I produced a game about a shooting war with both a male and female character. However the male character is represented as being the main signifier, following typical stereotypes. This relates to Jean Kilbournes theory about men being objectified as well as women but in a more competent and strong way. Focussing on the masculinity in ways such as holding the gun in a powerful and confident positive ready for action at the edge of the cliff. He is a big, muscular build with less protective armour to portray the reactionary idea that men don’t need help.

On the other hand I believe that this is a negative representation of masculinity as it tries to create a radical image of how men should look (when this is unrealistic for the majority). I think it would have been better if my male character challenged this stereotypes and used a positive counter type to try and shape the way that men think of themselves and how they see women.

Whereas on the other side of the cliff where the female is positioned, she is seemed to be further away from the edge showing she is less capable and more likely to get in danger so has to stay at a safe distance. As shown in the feminist frequency videos about “damsel in distress”, a women’s main purpose in a game is to keep the plot going by the man needing to assist the woman.

Futhermore, usually the clothing which the female is wearing is tighter and more objectifying. In my game the female is wearing non-revealing clothing but more protection than the man still suggesting she is weaker but not sexualising her. Sexualising women in video games is unacceptable as it normalises dangerous attitudes towards women and increases the sexual violence threat towards them: “52% of Hispanic people studied believed there was a link between violent video games and real-world violence.”- Levelling up article.