1. Strength Is Presented In Clichéd Ways
Again, I feel as though this is an ailment that afflicts not just the gaming industry but other entertainment mediums as well, so gaming is far from being the only guilty party in this matter. The way strength is often measured in games has always been through a very masculine filter. The rare occasion where a male protagonist will open up about his experience is all too often offset by his ability to contain his emotion away from secondary characters - a cliché that has been repeated time and time again by developers whose first point of reference has been through a cultural lens of action movie icons and strongman archetypes. Most often when women are presented in a context involving conflict or violence (a context most games subscribe to), they are only seen as strong when taking on certain masculine traits - rejecting a great deal of femininity in the process. My argument doesn't simply boil down towards the belief that developers deem masculinity to be strength and femininity to be weakness, but it's hard to argue that these ideas aren't conveyed in a great deal of gaming's most popular franchises. Subtle though it may be, it's a convention that the industry should endeavour to break away from in the coming years, as it will only enrich the storytelling potential found across the medium. As far as gaming goes it's fair to say that it's become quite the cultural phenomenon. Millions of people across the globe turn towards their console or PC as a source of entertainment, and whilst it's all great to provide that sense of escape and fantasy, there's plenty of space to mature and broaden our collective horizons. In respect to portrayals of gender at least, I hope that writers and designers rise to the challenge of creating more believable characters, tackle instances of ingrained sexism, and make the medium more accessible to people who have been ostracised by its past mistakes.
Are you convinced that the industry is doing more to mature representations of gender? Or do you think gaming is fine as it is? Let us know in the comments below!
