Girl Blah, Boy's Rock, Boy Blah, Girls Rock..

Games & Genders

Games today are gender specific.  For the first 20 years games have had a male protagonist. From adventure games like Crash Bandicoot to the James Bond series, games as such have contained male leads.  However, there are some exceptions. In the mid-90’s there was a game called Tomb Raider, this game featured a female action hero. Nevertheless, Tomb Raider creator’s intent wasn’t necessarily to contribute to the female gamers, although one would argue that reasoning, however, the reason was to break gender norms within games being produced during the time period. Subsequently, there is a myth that although a female protagonist, Tomb Raider was still a popular game with the guys. To contradict an earlier statement, marketing wise, to have a female protagonist on any game console, consoles that were primarily targeted for guys, the Tomb Raider franchise showed that female leads could sale games. Tomb Raider was the first of its kind and strategic. In addition, there are several reasons for why this game marked the male youth. One, the lead protagonist physical attributes, one could argue played a key role in the game’s success. Lora Croft character is exploited in the Tomb Raider franchise. Her breast size is magnified for her stature and the character is just appealing to look at from an animated standpoint. Nonetheless, Tomb Raider would go on to be depicted into movie and once again having a huge male following. In closing, masculinity and gender representation haunts our games today, whether the character is female or male. Every game has its subtexts and attributes that help target certain audiences (so that one can sale their products successfully).  Sexuality is a major component, which will be a later topic.