I produced a video games cover for a dance game, called ‘Dance, Dance, Dance!’, my cover was influenced by the popular dance game series ‘Just Dance’. I created a dominant signifier of a stereotypically feminine character, the character was also portrayed by a female cartoon. I decided to create the character with exaggerated physical features to portray the seemingly perfect ‘female figure’ and idealistic body type. I added excessive make up and tight clothing to the character to represent how female characters are often over-sexualised in video game production, visual media and popular culture as a whole. This corresponds to Toril Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation (1987).

I wanted to express Laura Mulvey’s theory of ‘The Male Gaze’, the feminist ideology that female characters in visual arts and literature are objectified for the pleasure and gratification of the heterosexual, male consumer. The way in which I presented my dominant signifier links to Laura Mulvey’s notion that “The cinema offers a number of possible pleasures. One is scopophilia”. ‘Scopophilia’ is having aesthetic pleasure from looking at a person or object. In this case, video games take the place of the cinema however the ideology remains un-changed, female characters’ expression of sexuality is exaggerated for the pleasure of the male player.

In general, I believe that femininity, in society, is seen as much less aggressive than masculinity. However, feminism is seen as a celebrated, powerful, political movement. This echoes ‘Feminist Frequency’s’ theory that female characters in video games are often portrayed as a over sexualised damsel in distress who needs the strength of the male hero to be saved from peril. Indirectly portraying that expression of femininity displays qualities of weakness and lack of strength.

So in this sense, my character is a reactionary feminine character, although it is not a positive portrayal as I personally believe over-sexualised femininity is not something to aspire to withhold.

If I were to create this product again, I would avoid the stereotypical representation of a over-accentuated and exaggerated dancer and create a character that was more radical in representation. Perhaps, the character would include less ‘feminine’ qualities, I would do this by altering and adjusting the character’s body type, clothing and appearance in general – including more masculine signifiers or creating a male character with feminine qualities to create a countertype to the reactionary female dance game character.