Read from psypost:
Can a strong female character who is also highly sexualized inspire positive perceptions from players? Female participants—despite generally disliking highly sexualized characters—were more likely to choose these characters when given the option to play as one.
Some researchers, however, suggest that the frequent portrayal of female characters as strong and capable might counterbalance the negative impacts of sexual objectification. The study’s authors aimed to understand if such strength cues might actually mitigate negative impressions of sexualized female characters. They also wanted to explore how the nature of interaction—whether players actively control a character or just observe them onscreen—affects these perceptions.
“I think it’s important to understand how gender socialization and prejudice like sexism inform video game development and player experiences,” said study author Teresa Lynch, an assistant professor of communication technology at The Ohio State University and director of the Chronos Laboratory.
“Sexism pervades gaming. For example, game content overwhelmingly features male characters to the exclusion of central female or gender minoritized characters. Games that do feature female or gender minoritized characters often unfavorably stereotype and objectify these groups. In online gaming experiences, men and boys target women, girls, and gender minoritized individuals with sexist and harassing communication.”
“I want to know more about why, when, and how these kinds of outcomes happen. At the same time, many women and girls and people who identify outside of the binary enjoy gaming a great deal. I count myself among them. Understanding why these people enjoy games in spite of (or even because of!) the challenges sexism presents in gaming is fascinating to me. This study is one part of answering those big questions.”
The researchers conducted two controlled experiments to investigate how different design elements influence perceptions of female video game characters. Each experiment used unique character designs created in the fighting game SOULCALIBUR VI, providing participants with a range of female characters that varied systematically in their sexualization and strength cues.
To achieve these variations, the team manipulated the characters’ visual traits. Characters designed with high sexualization had features associated with previous research on sexualized portrayals: larger breasts, lower waist-to-hip ratios, and revealing clothing. Characters with low sexualization cues, on the other hand, displayed more modest proportions and less revealing attire. Strength cues were also manipulated, where high-strength characters were larger, more muscular, and carried bigger weapons. In contrast, low-strength characters had smaller physiques and less imposing weaponry.
Participants watched four pre-recorded video clips, each featuring a different character type engaging in a short combat sequence. After viewing each clip, participants rated the characters across several dimensions, such as perceived sexualization (e.g., if the character’s attire seemed revealing), strength (their perceived physical power), femininity (alignment with traditional feminine traits), and likability (how much participants would enjoy playing as the character). At the end of the viewing session, participants also completed a selection survey, choosing which of the characters they would prefer to play.
However, when a character combined high sexualization with high strength, participants perceived her as even more sexualized than characters with high sexualization alone. This outcome indicates that strength cues do not counteract the effects of sexualization; rather, they may amplify it. This pattern aligns with the “fighting fuck-toy” theory, which suggests that strength paired with sex appeal can reinforce objectifying impressions, heightening perceptions of the character as a sexualized object.
The researchers also found that high sexualization was a key factor in perceptions of femininity and character likability. Characters with high sexualization were viewed as more traditionally feminine, yet they were also less liked, particularly by female participants. Strength cues, by contrast, did not independently influence likability, suggesting that the perception of likability may be more influenced by sexualization cues than by physical strength.
“That said, I was surprised to see that in our first study women still selected the most sexualized character when asked which character they would choose to play. It’s important to remember that this character was also rated as the most feminine, so it’s possible that women were just selecting the character they most identified with.”
“However, this finding highlight why this research is so important,” Lynch continued. “If women are conflating sexual appeal with femininity, then can they disassociate those two concepts? And, if entertainment media like video games continue to portray female characters by emphasizing sex appeal, how does that shape expectations of women and women’s value in society?”
The findings highlight “that playing video games positions people with a different orientation to the content on-screen,” Lynch told PsyPost. “It can involve you in a way that simultaneously makes you feel like you’re part of the content and game, that you are the character. So, if you are a character that has attributes that you appreciate and enjoy embodying, then you probably will experience some positive outcomes and interpret the experience similarly.”
“And, because games require you to engage in action, you may find distinct things enjoyable in games compared to less interactive experiences like watching movies. Instead of just seeing a hero defeat a horrible villain on-screen, you feel part of the experience of vanquishing that villain. That can be really awesome.”
“But, if the character has attributes that aren’t so great — maybe they are sexually objectified or portrayed as cute, but helpless — then that stands to diminish you in the same way that the heroic portrayal elevated you,” Lynch said. “Our findings suggest that people are paying more attention to the powerfulness of female characters who they can play as, whereas this factor wasn’t so important when they were just watching the game video. Being able to translate those characteristics of the visual portrayal into actions the player was actually taking shaped the experience.”
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And Tifa has both PLOT and POWER lol
Can a strong female character who is also highly sexualized inspire positive perceptions from players? Female participants—despite generally disliking highly sexualized characters—were more likely to choose these characters when given the option to play as one.
Background: Why Care About Sexualization in Video Games?
The portrayal of female characters in video games has long been a topic of debate. Critics argue that many games excessively emphasize sexual appeal in female characters, potentially reinforcing objectifying views that prioritize appearance over other qualities.Some researchers, however, suggest that the frequent portrayal of female characters as strong and capable might counterbalance the negative impacts of sexual objectification. The study’s authors aimed to understand if such strength cues might actually mitigate negative impressions of sexualized female characters. They also wanted to explore how the nature of interaction—whether players actively control a character or just observe them onscreen—affects these perceptions.
“I think it’s important to understand how gender socialization and prejudice like sexism inform video game development and player experiences,” said study author Teresa Lynch, an assistant professor of communication technology at The Ohio State University and director of the Chronos Laboratory.
“Sexism pervades gaming. For example, game content overwhelmingly features male characters to the exclusion of central female or gender minoritized characters. Games that do feature female or gender minoritized characters often unfavorably stereotype and objectify these groups. In online gaming experiences, men and boys target women, girls, and gender minoritized individuals with sexist and harassing communication.”
“I want to know more about why, when, and how these kinds of outcomes happen. At the same time, many women and girls and people who identify outside of the binary enjoy gaming a great deal. I count myself among them. Understanding why these people enjoy games in spite of (or even because of!) the challenges sexism presents in gaming is fascinating to me. This study is one part of answering those big questions.”
The researchers conducted two controlled experiments to investigate how different design elements influence perceptions of female video game characters. Each experiment used unique character designs created in the fighting game SOULCALIBUR VI, providing participants with a range of female characters that varied systematically in their sexualization and strength cues.
Experiment 1: The Impact of Viewing Female Characters
The first experiment included 239 undergraduate students from a communication program, with the majority of participants identifying as female. Ages varied from 18 to 51, though the group was generally younger. The researchers created four distinct types of female characters using SOULCALIBUR VI: each character was customized to represent one of four combinations of sexualization and strength—high sexualization with high strength, high sexualization with low strength, low sexualization with high strength, and low sexualization with low strength.To achieve these variations, the team manipulated the characters’ visual traits. Characters designed with high sexualization had features associated with previous research on sexualized portrayals: larger breasts, lower waist-to-hip ratios, and revealing clothing. Characters with low sexualization cues, on the other hand, displayed more modest proportions and less revealing attire. Strength cues were also manipulated, where high-strength characters were larger, more muscular, and carried bigger weapons. In contrast, low-strength characters had smaller physiques and less imposing weaponry.
Participants watched four pre-recorded video clips, each featuring a different character type engaging in a short combat sequence. After viewing each clip, participants rated the characters across several dimensions, such as perceived sexualization (e.g., if the character’s attire seemed revealing), strength (their perceived physical power), femininity (alignment with traditional feminine traits), and likability (how much participants would enjoy playing as the character). At the end of the viewing session, participants also completed a selection survey, choosing which of the characters they would prefer to play.
Sex Appeal vs. Strength in Viewing Contexts
The results showed distinct patterns in how sexualization and strength cues shaped viewers’ impressions of these characters. Characters with high sexualization cues were consistently rated as more sexualized compared to those with low sex appeal. Additionally, characters designed with high strength cues were rated as more formidable, aligning with the study’s expectations.However, when a character combined high sexualization with high strength, participants perceived her as even more sexualized than characters with high sexualization alone. This outcome indicates that strength cues do not counteract the effects of sexualization; rather, they may amplify it. This pattern aligns with the “fighting fuck-toy” theory, which suggests that strength paired with sex appeal can reinforce objectifying impressions, heightening perceptions of the character as a sexualized object.
The researchers also found that high sexualization was a key factor in perceptions of femininity and character likability. Characters with high sexualization were viewed as more traditionally feminine, yet they were also less liked, particularly by female participants. Strength cues, by contrast, did not independently influence likability, suggesting that the perception of likability may be more influenced by sexualization cues than by physical strength.
“That said, I was surprised to see that in our first study women still selected the most sexualized character when asked which character they would choose to play. It’s important to remember that this character was also rated as the most feminine, so it’s possible that women were just selecting the character they most identified with.”
“However, this finding highlight why this research is so important,” Lynch continued. “If women are conflating sexual appeal with femininity, then can they disassociate those two concepts? And, if entertainment media like video games continue to portray female characters by emphasizing sex appeal, how does that shape expectations of women and women’s value in society?”
The findings highlight “that playing video games positions people with a different orientation to the content on-screen,” Lynch told PsyPost. “It can involve you in a way that simultaneously makes you feel like you’re part of the content and game, that you are the character. So, if you are a character that has attributes that you appreciate and enjoy embodying, then you probably will experience some positive outcomes and interpret the experience similarly.”
“And, because games require you to engage in action, you may find distinct things enjoyable in games compared to less interactive experiences like watching movies. Instead of just seeing a hero defeat a horrible villain on-screen, you feel part of the experience of vanquishing that villain. That can be really awesome.”
“But, if the character has attributes that aren’t so great — maybe they are sexually objectified or portrayed as cute, but helpless — then that stands to diminish you in the same way that the heroic portrayal elevated you,” Lynch said. “Our findings suggest that people are paying more attention to the powerfulness of female characters who they can play as, whereas this factor wasn’t so important when they were just watching the game video. Being able to translate those characteristics of the visual portrayal into actions the player was actually taking shaped the experience.”
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And Tifa has both PLOT and POWER lol
