The release of the latest Feminist Frequency video has earned its creator and host Anita Sarkeesian scores of hateful remarks over the course of the last day, and even a threat upon her and her family. Just what exactly is it about the video that could raise the ire of nameless internet hordes? Talking about how female characters in video games are treated like furniture, of course.
Of course.
Some people just don’t want to admit it, but women are treated as largely insignificant in video games—at least in select games where they aren’t the main characters. The latest video does much to explore how “sexualized female bodies often occupy a dual role as both sexual playthings and perpetual victims of male violence.”
"The Women as Background Decoration trope which is the subset of largely insignificant non-playable female characters whose sexuality or victimhood is exploited as a way to infuse edgy, gritty or racy flavoring into game worlds. These sexually objectified female bodies are designed to function as environmental texture while titillating presumed straight male players. Sometimes they're created to be glorified furniture but they are frequently programmed as minimally interactive sex objects to be used and abused.”
A transcript for the episode can be found directly at the Feminist Frequency website. Games referenced in the episode include Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, Grand Theft Auto V, Watch Dogs, and The Witcher series of games.
The video itself has earned the support of Double Fine’s TIm Schafer, creator of games like Psychonauts, Full Throttle, and Day of the Tentacle, as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Avengers director Joss Whedon, both of whom tweeted out the link.
Needless to say, it’s well worth the watch, and not only for how it upsets people who are otherwise too closed minded to see how women are treated in video games.
