MAKING DADDY PROUD: PRESENTATIONS OF FEMININITY IN VIDEO GAMES WITH FEMALE PROTAGONISTS

Despite the male dominated landscape of the video game industry, several games featuring female protagonists have garnered wide-spread recognition and acclaim among players of all genders. Existing video game literature suggests that women are underrepresented and hypersexualized across the medium. However, research on this topic faces the challenge of fast- paced, changing trends in the video game industry. Utilizing qualitative content analysis, this research analyzes the construction of femininity in video games with female protagonists from the most recent gaming console generation. By analyzing game narrative and character development, this study offers a critical look at how gender norms are reproduced through video games. Coding analysis revealed the centering of male protectors, lack of sexual agency, character development through suffering, and gendered expectations of morality. Overall, while many of the findings in this study mark a departure from the hypersexualized female characters from previous studies, the male gaze still manifests in these games through the paternal need to protect female characters.