. Prawnicza i Ekonomiczna Biblioteka Cyfrowa.Wydział Prawa, Administracji i Ekonomii Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.
Kaye, Linda K.; Gresty, Claire E.; i Stubbs-Ennis, Natasha. 2017. Exploring Stereotypical Perceptions of Female Players in Digital Gaming Contexts. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20 (12), s. 740–745.
Kaye, Linda K.; i Pennington, Charlotte R. 2016. “Girls Can’t Play”: The Effects of Stereotype Threat on Females’ Gaming Performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, s. 202–209.
Le Diberder, Alain; i Le Diberder, Frédéric. 1998. Lʼunivers des jeux vidéo. Paris: La Découverte.
Lopez-Fernandez, Olatz; Williams, A. Jess; Griffiths, Mark D.; i Kuss, Daria J. 2019a. Female Gaming, Gaming Addiction, and the Role of Women within Gaming Culture: A Narrative Literature Review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, s. 1–14.
Lopez-Fernandez, Olatz; Williams, A. Jess; i Kuss, Daria J. 2019b. Measuring Female Gaming: Gamer Profile, Predictors, Prevalence, and Characteristics from Psychological and Gender Perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, s. 1–13.
Lynch, Teresa; Tompkins, Jessica E.; van Driel, Irene I.; i Fritz, Niki. 2016. Sexy, Strong, and Secondary: A Content Analysis of Female Characters in Video Games across 31 years. Journal of Communications, 66 (4), s. 564–584.
McLean, Lavinia; i Griffiths, Mark D. 2013. Female Gamers: A Thematic Analysis of Their Gaming Experience. The International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 3 (3), s. 54–71.
Mou, Yi; i Peng, Wei. 2008. Gender and Racial Stereotypes in Popular Video Games. W: Ferdig,
Richard E. (ed.). Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education. Hershey – New York: IGI Global, s. 922–937.
Paaßen, Benjamin; Morgenroth, Thekla; i Stratemeyer, Michelle. 2017. What Is a True Gamer? The Male Gamer Stereotype and the Marginalization of Women in Video Game Culture. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 76 (7–8), s. 421–435.
Petrowicz, Marcin. 2016. Gry wideo – medium XXI wieku. W: Gałuszka, Damian; Ptaszek, Grzegorz; i Żuchowska-Skiba, Dorota (red.). Technokultura: transhumanizm i sztuka cyfrowa. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Libron, s. 155–171.
Shen, Cuihua; Ratan, Rabindra; Cai, Y. Dora; i Leavitt, Alex. 2016. Do Men Advance Faster Than Women? Debunking the Gender Performance Gap in Two Massively Multiplayer Online Games. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 21 (4), s. 312–329.
Stasieńko, Jan. 2011. Gry komputerowe – jestem na „tak”, jestem na „nie”. Zagrożenia, szanse i wyzwania rozrywki komputerowej. Wrocław: Dolnośląska Szkoła Wyższa.
Stasiuk-Krajewska, Karina. 2018. Media i dziennikarstwo. Struktury dyskursu i hegemonia. Warszawa: Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa.
Szpunar, Magdalena. 2012. Nowe-stare medium. Internet między tworzeniem nowych modeli komunikacyjnych a reprodukowaniem schematów komunikowania masowego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk.
Vermeulen, Lotte; Nunez Castellar, Elena P.; i Van Looy, Jan. 2014. Challenging the Other: Exploring the Role of Opponent Gender in Digital Game Competition for Female Players. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17 (5), s. 303–309.
Wang, Ziliang; Hu, Yanbo; Zheng, Hui; Yuan, Kai; Du, Xiaoxia; i Dong, Guangheng. 2019. Females Are More Vulnerable to Internet Gaming Disorder Than Males: Evidence from Cortical Thickness Abnormalities. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 283, s. 145–153.
Warzecha, Adam. 2014. Krytyczna analiza dyskursu (KAD) w ujęciu Normana Fairclougha. Zarys problematyki. Konteksty Kultury. Pismo Kolegium Nauczycielskiego w Bielsku-Białej, 11 (2), s. 164–189.
Yao, Mike Z.; Mahood, Chad; i Linz, Daniel. 2010. Sexual Priming, Gender Stereotyping, and Likelihood to Sexually Harass: Examining the Cognitive Effects of Playing a Sexually-Explicit Video Game. Sex Roles, 62 (1), s. 77–88.
Netografia
Blore, Jocelyn. 2017. Women Breaking Barriers in the Video Game Industry. [Online]. University of Silicon Valley. Dostęp: https://usv.edu/blog/women-breaking-barriers-in-the-video-game-industry/ [7.01.2020].
Caddy, Becca. 17.02.2020. ‛I Was Always Told I Was Unusual’: Why So Few Women Design Video Games. The Guardian. [Online]. The Guardian. Dostęp: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/feb/17/i-was-always-told-i-was-unusual-why-so-few-women-design-video-games [23.09.2020].
Kędzierski, Michał. 2017. Game studies – nurty. [Online]. Gry Wideo. Dostęp: https://grywideoblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/game-studies-nurty/ [12.01.2020].
Melosik, Zbyszko. 1998. Konstruowanie kobiecości i „męskie oko”. W: Nurczyńska-Fidelska, Ewelina; i Batko, Zbigniew (red.). Media a przemoc. Łódź: Centralny Gabinet Edukacji Filmowej Dzieci i Młodzieży. [Online]. EdukacjaFilmowa.pl. Dostęp: http://edukacjafilmowa.pl/konstruowanie--kobiecosci-i-meskie-oko/ [7.01.2020].
OʼBrien, Lucy. 2017. Women in Video Game Development in 2017: A Snapshot. [Online]. IGN– Imagine Games Network. Dostęp: https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/12/20/women-in-videogame-development-in-2017-a-snapshot [7.01.2020].
Sampson, Rachael. 2015. Film Theory 101 – Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory. [Online]. Film Inquiry. Dostęp: https://www.filminquiry.com/film-theory-basics-laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/ [7.01.2020].
Taylor, Mark. 2020. UK Games Industry Census: Understanding Diversity in the UK Games Industry Workforce. [Online]. UK Interactive Entertainment. Dostęp: https://ukie.org.uk/UK-games-industry-census-2020 [23.09.2020].
Yee, Nick. 2019. Female Gamers Want to Kill You, Just not with Guns. [Online]. Medium. Dostęp: https://medium.com/ironsource-levelup/female-gamers-want-to-kill-you-just-not-with-guns-bd62ee91916b [23.09.2020].
Gry cyfrowe
Final Fantasy VI. 1994. Twórcy: Yoshinori Kitase, Hiroyuki Itō, Yoshitaka Amano, Tetsuya Nomura i in. Gra konsolowa, jednoosobowa, typu jRPG (tzw. japońska gra fabularna). Japonia: Square Co., Ltd.
Metroid. 1986. Twórcy: Satoru Okada, Hiroji Kiyotake, Makoto Kano i in. Gra konsolowa, jednoosobowa, przygodowa gra akcji. Japonia: Nintendo.
Ms. Pac-Man. 1981. [B. a.]. Gra komputerowa, jednoosobowa, zręcznościowa, typu labirynt. USA: Midway Games.
Street Fighter II. 1991. Twórcy: Akira Yasuda, Akira Nishitani, Eri Nakamura i in. Gra komputerowa, jednoosobowa/dwuosobowa, typu fighting game (tzw. bijatyka). Japonia: Capcom.
Tomb Raider. 1996. Twórcy: Toby Gard, Heather Gibson, Neal Boyd i in. Gra jednoosobowa, przygodowa gra akcji. USA: Eidos Interactive.
Krawiec, A. (2021). Power Relationships as Understood by Michel Foucault in Female Roles in Computer Games in the Two First Decades of the 21st Century. Media - Culture - Social Communication, 4(16), 31–45. https://doi.org/10.31648/mkks.6744
