WEBVTT

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“Fantastic!”


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( ♪ Theme Music ♪ )

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This episode comes with a content warning
for game footage involving

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hypersexualized female characters
and is not recommended for children.

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As always, remember that it is both
possible and even necessary

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to be critical of the media we enjoy.

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That’s going to be especially
important to keep in mind

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given the video game franchise
we are about to discuss…

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In 1987 Nintendo released a 2D
action adventure game for their

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Nintendo Entertainment System
which departed

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from traditional video game conventions.

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Metroid starred a bounty hunter
named Samus Aran

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who is covered head to toe in the
now iconic cybernetic “power suit”.

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The game’s manual referred to the
protagonist with male pronouns

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and described his identity as
“shrouded in mystery”.

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Metroid was notable as an
early example of a game

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that employed multiple alternative
endings which could be unlocked

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based on the player’s gaming
skill and performance.

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If the player is able to complete
the game in under five hours

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a short cutscene will play featuring the
protagonist without their armored helmet,

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revealing that Samus Aran is, in fact,
a woman.

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This was a significant moment
in gaming history,

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especially for many female gaming fans,
because, at the time,

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nearly all protagonists were just
assumed to be male by default.

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Remember this was back
before the internet,

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when you couldn’t just hop online to find
out about all the secrets and spoilers,

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so for many players, the ending of
Metroid came as a genuine surprise.

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Still, the subversion only worked
provided players were skilled enough

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to achieve the surprise ending.

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In retrospect, Samus’ gender reveal perhaps
should not have been as shocking as it was,

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considering that Metroid is
heavily influenced by the Alien films.

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Sadly the alternate endings
did not stop there

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the two “best” endings make Metroid
one of the first games

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to exploit the Women as Reward trope,


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as both reveal Samus
in various states of undress.

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The better a player does,
the more clothing is removed.

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If the player completes the game in under
3 hours Samus is shown without her armor

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and in a leotard.

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If the player finishes in under 1 hour
they are treated to Samus in a bikini.

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So yes, Samus wasn’t a damsel’ed woman
waiting at the end of the game as a trophy

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rather, her body itself became the prize
awarded to players for a job well done.

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Later games in the Metroid series
continued the convention of

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rewarding players with endings featuring
Samus in various states of undress.

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In one sense Samus Aran definitely did
subvert traditional gender tropes

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of the 1980s by taking on the role
of intrepid hero.

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However she and her body were still
presented to players as prizes to be won.

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The convention, of earning access to
cutscenes or ending vignettes

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with eroticized female bodies can be found
in many titles over the past 30 years.

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“Apollo”

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“Whoa! Whoa!”

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(Audience laughter)

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“Oh!”

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We can trace the roots of the
Women as Reward trope all the way back

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to the beginnings of the medium itself.

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As we discussed in our
damsel in distress mini-series,

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upon successful completion
of many arcade games

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players were rewarded with the
related Smooch of Victory trope, so named

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for the kiss the hero received as a reward
for rescuing a kidnapped princess.

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Sometimes the prize is blatant as with the
Standard Hero Reward

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in which a king will give his
daughter to the hero.

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On other occasions, it’s taken a step further
by employing the parallel

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Sex of Victory or Rescue Sex trope.
Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is:

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instead of a kiss, sex with the rescued
victim is the player’s reward.

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“That was gonna get ugly. You saved us!”

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“My pleasure, ladies.”

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“Thank you, thank you. Thank you.”

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“You saved my life. A bit of joy as
recumpence is not too much to ask.”

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“I’m intrigued. It’s been a tough day.
I think some joy might do me good.”

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(Moaning)

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We’ve coined the Women as Reward trope
to describe a long-running pattern

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found in interactive media.

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It occurs when women
or more often women’s bodies

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are employed as rewards for
player actions in video games.

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The trope frames female bodies as
collectible, as tractable or as consumable

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and positions women as status symbols

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designed to validate the masculinity
of presumed straight male players.

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There’s some overlap between the
Damsel in Distress and Women as Reward

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but they function differently.

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While the Damsel in Distress
trope uses women

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as a plot device to motivate male heroes,

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the Women as Reward trope presents women
as a formalized reward mechanism,

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meaning that the reward is coded
into the game system itself.

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The result of this incentive structure is
that access to women’s bodies,

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women’s affection or women’s sexuality is
reduced to a simple equation that guarantees

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delivery as long as the correct set of
inputs are entered into the system.

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In this way the Women as Reward trope
helps foster a sense of entitlement

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where players are encouraged to view women
as something they’ve earned the right to

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by virtue of their gaming actions,
skills or accomplishments.

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This is illustrated in arcade classics
like Joe and Mac

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and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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after players save the damsel
in both games,

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she will bestow a kiss on the character
who earned the most points on that stage.

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“I owe you one.”

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Entitlement to women is made even more
explicit in many versions of Double Dragon.

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At the end of the game, after the
final boss has been defeated

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and the damsel in distress saved, player
one and player two must fight each other

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over who “gets” to “have” Marian and
with her, the smooch of victory.

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Notice that Marian’s desires are not part
of the equation, she has no say in the matter

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she simply fills the role of a trophy for
whichever player is ultimately victorious.

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This scene serves as inspiration
for similar scenarios

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in more contemporary games
like Castle Crashers.

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We’ve identified 6 primary ways the Women
as Reward trope manifests in video games.

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Over the course of this episode
we will examine each in turn.

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In addition to the “earned cinematics”
we’ve already discussed, we will cover

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the trope as it relates to
Easter Eggs, Unlockable Costumes,

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Experience Points, Collectibles,
and Achievements.

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Easter Eggs are intentionally
hidden secrets or jokes

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which developers conceal
inside of their games.

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Like the eggs at a
children’s easter egg hunt,

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these secrets are usually difficult to find
but are meant to be discovered as rewards

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for particularly industrious gamers.

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Easter Eggs can be hidden messages, items,
secret characters or random events,

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and their inclusion encourages
experimentation with the game’s systems

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and mechanics in order to
uncover these extra treasures.

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Some can be found
inside game environments,

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while others require a
cheat code to unlock.

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For example, if players input a specific
button sequence while starting up

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the 1991 role-playing game Rings of Power
the title screen would change.

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By pressing down, right, A, B, C and the
start button, players were rewarded

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with an image of a topless woman
next to the Naughty Dog logo.

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Easter eggs are, of course,
not inherently problematic,

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and gaming history is filled with
examples of neat secrets

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that designers have hidden
away for players to discover.

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But too frequently, Easter eggs
are used as another way

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to reward players with women’s bodies.

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Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 included a secret
unlockable character named Daisy,

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who bore the likeness of
porn star Jenna Jameson.

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Daisy’s sexualized appearance and
skateboard tricks are designed as a reward

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for those players who unlocked her.

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One way to do that is
by entering this code

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Probably one of the most famous
Women as Reward easter eggs

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brings us back to Samus Aran.

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The original Metroid used a password
system to save progress.

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By inputting the secret code
“Justin Bailey” into this system,

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gamers would unlock a powered-up
playable version of Samus

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wearing only her
leotard-style bathing suit.

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Incidentally this is the same outfit we
covered earlier as an end-game reward,

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only here she has the powers of the Varia
Suit and its associated color pallete swap

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which changes her hair color to green.

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Players can then play the entire game as
Samus without her space armor.

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So she ends up exploring
a hostile alien world

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and fighting off deadly monsters
in her underwear.

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“Welcome to the Hovercon intergalactic
hoverboard competition!”

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There’s a bizarre easter egg
in the original Ratchet & Clank:

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If the player does a series of side-flips
in front of a green-skinned alien,

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the woman’s breasts will
suddenly begin to inflate.

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The more gymnastics stunts performed,
the larger her boobs will become.

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There are so many Women as Reward-style
easter eggs in the Metal Gear Solid series

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that it would take several hours
to go over them all.

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First released for the PlayStation in 1998
and then remade for the GameCube in 2004,

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Metal Gear Solid featured not one
but two separate easter eggs

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that allow players to see
Meryl Silverburgh in her underwear.

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The second of these easter eggs requires
players to follow Meryl into the ladies room

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and interrupt her while she is changing.
If this is done quickly enough

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the next cutscene will play with
Meryl in her underwear.

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“Anyway, how did you recognize me in disguise?”

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“I never forget a lady”

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Jumping ahead to the fourth game,

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the protagonist is assigned a psychologist
for PTSD counseling.

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During these remote sessions, if
players shake their Playstation controller

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the psychologist’s breasts will
bounce and jiggle in response.

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“Memories began to resurface
from his childhood,"

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"when he fought for Solidus
in the Liberian Civil War.”

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Keep in mind that easter eggs
are not accidents or glitches.

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They are intentionally put into the game
by the designers,and as a result, indicate

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the value that the designers themselves
place on these female characters.

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They communicate to players that yes,
these women exist for players to exploit

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or experiment with
for their own amusement.

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Unlockable outfits are additional
costumes earned during gameplay

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which allow gamers to play dress up with
player characters or party members.

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Alternative “skins” as they are sometimes
called come in all shapes and sizes

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and are typically just cosmetic changes
to the character’s appearance,

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although sometimes they
add special abilities.

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Many unlockable costumes
are cool, wacky or bizarre.

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But when applied to female characters
we see a distinct pattern

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of revealing, hypersexualized outfits.

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Fetishized bunny, cat, maid or nurse
costumes are commonly used by developers

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as a way to pander to an assumed
straight male player base.

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It’s important to remember that
sexualization is not necessarily

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just about the amount of skin showing,
but is instead connected to the question

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of whether or not a costume is eroticized
for the express purpose of titillation.

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“Hey, why were you wearing
that stuffy-looking suit of armor?”

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“Oh? You didn’t like it? It’s pretty sturdy
and protects my body quite nicely...

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See? Look at this beautiful skin,
free of bruises and blemishes!”

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“Very nice… I’m actually worried
where my eyes might wander.”

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“You don’t look all that worried to me.”

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“I’ve just got a good poker face.
So, you’re okay?...

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You don’t mind leaving your armor behind?”

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“It’s sturdy, but it’s heavy. Walking
around with that on tires me out.”

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“Hey, no complaints here. I prefer
eye candy to scary armor any day.”

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These types of unlockable outfits
can be especially pernicious

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since they often end up
undermining women who are

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otherwise appropriately dressed
for active or professional roles.

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The Resident Evil franchise has been
particularly guilty of this over the years.

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Almost every major release in the series
has included the Women as Reward trope.

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Resident Evil is a bit unusual in that,
since its beginnings in the mid 90s,

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the franchise has featured a large
number of playable female protagonists

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most of whom are skilled zombie fighters

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and have impressive professional
resumés, to say the least.

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Rebecca Chambers is a police officer and medic
in the Special Tactics And Rescue Service.

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Players can dress her up in “sexy nurse”
and cheerleader costumes.

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Jill Valentine is a high-ranking
Special Operations Agent

00:13:10.486 --> 00:13:15.013
in the Bioterrorism Security Assessment
Alliance, and also the master of unlocking.

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She can be placed in sexy police woman
and sexy pirate outfits.

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Claire Redfield is a member of a
human rights organization

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that provides aid during
bioterrorism incidents.

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She can be turned into a
motorsport umbrella girl.

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Sherry Birkin is a US government agent working
with the Division of Security Operations.

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And here she’s wearing
a schoolgirl outfit.

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Helena Harper is a Secret Service agent
and a former member of the CIA.

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Her unlockable costumes include
another “sexy” police woman

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complete with mini skirt and garter belt.

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Sheva Alomar is an agent for the
Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance,

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operating in the West African branch.

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The tribal print bikini outfit is
especially disconcerting,

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because it combines the sexualization
of a female character

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with the racist tradition of
exotifying women of color,

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particularly women of African ancestry.

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More on that topic in an upcoming video.

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As a reward for completing the
main game under specific conditions,

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players gain the ability to shove these
female police and special agents

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into the digital equivalent of those
patronizing “sexy” Halloween costumes

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we see mass produced every year.

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These ensembles are not only completely
inappropriate for the mission at hand,

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but also reduce otherwise capable
characters to sexual objects

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for the voyeuristic enjoyment of players.

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“None of this makes any sense.
What did we do?”

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“I wish I could tell ya.”

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The latest game in the series, 2015’s
Resident Evil: Revelations 2

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continues this condescending
tradition by offering DLC

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that puts Claire Redfield into a
sexualized cowgirl outfit

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and forces Moira into whatever
the hell that is supposed to be…?

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The developers call it an
“urban ninja” costume?

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[Sigh.]

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Meanwhile, the male
playable character Barry

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gets a gentleman’s Commandant
alternative costume.

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Alternative costumes for men
are rarely objectifying.

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They’re instead presented
as “tough guy” power fantasies

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for other straight men to identify with.

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And when men are stripped
down to their beachwear

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it’s most often meant
as a lighthearted joke.

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Shifting to an example of a game that
does alternative female costumes right,

00:15:19.935 --> 00:15:25.200
Alice: Madness Returns features a wide
assortment of imaginative unlockable dresses.

00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:28.909
And if you must go the
“bunnygirl” or “catgirl” route,

00:15:28.909 --> 00:15:31.669
this right here is definitely
the way to do it.

00:15:33.049 --> 00:15:37.017
In many games experience points,
or XP, are earned by completing tasks

00:15:37.017 --> 00:15:39.370
like defeating monsters
or finishing quests.

00:15:39.370 --> 00:15:42.013
Once enough experience points
have been accumulated

00:15:42.013 --> 00:15:44.564
player characters can
periodically level up,

00:15:44.564 --> 00:15:48.138
making them stronger or giving
them access to new abilities.

00:15:48.138 --> 00:15:51.461
Unfortunately designers sometimes
tie the awarding of experience points

00:15:51.461 --> 00:15:54.541
directly to sexual interactions
with female characters,

00:15:54.541 --> 00:15:58.304
effectively transforming women into
conduits which players can utilize

00:15:58.304 --> 00:16:01.001
to become more powerful warriors.

00:16:01.001 --> 00:16:02.969
In the 2007 game Conan, for example,

00:16:02.969 --> 00:16:06.198
dozens of half naked “maidens”
are chained up throughout the game.

00:16:06.868 --> 00:16:09.368
“Take me and crush me with your love!”

00:16:10.308 --> 00:16:13.768
When rescued they essentially function
as sexualized treasure chests

00:16:13.768 --> 00:16:15.708
rewarding the player
with experience points

00:16:16.738 --> 00:16:20.040
which are then used to unlock
more powerful fighting moves.

00:16:20.040 --> 00:16:21.667
“…just a bit longer”

00:16:21.667 --> 00:16:25.018
“We’ve reached Athens.
Get your things and get out.”

00:16:28.488 --> 00:16:32.329
A number of other games tie
experience points directly to sex.

00:16:32.329 --> 00:16:35.765
The God of War games, for instance,
established a tradition of including mini-games

00:16:35.765 --> 00:16:39.462
that reward the player for successfully
having sex with one or more women.

00:16:43.412 --> 00:16:46.792
Completing these little quick-time
events earn players red orbs

00:16:46.792 --> 00:16:48.595
that are used to upgrade
attacks and magic.

00:16:50.085 --> 00:16:52.811
Beginning with the 3rd game,
the Grand Theft Auto series

00:16:52.811 --> 00:16:55.311
allows players to buy
sex from prostitutes…

00:16:55.311 --> 00:16:56.133
“Get in the car.”

00:16:56.133 --> 00:16:58.843
…and rewards them by
restoring their health meter.

00:17:00.713 --> 00:17:03.653
In Grand Theft Auto 5, players are
given additional encouragement

00:17:03.653 --> 00:17:05.718
to solicit prostitutes, in the
form of an increase to

00:17:05.718 --> 00:17:10.414
their character’s stamina rating, which
enables those characters to sprint, swim,

00:17:10.414 --> 00:17:13.580
or ride a bike faster for
longer periods of time.

00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.298
Similarly, in The Witcher 3, Geralt earns
a handful of experience points for

00:17:18.298 --> 00:17:22.133
buying sex from prostitutes, and he earns
more points for sex with the “courtesans”

00:17:22.133 --> 00:17:26.558
in the wealthier districts than with the
“strumpets” in the poor parts of the city.

00:17:26.558 --> 00:17:30.850
“Greetings to the honorable gentleman.
Welcome, make yourself at home...

00:17:30.850 --> 00:17:34.671
What have you come for? We’re
prepared to fulfill your every whim.”

00:17:36.001 --> 00:17:40.389
“I like you. Like how you look,
like how you smell.”

00:17:40.389 --> 00:17:43.544
When women are used as sexualized
experience point dispensers,

00:17:43.544 --> 00:17:46.276
the sexual scenarios are
themselves a reward

00:17:46.276 --> 00:17:49.898
designed to validate the masculinity of
presumed straight male players.

00:17:49.898 --> 00:17:53.949
But there’s a dual reward here: absorbing
these expressions of female sexuality

00:17:53.949 --> 00:17:57.918
carries with it the ability for male
characters to grow stronger, faster,

00:17:57.918 --> 00:18:01.938
and more capable, reducing the women
to points in a mathematical equation

00:18:01.938 --> 00:18:05.260
that directly links the flippant
consumption of female sexuality

00:18:05.260 --> 00:18:07.886
to an increase in male power.

00:18:07.886 --> 00:18:10.416
Note that, while the consumption of
women makes male characters more powerful

00:18:10.416 --> 00:18:13.280
it has nothing to do with mutual
relationship building.

00:18:13.280 --> 00:18:17.478
The “relationship,” such as it is, ends
with sex, or rescuing the woman.

00:18:17.478 --> 00:18:20.102
At that point, she has
served her purpose.

00:18:20.102 --> 00:18:23.633
Players have reaped the benefits
and her value has been depleted.

00:18:23.633 --> 00:18:28.663
Like an empty energy drink container, she
is simply cast aside after being consumed.

00:18:28.663 --> 00:18:30.091
“That was nice!”

00:18:30.451 --> 00:18:33.174
That’s hardly the only
problem with female NPCs

00:18:33.174 --> 00:18:36.154
who are designed to function as
sexually objectified set dressing.

00:18:36.154 --> 00:18:38.619
For more on the myriad of issues
with these types of characters,

00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:42.400
see our two videos on the
Women as Background Decoration trope.

00:18:43.770 --> 00:18:45.889
Collectibles are virtual
items placed or hidden

00:18:45.889 --> 00:18:47.952
throughout a game
world for players to find.

00:18:47.952 --> 00:18:50.244
Some collectible objects have
effects on gameplay,

00:18:50.244 --> 00:18:53.410
such as boosting player stats or
serving as score multipliers.

00:18:53.410 --> 00:18:56.336
Other collectibles are designed
simply to be accumulated

00:18:56.336 --> 00:18:58.429
to provide a sense of accomplishment.

00:18:58.429 --> 00:19:02.512
Once acquired, some collectibles unlock
concept art or other media fragments

00:19:02.512 --> 00:19:06.411
that can be viewed later in galleries
selected from the game’s menu screen.

00:19:06.411 --> 00:19:10.837
When done well, collectibles inspire
exploration and replayability.

00:19:10.837 --> 00:19:13.323
However, when they’re designed to
function as an extension

00:19:13.323 --> 00:19:16.778
of the Women as Reward trope, players
are encouraged to view women’s bodies

00:19:16.778 --> 00:19:18.571
as souvenirs of their adventures.

00:19:19.851 --> 00:19:22.659
In the 2010 remake of Splatterhouse
players are encouraged

00:19:22.659 --> 00:19:26.124
to collect ripped-up pieces of photographs
of the protagonist’s girlfriend

00:19:26.124 --> 00:19:28.174
which are strewn around each level.

00:19:31.254 --> 00:19:33.032
Once the player pieces them together,

00:19:33.032 --> 00:19:37.131
the completed images consist mostly of
private, personal sexual photos.

00:19:37.761 --> 00:19:43.754
“I swear to God, you put this on the
internet, and your ass is grass, buster.”

00:19:44.384 --> 00:19:46.080
Sometimes the Women as Reward trope

00:19:46.080 --> 00:19:48.691
takes the form of corporate-branded
product placement.

00:19:48.691 --> 00:19:52.080
For instance 2K Games officially
partnered with Playboy to include

00:19:52.080 --> 00:19:56.178
50 hidden magazines scattered throughout
Mafia 2’s open world environment.

00:19:56.178 --> 00:19:59.991
Once found, each collectible opens
to reveal vintage centerfolds

00:19:59.991 --> 00:20:03.021
from real 1950s Playboy issues.

00:20:03.021 --> 00:20:05.762
The discovered magazines are then
stored in the game’s inventory

00:20:09.422 --> 00:20:12.837
and are available to be perused
at the player’s whim.

00:20:16.247 --> 00:20:19.418
Konami’s Metal Gear Solid series
took this trend a step further

00:20:19.418 --> 00:20:21.842
by actually turning pornography
into a weapon.

00:20:23.302 --> 00:20:26.038
In Metal Gear Solid 4,
there are Playboy magazines scattered

00:20:26.038 --> 00:20:28.473
throughout the game world
for players to find.

00:20:28.473 --> 00:20:33.033
When acquired, the magazines are
stored in the game’s weapons inventory

00:20:33.033 --> 00:20:36.007
alongside rifles and handguns,
and serve a dual purpose.

00:20:39.487 --> 00:20:43.579
Players can look through the images at their
leisure, and also use them to set traps

00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:47.584
by laying the centerfolds open on the
battlefield to distract enemies.

00:20:49.794 --> 00:20:59.195
“Ooh, what’s this?
Heh heh heh…heh heh heh…”


00:20:59.835 --> 00:21:03.038
In the first Witcher game, players are
awarded “romance cards” for successfully

00:21:03.038 --> 00:21:07.420
seducing each of over two dozen different
non-playable female characters.

00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:09.653
“Let’s take our relationship further.”

00:21:09.653 --> 00:21:12.983
“Come home with me. Let me thank you”

00:21:12.983 --> 00:21:14.206
“Let’s go.”

00:21:15.666 --> 00:21:19.131
Like other examples we’ve talked about,
these pornographic collectibles

00:21:19.131 --> 00:21:23.547
are saved in the player’s inventory and
are available to be ogled at anytime.

00:21:23.547 --> 00:21:26.210
The souvenirs function as a
private trophy collection,

00:21:26.210 --> 00:21:29.578
encouraging players to view these female
characters as sexual conquests

00:21:29.578 --> 00:21:34.654
and acquire as many different flavors of
women as possible during their playthrough.

00:21:34.654 --> 00:21:38.250
If collectibles in the player’s inventory
work as a private trophy collection,

00:21:38.250 --> 00:21:42.400
then achievements serve as a public
trophy case, on display for all to see.

00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.432
Achievements, or trophies,
are meta-goal award systems

00:21:45.432 --> 00:21:48.063
built into most popular gaming platforms.

00:21:48.063 --> 00:21:50.956
Unlike collectibles, achievements are
earned through in-game actions

00:21:50.956 --> 00:21:55.364
but awarded outside of the game environment
itself and have no effect on gameplay.

00:21:55.364 --> 00:21:58.876
Some achievements are rewarded
for skill or completion of tasks

00:21:58.876 --> 00:22:02.978
while others are arbitrary
challenges set up by developers.

00:22:02.978 --> 00:22:06.390
“Oh, please. Are you really just
doing this for the achievement?...

00:22:06.390 --> 00:22:10.649
Click a door five times? Is that all that
you think an achievement is worth?...

00:22:10.649 --> 00:22:15.345
No, no, no, no, no. I can’t just give
these merits away for such little effort.”

00:22:15.345 --> 00:22:19.442
These systems encourage “replayability”
and provide players with incentives

00:22:19.442 --> 00:22:22.091
to spend more time inside the
game space experimenting

00:22:22.091 --> 00:22:24.388
with its environments and characters.

00:22:24.388 --> 00:22:27.698
By default, your achievements are visible
to anyone who views your profile

00:22:27.698 --> 00:22:31.198
on a gaming platform and thus they allow
players to show off their gaming skill

00:22:31.198 --> 00:22:33.264
or dedication to their friends.

00:22:33.264 --> 00:22:37.522
In other words, achievements are designed
to function as status symbols for gamers.

00:22:37.522 --> 00:22:40.238
A whole host of games reward
players with trophies for

00:22:40.238 --> 00:22:43.095
successfully having sex with
one or more female characters.

00:22:43.095 --> 00:22:46.118
A suspicious number of those
achievements are called “ladies man”.

00:22:46.968 --> 00:22:53.243
(Giggling.)
“The Gods have truly blessed you, Kratos”

00:22:54.453 --> 00:22:56.051
Other games in the God of War series

00:22:56.051 --> 00:22:59.179
use a variety of euphemistic
naming schemes for this.

00:22:59.179 --> 00:23:03.652
In the PS3 version of the original game
the trophy is titled “Rockin’ the Boat.”

00:23:06.072 --> 00:23:10.238
In Ghost of Sparta players receive the
“A Hero’s Welcome” trophy

00:23:10.748 --> 00:23:15.022
and in Chains of Olympus the award
is called “Two Girls One Spartan.”

00:23:15.572 --> 00:23:18.528
“Oh, Nico! I really like you!”

00:23:18.528 --> 00:23:22.410
Some games in the Grand Theft Auto series
offer achievements for bedding a “girlfriend.”

00:23:22.410 --> 00:23:24.717
“I think she likes me.”

00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:27.374
Just so we’re clear on
what’s happening here,

00:23:27.374 --> 00:23:31.504
players are receiving a literal trophy
for “achieving sex” with a woman.

00:23:31.504 --> 00:23:34.591
When games such as these award
players with achievements or trophies

00:23:34.591 --> 00:23:38.174
for sexual conquests they are directly
reinforcing negative ways of thinking

00:23:38.174 --> 00:23:41.436
about the dynamics between men
and women in our society.

00:23:41.436 --> 00:23:45.578
By presenting sex as an end goal of men’s
interactions or relationships with women,

00:23:45.578 --> 00:23:49.402
these games frame sexual encounters
as challenges to be overcome.

00:23:49.402 --> 00:23:51.661
Let me emphasize that the problem here

00:23:51.661 --> 00:23:54.194
is not necessarily that sex
is included in these games.

00:23:54.194 --> 00:23:57.423
By presenting sex as a goal and
then presenting players

00:23:57.423 --> 00:23:59.442
with an award for accomplishing that goal,

00:23:59.442 --> 00:24:02.169
these achievements function
as a form of trophyism.

00:24:02.169 --> 00:24:06.025
Simply put, trophyism is the tendency
for men to view women as objects

00:24:06.025 --> 00:24:10.879
to be collected and displayed as status
symbols of their sexual prowess or virility.

00:24:10.879 --> 00:24:13.218
These “trophy women” then
serve as a way for men

00:24:13.218 --> 00:24:17.068
to assert their social status among
and relative to other men.

00:24:17.818 --> 00:24:21.450
The “fame points” system in the
2004 version of Sid Meier’s Pirates!

00:24:21.450 --> 00:24:23.874
provides us with a stark
illustration of trophyism.

00:24:26.764 --> 00:24:30.668
In the game, romancing and then rescuing
any of the game’s many governors’ daughters

00:24:30.668 --> 00:24:33.219
not only rewards your pirate with
the option to marry her,

00:24:33.219 --> 00:24:35.611
but also wins him extra fame points.

00:24:39.671 --> 00:24:43.291
The daughters are largely interchangeable;
they don’t even have names,

00:24:43.291 --> 00:24:46.621
and their value as a reward is
tied directly to their appearance.

00:24:46.884 --> 00:24:49.661
Courting and marrying a “plain”
daughter earns fewer fame points

00:24:49.661 --> 00:24:52.782
than marrying an “attractive” one,
and marrying a “beautiful” daughter

00:24:52.782 --> 00:24:55.106
earns the most points of all.

00:24:55.106 --> 00:24:57.170
Fame points then directly
contribute to the social status

00:24:57.170 --> 00:24:59.281
your character achieves
at the end of the game.

00:24:59.281 --> 00:25:02.227
Depending on the amount of points accrued,
you could end up as anything

00:25:02.227 --> 00:25:04.955
from a lowly pauper
to a powerful governor.

00:25:04.955 --> 00:25:09.562
Other ways to earn fame points include
acquiring wealth and defeating rivals.

00:25:09.562 --> 00:25:12.322
Like all your swashbuckling escapades,
acquiring a woman becomes

00:25:12.322 --> 00:25:14.725
just another feather
in your proverbial cap,

00:25:14.725 --> 00:25:17.892
functioning to elevate your
prestige and renown in society.

00:25:17.892 --> 00:25:21.511
And since, in the game’s Xbox Live Arcade
release, there are achievements

00:25:21.511 --> 00:25:23.878
for getting married, and for
courting governors’ daughters

00:25:23.878 --> 00:25:26.364
from all four nations at once,
these accomplishments

00:25:26.364 --> 00:25:28.361
also increase your gaming status.

00:25:28.361 --> 00:25:31.859
Achievements on Sony Playstation
platforms are called “trophies”

00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:34.918
but back when they were first introduced
they were called “entitlements,”

00:25:34.918 --> 00:25:38.642
which is a fitting name for those that
fall into the Women as Reward trope.

00:25:38.642 --> 00:25:41.099
Since entitlement, or more
specifically “male entitlement”,

00:25:41.099 --> 00:25:43.566
is the crux of much of what we’ve
been discussing in this video,

00:25:43.566 --> 00:25:47.260
let’s take a moment to define what
“male entitlement” actually means.

00:25:47.260 --> 00:25:51.284
First, the word “entitlement” refers to the
conviction that someone deserves something,

00:25:51.284 --> 00:25:54.172
that they are owed it,
that they have a right to it.

00:25:54.172 --> 00:25:56.942
By extension, “male entitlement”
is the conviction

00:25:56.942 --> 00:25:59.925
that men are owed something
by virtue of their gender.

00:25:59.925 --> 00:26:03.014
It’s the belief structure that tells men they
deserve to have their whims catered to,

00:26:03.014 --> 00:26:05.529
both culturally and interpersonally.

00:26:05.529 --> 00:26:07.994
One of the most harmful aspects
of male entitlement

00:26:07.994 --> 00:26:12.286
is the false belief that men have a right
to survey and use women’s bodies.

00:26:12.286 --> 00:26:16.045
This mentality carries with it a
corresponding set of expectations

00:26:16.045 --> 00:26:18.418
about what women should provide for men.

00:26:18.418 --> 00:26:22.514
It’s a worldview that primarily defines
women’s social role as vessels of sexuality,

00:26:22.514 --> 00:26:26.698
and men’s roles as consumers
or patrons of that sexuality.

00:26:26.698 --> 00:26:29.568
Unlike access to clean water
or health care, which should be

00:26:29.568 --> 00:26:32.814
considered human rights that all people
deserve simply for being human,

00:26:32.814 --> 00:26:36.149
access to a woman’s affections,
her body or her sexuality

00:26:36.149 --> 00:26:38.916
is not a right owed to
anyone, except herself.

00:26:38.916 --> 00:26:41.563
This should be obvious, but unfortunately

00:26:41.563 --> 00:26:45.159
male entitlement is a pervasive
problem in our culture today.

00:26:45.159 --> 00:26:47.367
The male entitlement mindset
has a profound impact

00:26:47.367 --> 00:26:49.854
on how men relate to
and interact with women.

00:26:49.854 --> 00:26:53.182
We see it manifest whenever a man orders
a woman to show him her “tits”,

00:26:53.182 --> 00:26:55.810
or makes demands during an online game

00:26:55.810 --> 00:26:58.071
that a woman send him
nude or sexual photos.

00:26:58.071 --> 00:27:01.705
We see it in real-world spaces whenever
men catcall women on the street.

00:27:01.705 --> 00:27:05.436
We see it whenever a man gropes a
woman at an event or convention.

00:27:05.436 --> 00:27:10.131
We see it whenever a man expects sex
in return for buying a woman dinner.

00:27:10.131 --> 00:27:14.057
At its most serious, male entitlement is
the mentality that serves as the foundation

00:27:14.057 --> 00:27:18.392
for the epidemics of date rape
and sexual assault in our society.

00:27:18.392 --> 00:27:21.941
To be clear, this doesn’t mean that
every individual man consciously thinks

00:27:21.941 --> 00:27:25.461
that he has a right to the body
of every individual woman he sees.

00:27:25.461 --> 00:27:28.285
Rather, male entitlement operates
in the background of our culture;

00:27:28.285 --> 00:27:32.222
it’s a socially constructed mentality
that is so deeply ingrained

00:27:32.222 --> 00:27:36.085
that it’s often invisible, operating as
an unquestioned base assumption.

00:27:36.085 --> 00:27:38.306
The critical thing to
remember here is that

00:27:38.306 --> 00:27:41.795
men are not born with this sense of
entitlement; it’s a learned way of thinking

00:27:41.795 --> 00:27:45.155
that shapes the ways men
relate to women and women’s bodies.

00:27:45.525 --> 00:27:47.275
"Fantastic!"

00:27:47.815 --> 00:27:50.950
This attitude is taught through
a complex socialization process

00:27:50.950 --> 00:27:53.443
impacted by a whole host of factors.

00:27:53.443 --> 00:27:56.810
Families, religions, peer groups,
movies, pop-music,

00:27:56.810 --> 00:28:00.157
mainstream pornography and
video games can all play a part

00:28:00.157 --> 00:28:03.072
in the construction and
perpetuation of this mentality.

00:28:03.118 --> 00:28:05.799
So of course video games
on their own are not responsible

00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:08.599
for singlehandedly creating
“male entitlement”; however,

00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:11.750
because games are interactive
systems, they can be programmed

00:28:11.750 --> 00:28:16.552
to reinforce male entitlement in some unique
ways not found in other forms of media.

00:28:26.802 --> 00:28:30.272
For instance in Asura’s Wrath, when the
player stares at a maiden’s breasts,

00:28:30.272 --> 00:28:33.677
she’ll try to cover herself up.
But if the player keeps staring

00:28:33.677 --> 00:28:36.581
they will unlock an achievement
called “View of the Valley”.

00:28:42.861 --> 00:28:45.678
Similarly, in Lollipop Chainsaw
the player can unlock the

00:28:45.678 --> 00:28:49.568
“I swear! I did it by mistake!”
achievement for using the game-camera

00:28:49.568 --> 00:28:52.875
to look up Juliette’s skirt for
an extended period of time

00:28:52.875 --> 00:28:56.062
despite her coy efforts to
block players from doing so.

00:29:03.782 --> 00:29:06.303
The “Casanova” achievement in
The Saboteur can be unlocked

00:29:06.303 --> 00:29:10.258
for utilizing a mechanic in which players
kiss 50 random women on the street

00:29:10.258 --> 00:29:14.449
without their consent as a form of
camouflage to evade pursuing Nazis.

00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:18.387
“That’s what I’m looking for.”

00:29:24.077 --> 00:29:26.463
These achievements are
directly rewarding players

00:29:26.463 --> 00:29:29.814
for in-game behavior that
amounts to sexual harassment.

00:29:29.814 --> 00:29:32.462
Players are actively being encouraged
to think of women’s bodies

00:29:32.462 --> 00:29:35.307
as something they are
entitled to interact with.

00:29:35.307 --> 00:29:38.678
That fact, in and of itself, is troubling
but it’s just another example

00:29:38.678 --> 00:29:41.326
of the core problem with
the Women as Reward trope.

00:29:41.326 --> 00:29:44.698
Game systems are designed to provide
feedback mechanisms that either

00:29:44.698 --> 00:29:48.556
punish or reward players for the ways they
interact with virtual environments.

00:29:48.556 --> 00:29:52.183
Because video games are constructed
around these formal input/output systems,

00:29:52.183 --> 00:29:56.172
they can be an especially powerful tool
for reinforcing cognitive patterns

00:29:56.172 --> 00:29:58.617
by modeling and rewarding
player behavior.

00:29:59.867 --> 00:30:03.258
In a game, you’re not just watching someone
else being rewarded with a woman.

00:30:03.258 --> 00:30:06.451
You, the player, are earning a
woman as a reward yourself

00:30:06.451 --> 00:30:08.628
for the actions you
yourself have performed.

00:30:09.548 --> 00:30:11.570
Players make the correct
inputs into the game;

00:30:11.570 --> 00:30:14.945
a woman’s affection or her body
is the corresponding output.

00:30:17.415 --> 00:30:20.999
Players go through the process of saving
the princess, and the game’s algorithm

00:30:20.999 --> 00:30:24.455
dutifully rewards them with what they think
they are rightfully owed for doing so:

00:30:26.095 --> 00:30:29.484
whether it be a kiss,
a girlfriend, or sexual attention.

00:30:35.224 --> 00:30:39.026
Social science indicates that one of the
primary ways we learn about the world

00:30:39.026 --> 00:30:40.594
and our relationships to each other,

00:30:40.594 --> 00:30:43.982
is through a process of
observation and imitation.

00:30:43.982 --> 00:30:47.086
Human beings also learn by
seeing something modeled for us,

00:30:47.086 --> 00:30:51.502
especially when the modeled actions are
accompanied by rewards or punishments.

00:30:51.502 --> 00:30:55.703
Video games are uniquely positioned to provide
experiences that do all of these things,

00:30:55.703 --> 00:30:59.454
because in most games, the player
occupies both the role of participant,

00:30:59.454 --> 00:31:02.907
and the role of spectator
to their own actions.

00:31:02.907 --> 00:31:05.103
In this way the women as
reward trope in video games

00:31:05.103 --> 00:31:06.993
becomes a mechanism through
which male entitlement

00:31:06.993 --> 00:31:10.091
is taught and reinforced
in our wider culture.

00:31:10.091 --> 00:31:12.942
Cognitively, it’s strikingly
similar to the expectation

00:31:12.942 --> 00:31:16.845
that if a man buys a woman a
few drinks, then he is owed sex.

00:31:16.845 --> 00:31:20.040
The money and time for the alcohol
and conversation are the inputs,

00:31:20.040 --> 00:31:22.474
the sexual gratification is the output.

00:31:23.204 --> 00:31:25.931
When men’s entitlement-based
expectations are not fulfilled

00:31:25.931 --> 00:31:30.060
they sometimes lash out in resentment
or aggression towards women.

00:31:30.060 --> 00:31:34.016
This is clearly illustrated in the
catcalling scenarios I mentioned earlier:

00:31:34.016 --> 00:31:37.890
street harassers feel entitled to
women’s time and women’s attention.

00:31:37.890 --> 00:31:40.472
If they don’t get the response they
feel they are owed, they can become

00:31:40.472 --> 00:31:44.618
increasingly angry, following their targets,
insulting them, groping them,

00:31:44.618 --> 00:31:48.638
or otherwise aggressively
demanding to be acknowledged.

00:31:48.638 --> 00:31:51.337
In the gaming community, we see
this entitlement-fueled outrage

00:31:51.337 --> 00:31:54.226
bubble to the surface when some
gamers encounter indications

00:31:54.226 --> 00:31:57.758
that games aren’t made exclusively
with their fantasies in mind.

00:31:57.758 --> 00:32:01.550
Angry public temper tantrums from straight
male players have occurred when

00:32:01.550 --> 00:32:05.165
role-playing games have forced them
to interact with gay male characters,

00:32:05.165 --> 00:32:06.961
or presented them with lesbian characters

00:32:06.961 --> 00:32:10.505
who were not available as
romance options to male avatars.

00:32:10.505 --> 00:32:13.567
Angry backlash from straight
male players also materializes when

00:32:13.567 --> 00:32:17.848
Western releases of Japanese games place
women in slightly less revealing outfits,

00:32:17.848 --> 00:32:22.290
or increase the age of young
sexualized female characters to 18.

00:32:22.290 --> 00:32:25.082
In the same vein, when presented
with critical analyses of the

00:32:25.082 --> 00:32:27.907
poor representations of women
in many popular games,

00:32:27.907 --> 00:32:32.850
this intense male entitlement manifests
in aggression, abuse and threats.

00:32:33.560 --> 00:32:36.803
As we’ve demonstrated in this episode,
the Women as Reward trope

00:32:36.803 --> 00:32:40.681
is set up to fulfill a very specific
male entitlement-oriented fantasy.

00:32:40.681 --> 00:32:44.214
In many cases game creators may
not even realize their mechanics

00:32:44.214 --> 00:32:46.606
are working to cement this
mentality, but when games use

00:32:46.606 --> 00:32:50.977
a woman’s affection, her body, or her
sexuality as a carrot on a stick,

00:32:50.977 --> 00:32:52.494
they’re actively encouraging men

00:32:52.494 --> 00:32:55.961
to think of women as objects,
prizes, and status symbols.

00:32:55.961 --> 00:32:57.993
And it’s not just men who are affected.

00:32:57.993 --> 00:33:02.033
This ideology of male entitlement
seeps into the wider social consciousness

00:33:02.033 --> 00:33:06.099
of everyone, regardless of gender, a
byproduct of which can negatively impact

00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:08.757
the ways women relate to
one another and the ways

00:33:08.757 --> 00:33:12.876
we think about our relationships to our
own bodies, and our own sexuality.

00:33:12.876 --> 00:33:15.919
The good news is that because male
entitlement is a learned attitude,

00:33:15.919 --> 00:33:19.570
it can, through education and
conscious effort, be unlearned.

00:33:19.570 --> 00:33:23.701
And game systems are capable of
being part of that transformative process.

00:33:23.701 --> 00:33:27.643
Just as their interactivity makes them a
powerful tool for reinforcing male entitlement,

00:33:27.643 --> 00:33:32.228
so too could that interactivity be harnessed
to disrupt antiquated gender dynamics

00:33:32.228 --> 00:33:35.791
and engage us with game mechanics
that explore more equitable interactions

00:33:35.791 --> 00:33:37.794
between people of all genders.