Teenage Boys Want More Female Heroes, Less Cleavage In Video Games

It’s a common stereotype that teenage boys are sex-obsessed. It’s not an entirely untrue or unreasonable stereotype, but it is a stereotype, and one that often comes up when you discuss gaming. Turns out, though, teenage boys aren’t interested in digital T&A so much as they are in Lara Croft kicking ass.

A new study asked 1,400 middle and high-school kids what they thought of women in video games, and the results are worth looking at.

  • 47 percent of middle school boys and 61 percent of teenage boys disliked women being objectified in games.
  • Nobody cares about the gender of the protagonist: Boys care less about playing a male character and girls seem to care more about it as they age.
  • Most of them had never heard of Gamergate.

The authors of the survey made a point of saying this wasn’t definitive by any yardstick. But it makes sense, if you stop and think about it. Middle schoolers and high schoolers now have never known a world where issues like this aren’t seriously discussed in the public sphere. Kids, contrary to popular belief, are not stupid, and they tend to pay more attention than people think.

None of this will, of course, settle any debates about video games. But it might behoove game companies to do a little market research, and see just how far this goes.

(via TIME)

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