Key words:

• male gaze
• semiotics (icon, symbol, sign)
• risky business (hesmondhalgh)
• Jarod lainer
• gender performance
• simulation
• hyperreality

tomb raider:

• Lara croft outfit not suitable for her adventures which suggests the character is there to be objectified to satisfy the male gaze
• Sexualised body however does not ‘perform’ her femininity
• Judith Butler – “masculine and feminine roles are not biologically fixed but socially constructed” – shown in tomb raider as Lara croft doing as what society would expect a male to do

metroid:

• As of december 2021 Metroid franchise has sold over 20 million copies globally

sims freeplay:

• Released for BlackBerry 10 in July 2013 and Windows Phone 8 in September 2013
• 77% of women surveyed ages 35-54 said they played the game to “help them relax”. For women aged 55-64 the game provided “mental stimulation” – creates escapism and a hyperreality