Deconstructing Woman

Feminists have long bemoaned the fact that the video game industry all but ignores girls and women in its single-minded emphasis on and development of games for boys and men. This, despite the fact that recent surveys suggest that as many as 41 percent of gamers are girls and women.¹

Even more troubling than the exclusion of girls and women from the industry’s strategic marketing, however, is the shockingly sexist and mysogynist nature of video games themselves.  In the original version of Grand Theft Auto III, for instance, players solicited sexual services from a prostitute before beating and killing her. After public outrage, an updated version was released that no longer allowed players to solicit any sex acts from prostitutes; now they just beat them to death. In BMX XXX, boys created topless female players and “unlocked” footage of naked, performing strippers.

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In 2006, the new drama Heroes enjoyed great success with audiences. Its superhero theme and archetypal characters appealed to many TV watchers bored with the ubiquitous detective and procedural programs that clog the airlines. In a recent article posted in the feminist blogosphere, Susie Hume gives an incisive feminist critique of Heroes and its treatment of gender roles. She discusses, in particular, the vulnerability and victim status of many of the female “heroes.”

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In the teen flick She’s the Man (2006), Amanda Bynes plays the likable Viola, a young girl who is passionate about soccer and willing to do just about anything to play her favorite sport. When her high school cuts the girls’ soccer team and the coach refuses to let her try out for the boys team (“Everybody knows girls aren’t as fast or strong or athletic as boys”), Viola decides to impersonate her brother Sebastian and try out for a rival school’s boys’ team.

Not surprisingly, many women and feminists have hailed the movie as pro-feminist, and there are several scenes in the movie that support this contention: When Viola’s boyfriend fails to support her, she immediately dumps him; she resists external influences that attempt to coerce her into a typical feminine stereotype; and she doesn’t shy away from competition. In fact, she seems brazenly comfortable making her own choices and she is not afraid to go after what she wants, no matter how challenging. But in our excitement over finding a fun, spunky, independent female lead, have feminists overlooked some of the traditionally stereotypical and sexist messages found in She’s the Man despite its obvious “girl power” theme?
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