- Thread Author
- #1
I think one of the main reasons why women avoid videogames is because female representation in video-games is generally quite poor. There are many games with many different types of male characters, usually though the default archetype is rugged and cool with some admixture of admirable traits which is not a bad thing; like a valiant knight or morally ambiguous anti-villain. Imagine that you are a woman that really wants to get into video-games. Here are the three different main 'brands' of female characters:
#1: Window dressing
Self-explanatory, usually marketed toward a male audience that just wants to get their rocks off. They have no personality and exist to be coomer bait. You see less of this mentality recently in mainstream games but it used to be everywhere.
#2: Quirk chungus mode
A wisecracking idiot that never takes anything seriously. Teehee so quirky! This type of character has become common concomitantly with diversity almost as if it's an antagonistic push against the 'window dressing' archetype, but how are you supposed to have a sentimental or respectful female character if they never have any deep characterization? There are some successful male quirk chungi, such as old PS2-era protagonists, but this is not a common trope for male protagonists in 2025, and they are usually balanced with sentimental traits too (more of a lovable dork than a callous goofball).
#3: Oversensitive wallflowers
Any game marketed explicitly for a female audience has overly socialized wallflowers that are obsessed with drama and aesthetics. These are common especially in choose-your-own-adventure style games such as those from Dontnod. These games are basically TV Dramas and the audience is similar. Either way, these protagonists are not 'cool' or 'admirable' or even 'moral' in the same way that male protagonists tend to be, even if their defining trait is emotional investment, they are almost always characterised by turbulence.
It would be like if videogame protagonists for males were exclusively skimpy chad, callous numales or gym rats that only talk about sports, guns and cars. I think a large reason as to why women dislike videogames is because they are almost always portrayed as an unappealing caricature. There are some pretty good strides in the domain of 'cool female protagonists' but they are usually not overwhelmingly popular and are still in their infancy as far as diversity of character goes; 'Control' has a pretty good example of a sufficiently compelling 'Tabula Rasa' female protagonist that can carry a game with a comparable gusto to Arthur Morgan, for instance. Even in the case of fringe, liberalized games such as Disco Elysium, you would be hard-pressed to find a female equivalent to Harrier's rich characterization.
#1: Window dressing
Self-explanatory, usually marketed toward a male audience that just wants to get their rocks off. They have no personality and exist to be coomer bait. You see less of this mentality recently in mainstream games but it used to be everywhere.
#2: Quirk chungus mode
A wisecracking idiot that never takes anything seriously. Teehee so quirky! This type of character has become common concomitantly with diversity almost as if it's an antagonistic push against the 'window dressing' archetype, but how are you supposed to have a sentimental or respectful female character if they never have any deep characterization? There are some successful male quirk chungi, such as old PS2-era protagonists, but this is not a common trope for male protagonists in 2025, and they are usually balanced with sentimental traits too (more of a lovable dork than a callous goofball).
#3: Oversensitive wallflowers
Any game marketed explicitly for a female audience has overly socialized wallflowers that are obsessed with drama and aesthetics. These are common especially in choose-your-own-adventure style games such as those from Dontnod. These games are basically TV Dramas and the audience is similar. Either way, these protagonists are not 'cool' or 'admirable' or even 'moral' in the same way that male protagonists tend to be, even if their defining trait is emotional investment, they are almost always characterised by turbulence.
It would be like if videogame protagonists for males were exclusively skimpy chad, callous numales or gym rats that only talk about sports, guns and cars. I think a large reason as to why women dislike videogames is because they are almost always portrayed as an unappealing caricature. There are some pretty good strides in the domain of 'cool female protagonists' but they are usually not overwhelmingly popular and are still in their infancy as far as diversity of character goes; 'Control' has a pretty good example of a sufficiently compelling 'Tabula Rasa' female protagonist that can carry a game with a comparable gusto to Arthur Morgan, for instance. Even in the case of fringe, liberalized games such as Disco Elysium, you would be hard-pressed to find a female equivalent to Harrier's rich characterization.
