Can sexism lead to a disinterest from girls in video games?

I must admit that when I read Leonard's article on race and gender, the sections on gender and sexism did not surprise me.  However, I do think the statistics about the women featured in video games should seem troubling, because if video games teach us about our society as Leonard states, then our society possesses some pretty outdated views on the role of modern women.

My discussion group in class did agree that you have to take the hypersexualized portrayal of women in games with a grain of salt because it is not true that all guys believe that women are there only to act as eye candy.  The girls in the group even agreed that the hypersexualization did not even bother them that much.  However, I do believe the hypersexualization bothered me for one reason, and the reason is that it’s blatantly obvious that most games are targeted towards boys.  Why would any female really want to play a video game full of scantily clad women or even play a game where women were raped? The idea led me to believe that the game developers that come up with these games must not believe that women are very important, or that they would not enjoy video games at all. 

This idea reminded me of a video I had seen a few years back from one of my favorite series on CollegeHumor called “Bleep Bloop,” (My sister also referenced this show in her post). In this certain episode, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uDglb5kCvs), Jeff Rubin invites some of his female co-workers to try out games that were marketed specifically toward girls.  Just by watching the video, you can tell that the game developers have a very stereotypical outlook on girls; most of the games are just filled with fluff and most seem pointless.  Even in the Barbie game you can see a reflection of a sexist viewpoint—most of Barbie’s outfits are a little bit too showy for a game targeted toward very young girls.  At one point Sarah Schneider, one of Jeff’s co-workers, states, “This game is insulting…”  Elaine Carroll also states, “Just so everyone knows, this game does NOT appeal to girls.”  Jeff’s closing remark that the designers “were just like, ‘we’ll make a game for girls, and that’s enough,’” really speaks toward the fact that most game companies in general must not care about appealing to girls and women at all.  All of the closing remarks in the video point the same way, and I think most people could agree with the folks over at CollegeHumor.

I know most people probably don’t see this as a huge issue, but I do think these games are truly a reflection about gender stereotypes in society.  One day I hope I will be proved wrong. (Sorry for rambling, if anything please watch the video. I always thought the Bleep Bloop videos were funny AND interesting.)