Do Sexualized Images of Female Characters in Games Impact Players? A State of the Evidence.
For decades, scholars have debated the impact of shooter games on aggression in players without coming to a consensus. In more recent years, that debate has expanded to consider whether games with sexualized content can increase sexism and misogyny or decrease empathy toward women in players. Thus far, this field appears to be following well-worn trails from the shooter game debate, with greater moral certitude among some commenters than empirical clarity. At present, research evidence to support cultivation efforts for sexualized games has been inconclusive at best and it may be difficult to establish clear cultivation effects for sexualized games on the attitudes of players.
As this field progresses, those who advocate for better representations of female characters in games can do so while also being honest about the mixed nature of current data. Advocacy efforts oftentimes tend to indulge in “citation bias”, exaggerating research evidence in a way meant to alarm the public regarding the urgency of the advocacy need. I argue that advocating for better representations of female characters is a worthwhile cause, but citation bias could backfire, reducing the credibility of that advocacy.
Comments are closed.