General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: what is it with DU's collective reluctance to criticize violent video games? [View all]cui bono
(19,926 posts)and one that I enjoyed a lot is the Tomb Raider franchise. Not much killing and mechanical puzzles to figure out. But the character you play is female and let me tell you... they really made her a "sexpot" type. Itty bitty shorts, lots of cleavage, unusually large breasts and unusually tiny waist, and when she's wearing a wetsuit in particular, they put this reflection on her breasts where the nipples would be and it was stunning, in a bad way.
I realize they are catering to a predominantly young male demographic but as an adult female I find it disgusting. And it just feeds into and perpetuates this ugly objectification of women. I believe it definitely has an effect on how young males view women and speak about them, especially on the internet or in game chat.
This mild compared to GTA but the sexist mindset seems to permeate most games.
No I don't believe that as soon as someone plays these games they go out and commit a violent act, but things affect someone's perspective subconsciously. If they didn't then why do parents worry about anything at all that their kids are exposed to? Speaking of parents, I've had 8 year olds playing with me on Left for Dead and it's violent and has a lot of cursing. Even if a game is rated mature, that doesn't mean little kids aren't playing them.
That being said, I know several very nice guys who love GTA. They think it's funny and would never act that way towards a woman or think like that about them.