Sexism, fighting games, and causality

When we talk about sexism and video games, we typically talk about sexism in video games. However, the relevance of video games is more than just their digital object: it's also the people who play them. So, when some people who play fighting games claim that sexism is an important part of fighting game culture (http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/sexual-harassment-as-ethical-imperative-the-ugly-side-of-fighting-games), no matter how much in the minority these advocates are, the claim deserves investigation and analysis.

The question I wish to pose concerns the direction of causality. Do fighting games encourage sexism, or are sexist people drawn to fighting games? Aris Bakhtanians, a fighting game enthusiast, says that sexual harassment is "part of the culture." During a fighting competition, when a female character was defeated, someone in the audience shouted for her rape.

So do fighting games encourage this behavior? I don't think that's the case. There are no mechanics that give male characters an advantage over female characters. With the exception of a select few fetishistic games, defeating a female character does not give you any power over them.

So if fighting games aren't encouraging sexist behavior, and the fighting game culture still has a heavy presence of sexism, then perhaps sexists are drawn to fighting games. An immediate draw is, of course, the often hyper-sexualization of the female character designs. However, I believe a bigger part of it concerns the allure of dominance. Even if the two players are male and are using male characters, there is a sense of dominance in defeating your opponent. They may even think of it as subjugating them. This would play to the sexist's sense of being an alpha-male.