Should female characters in video games only exist to be killed or sexualized or both?
In the latest video from the "Tropes vs Women in Games" series by Anita Sarkeesian, the documentarian examines how many games use throwaway females to establish the violence or grittiness of a setting.
Sarkeesian puts a lens to such popular games as the Grand Theft Auto series, Assassin's Creed games, Hitman franchise and the BioShock titles, as well as nearly 20 other video games. Like past videos made by Sarkeesian, she examines how women are portrayed in games as little more than victims of violence and sexual objects, but this time through the perspective of how these stereotypes are used to establish a game's world, feel or themes.
She does point to indie game Papo and Yo as an example of a game that approaches the topic of domestic violence without objectifying or sexualizing characters.
The "Tropes vs Women in Games" videos have been produced by Sarkeesian since she raised $159,000 on Kickstarter in June 2012. The series examines how video games have adopted tropes of other media or created new tropes that reinforce stereotypes against women.
Content Warning: The video contains graphic sexual and violent game footage.
