1. Male gaze- the perspective of a notionally typical heterosexual man considered as embodied in the audience or intended audience for films and other visual media, characterized by a tendency to objectify or sexualize women.
2. Voyeurism-the practice of gaining sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity.
3. Patriarchy- male dominated society
4. Positive and negative stereotypes-a positive stereotype refers to a subjectively favourable belief held about a social group.postulated that because negative stereotypes represent negative expectations about the out-group
5. Counter-types– is a positive stereotype and emphasizes the positive features about a person
6. Misrepresentation-the action or offence of giving a false or misleading account of the nature of something.
7. Selective representation-when some groups of people are represented more in government than others.
8. Dominant ideology-the ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs, and culture of the ruling class in a society; usually also the function of these in validating the status quo.
9. Constructed reality– That we construct and create our own reality and what we do affects the reality we’ve constructed
10. Hegemony-leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others
11. Audience positioning– Audience positioning refers to the techniques used by the creator of a text to try to get the audience to understand the ideology of the text

1. Fluidity of identity-having the ability to change how you see yourself, the world, and your actions
2. Constructed identity-process in which humans develop a clear and unique view of themselves and of their identity
3. Negotiated identity– identity negotiation refers to the processes through which people reach agreements regarding “who is who” in their relationships
4. Collective identity-the shared definition of a group that derives from its members’ common interests, experiences, and solidarities then place them within certain social categories such as ethnicity, nationality, or gender

Levelling up article: LEVELING UP REPRESENTATION: DEPICTIONS OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN VIDEO GAMES

• Most game companies create games that do not involve diverse characters, this is an issue because it creates an un-comfortability for these players who are a massive amount of the market’s players. “With the high percentage of teens of colour playing games, representation is incredibly important but has — at least historically — been lacking.”
• The “most-active gameplaying demographic is African American teenagers”
• “Despite many video game companies being based in East Asia, most games feature white protagonists.”

 why diversity matters article:

•  “PlayStation recently sponsored Pride London” (PlayStation is starting to show a support for the LGBTQIA+ community)
• “The industry traditionally projects an image that is young, white, straight and male, but there is growing understanding” (This shows that there is beginning to be a greater diversity in video games for different ethnic groups, beliefs and sexuality)

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (The male gaze):

• “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female”
• “Women displayed as sexual object is the leit-motiff of erotic spectacle: from pin-ups to strip-tease from Ziegfeld to Busby Berkeley, she holds the look, plays to and signifies male desire”

Feminist Frequency Site:

• “The sexualization of female characters is about designing them, dressing them or framing them in ways that are specifically intended to be sexually appealing to presumed male viewers or players.”
• “conjunction with other aspects of their design, to make them exude sexuality for the entertainment of the presumed straight male player.”

1. Male gaze – The objectification of woman for the pleasing of a male eye.
2. Voyeurism – Watching and gaining interest by watching undressed, naked individuals.
3. Patriarchy – A male dominated society.
4. Positive and negative stereotypes – A group of people stick by an idea to receive positive or negative feedback.
5. Counter-types – An opposite view to a stereotype.
6. Misrepresentation – People giving misleading or wrong information to put off other people or teams.
7. Selective representation – Only showing specific bits of events and media.
8. Dominant ideology – This is the ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs and culture of the dominant/ruling society.
9. Constructed reality – Advertisement that views media as reality.
10. Hegemony – The leadership or dominance by a state or social group.
11. Audience positioning – Explaining the idea behind the text to the audience.

1. Fluidity of identity – To be able to change how you see yourself and the world around you.
2. Constructed identity – Your identity which is formed by you and others opinions of you.
3. Negotiated identity – Having a constructed discussion on other peoples identity.
4. Collective identity – A common, shared identity .

I produced a game based off the maze runner series and I created a female character as the dominant signifier as it is not stereotypical for a female character to be in such a game and be seen in a strong and independent matter.

Further to this I have exaggerated the feminine attributes of my character with her slightly shorter and thinner build. I also included clothing which completely covers her as a way of skipping the stereotypical idea that women in video games have to wear revealing clothes. In the words of Laura Mulvey, “displayed for the gaze and enjoyment of men” this is how in the video games industry many female characters are made to look at. however my character does not fit the male gaze as she is completely covered.

however in society it is woman for women to be used as a reason for the main character to progress in the game, but the female is the main character inh my game. So in this sense my product is a radical representation of females in video games.

however I believe that this is a positive representation of femininity as the dominant signifier outlines a more realistic idea of females and is not oversexualising them in any way. as such this is showing a more positive outline of femininity and gender representation. the character also gives a more realistic role model to look up to as it is a more ‘normal’ image of a female character who hasn’t been oversexualised or victimised.