Of reviews and women
A study of women discourses on gender in videogame magazines
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7557/ejcgc.v16i2.7283Keywords:
women, magazines, videogames, representation, reviews, sexismAbstract
Video games and their history are mostly seen from a masculine standpoint. Most traces, commentary, workers, communities, significant events or people, etc., are linked to a masculine lens that tends to ignore or marginalize women in video games and their culture. Even if they were clearly minorized in a masculine and sometimes hostile environment, there is a need to observe a part of history that gives us more information on the thought, the production, the influence, and the discourses of women without limiting them to the status of passive victims or to the margins of history. This article uses methods inspired by cultural history and textual analysis to investigate women’s discourses about women protagonists present in the game reviews of the specialized press covering video game culture and the video game industry. By doing so, we will observe a complex situation where different, and sometimes contradicting, intentions can be linked to how women characters are described, criticized, or mentioned in the reviews. As such, this analysis will show a cultural context where women’s writings are sometime influenced by the masculine hegemonic discourses made by or for a mostly gender restricted definition of the ‘gamers’, while other women’s text openly resist this hegemony by criticizing the way the many protagonists and women are represented. Women, their writing, and traces of their intention, can be seen in multiple magazines from 1981 to 2021. As such these public discourses are a small but important part of a more general and diverse history of video games and their communities.
References
Anonymous. (1990). Deathtrap Dungeon. Joystick, 91, 150–152.
Aresti, N. (2007). The gendered identities of the ‘Lieutenant Nun’: Rethinking the story of a female warrior in early modern Spain. Gender & Hystory, 19(3), 401–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468–0424.2007.00491.x
Artronic. (1990). Soldier 2000 [CPC]. Digital game published by Artronic.
Asylum Studios. (1998). Deathtrap Dungeon [Microsoft Windows]. Digital game directed by Paul Sheppard, published by Eidos Interactive.
Béronie, N. & Feroyd, M. (1993). Cannon Fodder. Tilt, 121, 122–123.
Bioware. (2011). Dragon Age II [Xbox 360]. Digital game directed by Mark Darrah, published by Electronic Arts.
Calor. (1994). Hand of Fate. Joystick, 46, 90–93.
Chess, S. (2009). How to play a feminist. Thirdspace: A Journal of Feminist Theory & Culture, 9(1). https://journals.lib.sfu.ca/index.php/thirdspace/article/view/4020
Chess, S. (2017). Ready player two: Women gamers and designed identity. University of Minnesota Press.
Chess, S. (2020). Play like a feminist. Playful Thinking. MIT Press.
Consalvo, M. (2008). Cheating. MIT Press.
Cote, A. C. (2015). Writing ‘gamers’: The gendered construction of gamer identity in Nintendo Power (1994–1999). Games and Culture, 13(5), 479–503. https://doi.org/10.1177/155541201562474
Cote, A. C. (2021). Gaming sexism: Gender and identity in the era of casual video games. New York University Press.
Cox, A. R. (2018). Women by women: A gender analysis of Sierra titles by women designers. In K. L. Gray, G. Voorhees, and E. Vossen (Eds.), Feminism in play (pp. 21–35). Palgrave Macmillan.
Crystal Dynamics. (2006). Tomb Raider: Legend. [Xbox 360]. Digital game published by Eidos Interactive.
De’Angelo E. (2020). The Black women of the fighting game community are pushing for true inclusivity. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/features/2020/7/17/21328490/black-women-fighting-game-community-inclusivity-racism-misogyny
Dembo, A. (1995). New Horizon. Computer Gaming World, 135, 178.
Dembo, A. (1995). Horror as Art. Computer Gaming World, 136, 64.
Dyer, R. (2002). The matter of images: Essays on representations (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Drisscoll, C. (2017). Gamer girls. In F. Lignon (ed.), Genre et jeux video (pp. 179–216). Presses universitaires du Midi.
Fernandez-Vara, C. (2009). The tribulations of adventure games: Integrating story into simulation through performance [Doctoral dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology].
Fisher, H. D. (2012). Don’t let the girls play: Gender representation in videogame journalism and the influence of hegemonic masculinity, media filters, and message mediation [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University].
Fisher, H. D. (2015). Sexy, dangerous—and ignored: An in-depth review of the representation of women in select video game magazines. Games and Culture, 10(6), 551–570. https://doi.org/10.1177/155541201456623
Funatics Development. (2002). ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal [Microsoft Windows]. Digital game designed by Andreas Nitsche, published by THQ.
Game Designers Studio. (2003) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles [GameCube]. Digital game directed by Kazuhiko Aoki, published by Nintendo.
Gash E., & Parrish A. (2020). Ubisoft's #MeToo reckoning, two months later. Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/ubisofts-metoo-reckoning-two-months-later-1844717203
Geena Davis Institute. (2021). The double-edged sword of online gaming: An analysis of masculinity in video games and the gaming community. Geena Davis Institute. https://seejane.org/research-informs-empowers/double-edged-sword-of-online-gaming/
Goldmark, M. (2015). Reading habits: Catalina de Erauso and the subjects of early modern Spanish gender and sexuality. Colonial Latin American Review, 24(2), 215–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/10609164.2015.1040278
Goldy, C. N. & Livingstone, A. (2012). Introduction: Setting the scene. In C. N. Goldy & A. Livingstone (Eds.). Writing medieval women’s lives (pp. 1–10). Palgrave Macmillan.
Gray, K. L., Voorhees G., & Vossen E. (2018). Introduction: Reframing hegemonic conceptions of women and feminism in gaming culture. In K. L. Gray, G. Voorhees, and E. Vossen (Eds.), Feminism in play (pp. 1–17). Palgrave Macmillan.
Gray, K. L., Leonard, D. J., eds. (2018). Woke gaming: Digital challenges to social injustice. University of Washington Press.
Hall, S. (2003). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. SAGE.
Harrisson A., Jones S., Marchessault J., Pedraça S. & Consalvo M. (2020). The virtual census 2.0: A continued investigation on the representations of gender, race and age in videogames. AoIR 2020. https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11229
Heritage, F. (2021). Language, gender and videogames: Using corpora to analyse the representation of gender in fantasy videogames. Palgrave Macmillan.
Heeter, C. (2014). Femininity. In M. J. P. Wolf & B. Perron (Eds.), The Routledge companion to video game studies (pp. 273–279). Routledge.
Hickman, L. (1992). Rodland. Crash, 95, 55.
Hines T. F. (1988). It’s D&D and I Don’t! Computer Gaming World, 54, 60–62.
Jennifer, Shane & Kevin. (2004). Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Electronic Gaming Monthly, 176, 124–125.
Jeremy, Crispin & Dana. (2006). Tomb Raider: Legend. Electronic Gaming Monthly, 203, 96–97.
Kaaa. (1990). Soldier 2000. Joystick, 1, 139.
Kika. (1997). Meat Puppet. Joystick, 85, 109.
Kika. (2002). ZanZarah The Hidden Portal. Joystick, 139, 145.
Kirkpatrick, G. (2012). Constitutive tensions of gaming’s field: UK gaming magazines and the formation of gaming culture 1981–1995. Game Studies, 12(1). http://gamestudies.org/1201/articles/kirkpatrick
Kirkpatrick, G. (2015). The formation of gaming culture: UK gaming magazines, 1981–1995. Palgrave Macmillan.
Koei. (1995). New Horizons [Microsoft Windows]. Digital game published by Koei.
Kronos Digital Entertainment. (1997). Meat Puppet [Microsoft Windows]. Digital game published by Playmates Interactive.
Leonard, David J. (2006). Not a hater, just keepin’ it real: The importance of race and gender-based game studies. Games and Culture, 1(1), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412005281910
Linda Wright. (1987). The Jade Stone [ZX-Spectrum]. Digital game published by Marlin Games.
McDivitt, A. L. (2020). Hot tubs and Pac-Man: Gender and the early video game industry in the United States (1950s–1980s). De Gruyter.
McKee, A. (2003). Textual analysis: A beginner’s guide. SAGE.
Megasoft Entertainment. (1993). Disciples of Steel [MS-DOS]. Digital game published by FormGen.
Mercante A. (2024). Sweet Baby Inc. doesn’t do what some gamers think it does. Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/sweet-baby-inc-consulting-games-alan-wake-2-dei-1851312428
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6
New World Computing. (1986). Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum [PC]. New World Computing.
Nooney, L. (2013). A pedestal, a table, a love letter: Archaeologies of gender in videogame history. Game Studies 13(2). http://gamestudies.org/1302/articles/nooney
Reyes, F. (2006). Tomb Raider: Legend. Official Xbox Magazine, 58, 84–85.
Reyes, F. (2011). Dragon Age II. Official Xbox Magazine, 121, 70–73.
Reyes, F. et al. (2003). Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Official Xbox Magazine, 16, 72–75.
Ruberg, B. (2018). Straight-washing Undertale: Video games and the limits of LGBTQ representation. Transformative Works and Cultures, 28. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2018.1516
Samara. (1988). The Jade Stone. Crash, 53, 48.
Shaw, A. (2015). Gaming at the edge: Sexuality and gender at the margins of gamer culture. University of Minnesota Press.
Schlunk, P. (1994). A flood of realism. Computer Gaming World, 120, 64 & 66.
Scorpia. (1988). King’s Quest IV. Computer Gaming World, 54, 19–20.
Scorpia. (1987). Might and Magic. Computer Gaming World, 36, 24.
Sierra On-Line. (1988). King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella [MS-DOS]. Digital game directed by Roberta Williams, published by Sierra On-Line.
Sierra On-Line. (1995). Phantasmagoria [Microsoft Windows]. Digital game directed by Peter Maris, published by Sierra On-Line.
Square. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII [PlayStation]. Digital game directed by Yoshinori Kitase, published by Square.
Stang, S. (2021). The fiend folio’s female fiends: Kelpies, vampires, and demon queens. Analog Game Studies. https://analoggamestudies.org/2021/10/the-fiend-folios-female-fiends-kelpies-vampires-and-demon-queens/
Stang, S. & Trammell, A. (2020). The ludic bestiary: Misogynistic tropes of female monstrosity in Dungeons & Dragons. Games and Culture, 15(6), 730–747. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412019850059
Strategic Simulations. (1988). Pool of Radiance [MS-DOS]. Digital game directed by Chuck Kroegel, published by Strategic Simulations.
Sutton, M. (1999). Final Fantasy VIII. Computer and Video Games, 216, 100–103.
Team Ninja. (2003). Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball [Xbox]. Digital game published by Tecmo.
Trammell, A. (2014). Misogyny and the female body in Dungeons & Dragons. Analog Game Studies. https://analoggamestudies.org/2014/10/constructing-the-female-body-in-role-playing-games/
Velasco, S. (2009). The lieutenant nun: Transgenderism, lesbian desire & Catalina de Erauso. University of Texas Press.
von Münchow, P. (2018). Theoretical and methodological challenges in identifying meaningful absences in discourse. In M. Schröter & C. Taylor (Eds.). Exploring silence and absence in discourse: Empirical approaches (pp. 215–240). Springer International Publishing.
Wainwright, A. M. (2019). Virtual history: How videogames portray the past. Rout-ledge.
Wilberg, H. (2011). What’s in a game? Race, gender, and LGB representation in video games [Master’s dissertation, Roosevelt University]. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/whats-game-race-gender-lgb-representationvideo/docview/881294780/se-2?accountid=12543
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Samuel Heine, Marie-Christine Beauvais
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
