When
Where
The sexualization of female gamer characters is nothing new. Games of all time periods can be cited as offenders. When gamergate happened in August 2014, the sexualization and portrayal of female game characters - among other important issues - took center stage. The sexualization was no longer something that "just happened." It became something that needed to be talked about. More important, it become something that was worth fixing.
This project seeks to examine the lasting results of gamergate on the sexualization of female by looking at character splash art within League of Legends. It hypothesizes that, after the events of gamergate, the developers will have grown, creating less sexualized female characters. By looking at a single platform, the project seeks to maintain a consistent baseline and remove variables, such as the narrative growth that happens throughout a game series, to focus specifically on how female characters are created. League of Legends proves to be an optimal example because of the number of characters and the length of time the game has been in existence.
Bios
Michael W. Jenkins has completed an M.A. in Philosophy at San Diego State University and M.L.S. at the University of Arizona. He is currently a PhD candidate in the School of Information where he studies Cyberspace Identity and Gender in Games.
Marc Padilla is currently pursuing his Masters in Cybersecurity at the University of Arizona.