Don't Let the Girls Play: Gender Representation in Videogame Journalism and the Influence of Hegemonic Masculinity, Media Filters, and Message Mediation A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Howard D. Fisher June 2012 © 2012 Howard D. Fisher. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Don't Let the Girls Play: Gender Representation in Videogame Journalism and the Influence of Hegemonic Masculinity, Media Filters, and Message Mediation by HOWARD D. FISHER has been approved for the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication by Bernhard S. Debatin Professor of Journalism Scott Titsworth Interim Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT FISHER, HOWARD D., Ph.D., June 2012, Journalism Don't let the girls play: Gender representation in videogame journalism and the influence of Hegemonic Masculinity, Media Filters, and Message Mediation Director of Dissertation: Bernhard S. Debatin The researcher proposed that videogame magazines and journalists were misrepresenting the full breadth of modern videogame players, specifically women. Based on a foundation of Hegemonic Masculinity, the researcher conducted frame analyses of select magazines and in-depth interviews with select journalists. The researcher used Herman & Chomsky and Shoemaker & Reese as theoretical background and the standards proposed by the Hutchins commission and the Society of Professional Journalists to analyze the frames and interviews. The researcher found that women avatars were either ignored or portrayed as sex objects in the magazines, and that women videogame players were frequently mocked or insulted. Analyses further revealed that videogame journalists subscribe to an Ideology of Anxiety, primarily based on their fear- driven relationship with videogame developers and publishers. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Bernhard S. Debatin Professor of Journalism iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge the support and assistance of my chair, Bernhard S. Debatin, who saw the value in researching videogame magazines from an academic perspective. Thank you also to my committee members, Joseph Bernt, Mia Consalvo, and Haley Duschinski, who provided insight and assistance with all the various theories and methods underlying this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract.............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review.............................................................................................. 6 Women and Videogaming History ................................................................................. 6 Gaming’s Male-Centric History ..................................................................................... 7 Gender Representation.................................................................................................... 9 Female Representation in Sports and in Sports Journalism.......................................... 15 Female Representation in News Journalism................................................................. 20 Hegemonic Masculinity and the Media’s Influence on Cultural Ideologies of Men and Women.......................................................................................................................... 21 Propaganda Model of Mass Media (Herman & Chomsky) .......................................... 35 Influences on Content (Shoemaker & Reese)............................................................... 39 Ideology and False Consciousness ............................................................................... 42 Social Responsibility in Journalism.............................................................................. 45 Frame Analysis ............................................................................................................. 49 In-Depth Interviews ...................................................................................................... 60 Synthesized Theoretical Foundations ........................................................................... 61 Hypotheses.................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 3: Method ............................................................................................................ 83 Frame Analysis ............................................................................................................. 83 In-Depth Interviews ...................................................................................................... 89 Institutional Review Board (IRB)................................................................................. 94 Chapter 4: Frame Analysis Findings................................................................................. 96 Overview....................................................................................................................... 96 Meta-Frame A: Negatively-Biased Portrayals of Women........................................ 97 Meta-Frame B: Positive Portrayals of Women ....................................................... 135 Meta-Frame C: “Other” Themes............................................................................. 139 v Chapter 5: In-Depth Interviews ...................................................................................... 156 Overview..................................................................................................................... 156 Interview Guide and IRB............................................................................................ 156 Journalists’ Perceptions of “Hardcore” vs. “Casual” Games/Gamers and of Women in Gaming........................................................................................................................ 158 Games Journalism vs. Other Forms of Journalism ..................................................... 164 Women, Violence, and the Videogame Magazines.................................................... 175 PR/Corporate Pressures .............................................................................................. 180 Playing Dress-Up........................................................................................................ 190 Chapter 6: CONCLUSION............................................................................................. 194 Summary..................................................................................................................... 194 Limitations of the Research ........................................................................................ 196 Future Research Opportunities ................................................................................... 202 Ideology of Anxiety.................................................................................................... 203 Presentation of Women............................................................................................... 210 Underlying Theoretical Perspectives: Herman & Chomsky and Shoemaker & Reese .................................................................................................................................... 216 Videogame “Journalism”............................................................................................ 220 Final Remarks ............................................................................................................. 233 References....................................................................................................................... 240 Appendix A: In-Depth Interview Questionnaire............................................................. 271 Appendix B: Study Participant Consent Form................................................................ 275 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: The target motif used by Shoemaker & Reese ................................................67 Figure 2: “Lady” from the videogame “Devil May Cry 4” ..........................................104 Figure 3: “Ivy” from the videogame “Soul Calibur IV”...............................................107 Figure 4: “Samus” from the “Metroid Prime” videogame series .................................115 Figure 5: The protagonist/avatar from the videogame “Fallout 3”...............................131 Figure 6: “Fleurette” from the videogame “Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors” ............................................................................................135 Figure 7: Videogame journalist Jessica Chobot licking a Sony PSP handheld videogame system ...........................................................................................................................235 vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Videogames have been a part of American pop culture since the 1970’s release of multiple home videogame systems (including the
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