Representation is one of the ways that diverse characteristics of people and cultures are displayed. It is seen in all forms of media. However one of the many problems with this is that representation isn’t always positive. Media like games and tv can represent someone in a stereotypical way, which is a negative representation. Games in particular have difficulty with breaking from traditional characters and stereotypes that conform to hegemonic masculinity and femininity that is inherently submissive and lacking of any independence. The representation of masculinity and femininity is therefore negative.

 Within games and game culture, shows like the Guild, mentioned in “Gamers, gender, and cruel optimism”, although at first glance appear to be progressive with a main female protagonist and a diverse cast, falls flat to be as such. Zaboo, one of the members and gamers in The Guild, tries to impress codex, the female protagonist, by becoming independent and gaining muscle mass. While doing this, he attempts male bonding with Vork, the leader of the group. These few acts signify Zaboo’s need to be within male gender expectations. In the same way, our female protagonist fails at any attempt to be more than just skittish and indecisive. Besides some minor feats, she refuses all opportunities to grow, especially when given the opportunity to be a guild leader. The Guild presents its characters consistently in a bad light. 

On the other hand, we could say shows like Video Game High school provide a better side of femininity, not necessarily masculinity. Although they do not inherently try to be progressive, characters like Ki have some sense of leadership and independence as she attempts to become a better programmer. There is also Jenny Matrix who is feminine, but a hardcore esports gamer that expresses her own needs before her love interest, which breaks standard norms. The problem is, even those two do not compare to the main character, Brian D., who progresses from a clumsy kid that doesn’t know what he is doing to an esports professional. He accomplishes much more, but he is the protagonist. One could say that the main protagonist could be a female who takes on the same tasks, but with the toxicity of online gaming communities, the show would most likely receive harsh reviews by the male gamer target audience. 

On to the topic of games, we do have progressive attempts and many of them do succeed. However, a lot of games that have been mentioned focus on many masculinity stereotypes. In the Last of Us, Joel has many characteristics of strength. Muscle mass and leadership are two of the connections to masculinity that prove the continuous focus on a strong male protagonist. Although we do see new trends like dadification which represents a more positive aspect of males, this still diminishes the strength of Ellie, the young female working beside him. Luckily, this modern representation is far less negative than Leisure Suit Larry and its stereotypes of the LGBTQ community.

Without proper representation, gaming culture will never change. There will be backlash within the community from it. There will also still be negative representation in games regardless of the positive. However, if there is an attempt at change, things might be more inclusive and diverse within these communities.

Works Cited

Amanda C. Cote & Cody Mejeur (2018) Gamers, gender, and cruel optimism: the limits of social identity constructs in The Guild, Feminist Media Studies, 18:6, 963-978, DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2017.1376699

Payne, Matthew Thomas, and Nina Huntemann. How to Play Video Games. New York University Press, 2019.