The story of sexism in the industry video games it may no longer be discussed as excitedly as it used to be, but that does not mean the issue has been discussed. In the midst of the activist movement that is intensively fighting for women’s rights, their criticism of the objectification culture of women is often considered normal in society games is not something new. However, many people also think that criticism of the issue of sexism in the industry videos games is an exaggeration.
Well, it’s just a game anyway.
Like a painting, games can also be viewed as a work of art that is ideally judged on the quality of the work itself. In this case, design, animation and visualization are the attributes of the assessment, without the need to be mixed with the spices of subjective assessment of gender.
However, it is not wrong if critics start to highlight the real issue of sexism in the community gamer.
In fact, culture is formed from habits. A thought or behavior can be normalized if it is done or felt continuously. For example, Cinderella Syndromea phenomenon where women think of themselves as weak creatures who need a handsome prince on a white horse to save them, like in a fairy tale that is usually read and watched since childhood.
Based on these phenomena, it is not difficult to conclude that some gamer men will have a condescending view of gamer women or even women in general when accustomed to seeing the role of women in games which is just an accessory or trophies that need to be saved; or sidekick sexy that helps fight the enemy.
Sexism in South Korea
In 2022, game publisher nexon, unilaterally change the female voice for a character video games Closersin order to fulfill a request by fans who were furious when the voice actor uploaded a photo of himself wearing a controversial t-shirt that read “girls do not need a prince“. The T-shirts sold on the Megalian04 website are suspected of being affiliated with a radical feminist organization in South Korea, Megalian. Even though the site has stated that they do not have any relationship with the feminist organization.
A similar case was repeated in 2022, where Kim Hakkyu, a CEO and founder of IMC Games, conducted an investigation against a female employee for her personal activities on Twitter which makesretweet tweets containing the word ‘hannam’ (a Korean term meaning ‘disgusting man‘) and tofollow feminist account. This is considered an act of ‘anti-social ideology’ by para gamer. Upon this investigation, the female employee must make a statement of apology andunfollow feminist accounts she follows. Kim stated that he would continue to be on the lookout for similar cases.
What Kim did gave a message that supports sexism where oppression against women who have different ideologies is the right thing. This sexist message, supported by a high profile of institutions in society, will increasingly legitimize the gamer to more intensively monitor the activities of women in the industry games which is a minority group.
As a result, many women in the industry games South Korea who being afraid to voice his opinionbecause even the top brass in the industries they are involved in are not on the side of their rights.
Does sexism only happen in South Korea?
What is happening in South Korea is only a small part of the various sexisms against women in the industry games in this world. A chief editor of the publication games IGN was fired after it was exposed that his indecent treatment of a female employee was exposed.
The investigation into the harassment case was carried out after several employees went on strike because IGN did not officially respond to complaints reported by former employees. You can imagine what would have happened if the employees had not forced an investigation into the complaint that had been ignored. The incident might just be considered as a thing of the past.
It’s no wonder that women in the industry games silent in the midst of the rise of the movement #MeToo which is intended to support women in voicing incidents of discrimination, harassment or sexual violence they experience, both inside and outside the scope esports.
In the end, criticizing games depicting women as sexual objects is not an exaggeration. Although games is a work of art that has its own value, we must not close our eyes that, as with film and the media, games can give exposure to a view of sexism, which if allowed to continue can normalize the views and treatment of sexism.
In addition, the role of higher-ups in the industry video games also deserves attention regarding their decisions that tend to be sexist in order to fulfill the wishes of the majority of their consumers who are also sexist.
It’s time for game developer in the world care about the issue of sexism that surrounds them. This concern can be started from a simple step, namely by not presenting elements that demean women in games, so that exposure to thoughts that see women as complementary objects to men does not continue to occur.
Actions that are no less important to eliminate gender-based injustice also lie in building a safe and comfortable work environment for employees to be able to voice issues of discrimination, violence and harassment that they experience.
Companies should also think about the psychological well-being of their employees, by listening to their employees’ feelings, not just listening to their fans’ requests.
Normalized sexist behavior and (not infrequently) the support of industry leaders games in the community gamer can be a bad image in the eyes of the general public, in particular, women who may have passion in games but in the end extinguish passion This is because they are faced with a community that is not friendly with their existence.
This of course will hinder game developer itself to widen the target market games which they developed. Wellprobably mostly game developer haven’t realized that they’ve missed the target consumer before they even thought about aiming for it.
(Edited by Satya Kevino)
