Portrayal of women in video games

The portrayal of men and women in video games, as in other media, is a subject of research in gender studies and is discussed in the context of sexism in video gaming.

Although women make up about half of video game players, they are significantly underrepresented as characters in mainstream games, despite the prominence of iconic heroines such as Samus Aran or Lara Croft. The portrayal of women in games often reflects traditional gender roles, sexual objectification or negative stereotypes, such as that of the "damsel in distress". Male characters are often stereotypically depicted as big and muscular, and LGBT characters have been slow to appear in video games as a result of the heteronormativity of the medium.

Research indicates that how genders are portrayed in games can influence players' perception of gender roles, and that young girls prefer to play a character of their own gender much more than boys do. On average, female-led games sell fewer copies than male-led ones, but also have lower marketing budgets.

A 2008 Gallup poll indicated that half of all American video game players in 2014 were women. In 2014 in the UK and in Spain, women comprised 52% and 48% of video game players respectively.

Both men and women play video games, but studies suggest differences in platform and game genre preference. The Entertainment Software Rating Board reports that in 2010, 80% of female console gamers played on Wii, 11% on Xbox360 and 9% on PS3. By comparison, 38% of male console gamers in the year 2014 played Xbox 360, 41% played Wii and 21% played PS3.

A 2013 study by Flurry looked at the different mobile gaming preferences between men and women. Women made up 60-80% of the solitaire, slots, social turn-based, match-three / bubble-shooter, management / simulation and quiz game markets. Men on the other hand, made up between 60-80% of the strategy, shooter, card battle, racing and action RPG markets.

A 2014 SuperData Research study found that men and women enjoy video games, but some genres are attracting one gender more than the other: Women compose 57.8 percent of the mobile market, 53.6 percent of the RPG market and 50.2 percent of the PC market (including social games). The study found that men make up 66 percent of MMO players, 66 percent of FPS players and 63 percent of digital console players.

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