Report; Unrealistic Beauty

Unrealistic Beauty In Media and Games; “Can a 3D representations be just as harmful as the media”?

In the gaming community, I am describe as a “Girl Gamer” not a “Gamer” a “Girl Gamer”. Not that this title offends me, because my gender is represented within it. I feel it’s a title to be proud of - a female who spends her time enjoying a “male orientated” pass time. However, this term is often stereotyped into two types of women, a nerdy average women who is seen as “one of the guys” or an unrealistically beautiful female who plays games for the attention of men. The internet has evolved these stereotypes with the use of memes, viral images mic takes and more. Unrealistic beauty is everywhere in today’s society, not only is it portrayed in magazines and the media, films and TV programs but there is a suggestion that this unrealistic image of beauty has slipping into games too? Are women going to start comparing themselves to a 3D muddled, representation of a female that they see in games? A concept and representation in a field of work that is mainly male orientated. Can this unrealistic beauty affect relationships of those who play games, because of the unreachable expectation one has of the opposite sex.

There is so much debate about sexism in games and how sexes are represented. I feel the argument for games and how the sex is represented is the same as every other aspect of media. Models in a magazine have been digitally altered to be thinner, bigger hips, chest and bum and better skin. Why is it wrong for the gaming community to go the same digitally modelling and show it change because some are unhappy? The fashion industry hasn’t changed for years. Should games? 

In my ideal game, I would play a very feminine women preferring a small waist, big chest and flawless skin, mainly because these types of females in games have been describe as my alter ego, a second self I perceive in games. I crave this idealised beauty in games, because I know I’m far from reaching, it not because of the games themselves. I compare myself to other females around me and those I see on TV. However, I don’t compare myself to the women I see in games. In my mind, these depicted women aren’t real and I know they aren’t real, therefore I don’t feel it necessary to compare myself to a digital representation.

One argument is that; real women aren’t that thin, big chested and wear a little armour outfit into battle - it gives men an unreal expectation of real females and vies versa. But does it? In our everyday life we are subjected to an unrealistic view of beauty. You only have to turn on the TV or open a magazine to see it. TV shows such as 90210 based on young students living in the Beverly Hills, US. The series target audience being young impressionable teens. The show is full of thin wealthy adolescents. In every season there is only one large female. There is absolutely no variation of weight, shape and size in the program and it’s not just the females being depicted this way. The males are also athletically built with 6packs and abs. These types of shows have a story line with no back grounded moral. Are games the same? I don’t believe so although TV and Games are both for entertainment and both can be accused of promoting unrealistic beauty. I believe Game usually have a moral and if they don’t, we as consumers gain a sense of achievement. The series of Gears of war promotes bravery, selflessness. In Gears of War 3 Dom sacrifices himself to save his fellow comrades and friends. 90210 teaches young people that having a boyfriend is important to your happiness and lying gets your rich and famous but without friends.

In 2003 it was demonstrated that the modern media ideal for feminine beauty is what they call “curvaceously thin” an example of this is the idea bust to waist to hip proportion of 36-24-36 corresponding to women’s clothes would be 10-2-4 ( Dill K, Thrill K, 2007)  Meaning that the woman would have an abnormally small hip and waist and relatively large bust for her size- For most women this is an impossible body ratio without having cosmetic surgery. When college student aged around 20 where exposed to these images of curvaceously thin women both sexes approved of this idea of this thin ( Dill K, Thrill K, 2007) and thought it to be visually attractive.

I myself, have an unrealistic expectation of how I want to appear. Manifesting in my adolescent years, I obsess over appearances, idolised beauty and perfection. I don’t know why it started or remember how. I can remember a time I didn’t think of my appearance or how I was viewed by people, but no significant even triggered it. However, I do know it wasn’t because of Games and the women depicted in them. Video Games Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles: Young People’s Perceptions Sexist Media Depictions suggests that exposure to physical appearances ideals in the media are connected with poor body image and self-destructive behaviours such as pathogenic dieting practices Pathogenic dieting is where dieting progresses to the point  that you find food, eating and weight concerns are robbing you of your mental peace and enjoyment of family and friends or in any other way hampering your quality of life/health. (Sloan, R 2008)  I would be described as a pathogenic dieter. I obsess in my everyday life about weight, it interferes with my happiness. I excessively obsess over how other people see me and their opinions on my aesthetics.

Not forgetting that females aren’t the only sex to be affected by unrealistic beauty can especially affects young men media has a strong influence on male body image. A stereotype of hyper-masculinity are connected with the drive of muscularity motivating boys and young men to engage in unhealthy practises such as illegal steroids and unhealthy weight training (Dill K, Thill K, 2007). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 6212 girls and 4237 boys between 12-18 years where enrolled on the ongoing Grow UP Today Study. The outcome was to show the statistics of the weekly usage of products to improve appearance, muscle mass or strength. The results where that approximately 4.7% of the boys and 1.6% of girls used shakes, powders and other products at least once a week to help enhance appetences or strength. The conclusion of the test was that, young adolescents that worried about ascetics who frequently thought about wanting to tone up or lose/gain weight who also watched a lot of media and read fashion magazines where more a lot more likely than their peers to use steroids and similar products. These results also suggest that just as girls with resort to unhealthy means to achieve a low body weight, both girls and boys may also resort to unhealthful means to achieve desired physiques. (Alison Field and associates, 2005).

In 1998 Tracy Dietz conducted a series of research surrounding games. She analysed the portrayal of female characters in the top selling console games of that time. It was found that although most games did not include female characters, 79% of them where aggressive, about one fifth of the games depicted violence towards women and over one quarter of those games depicted women as a sex object. Although Dietz finding are outdated games stereotypes haven't significantly changed in the last 16 years. Our technology has gotten significantly better, graphics and digital representation of people and environments have come a long way. Have the story lines and how we see women in games done the same? There is a much higher number of females show and represented in games. 
Not all the women are shown as sex objects or damsels in distress some have even evolved into the aggressors of the storyline but are they still negatively representing women. Is the digital representation a sex object for not the male in game but the male player itself? Has the women in games been depicted so that the male consumer find them sexual attractive. If so surely this makes it harder for the consumer to find average, normal women as attractive. Is an unrealistic beauty in 3D modelled version of a women worse than a photoshopped cover girl on a magazine? At least a Photoshop version of a cover girl has some reality a real face, skin you know they are real but only modified to be better. A 3D modelled representation of women is someone else’s ideal, version and creation. It doesn’t have to abide by the laws of nature or science. A real person is never going to be as flawless as a digital, so is it health as consumer’s too subconsciously to compare the two. Is the digital world of gaming not just adding to the problem? Would video games be as attractive if there was no unrealistic beauty? I don’t think it would be, why play a game surrounded by normal, when you can surround yourself in a game that has the impossible. Games usually have things that are unreachable or impossible as us as normal people. Why should beauty be any different? Even if that goal for us isn’t reachable at least for a moment in time you’re playing someone who has it. An alter ego.         

Bibliography;

Dill K, Thill K, (2007) Video Games Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles: Young People’s Perceptions Sexist Media Depictions  (online) Hickory USA,  available from: http://www.nouspace.net/dene/475/videogames.pdf (Accessed 20/05/14)

Sloan R, (2008) Pathogenic Dieting (online) Nashville USA, available from: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pathogenic+dieting&oq=pathogenic+dieting&aqs (Accessed 20/05/14)

Alison Field, Bryn Austin, Carlos Camargo, Barr Taylor, Ruth Striegel-Moore Keith Loud, Graham Colditz (2005) Exposure to the Mass Media, Body Shape Concerns, and Use of Supplements to Improve Weight and Shape Among Male and Female Adolescents (online) Boston, USA, available from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/116/2/e214.full (Accessed 21/05/14)

Tracy L. Dietz (1998) Sex Roles, Vol 38, Nos 516. An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behaviour (Can be found online) http://files.planbookedu.com/247567/76035/Video+Games+and+Gender+Roles.pdf (Accessed 21/05/14)