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Sexualization in video games won’t harm gamers, meaning it won’t cause misogyny, according to a new scientific study.
Sexualization in video games does not harm gamers or female gamers. This is stated in a new scientific study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. In fact, playing video games with certain titles does not lead to the development of misogyny or the development of other mental illnesses.
Often, female characters in video games are depicted in a highly sexualized manner, despite the fact that this trend has been declining in recent years. Be that as it may, it seems that anyone who was afraid of this because of the growth of misogyny was mistaken.
Christopher J. Ferguson, one of the authors of the study, commented on the results obtained through a statistical method known as meta-analysis, which requires cross-sectional results from several studies, stating that “I have been studying the effects of video games for twenty years on gamers, mainly focused on violence.
Despite this, people still question sexualization and wonder if player games make them more sexist towards women, or if women are less satisfied with their bodies or develop other ailments after playing them. This is a much smaller area of research than violence, so we hope we can shed some light on it. “
Ferguson and his team conducted a meta-analysis of eighteen studies that predicted exposure to sexualized video games. Fifteen studies measured aggression towards women or the occurrence of sexist behavior, and ten also focused on effects such as depression, body representation, or anxiety.
The researchers were unable to find a statistically significant association between video games and sexist behavior or psychological well-being.
Ferguson: “In general, the moral panic about video games and sexualization follows the classic pattern of debate in the medium. So many exaggerations and moral scandals, but very little evidence of the damage that video games are causing to players and women gamers.”
Thus, for Ferguson, the problem does not arise in terms of public health, which video games do not threaten. That’s not to say we can’t demand minor sexualization of video game characters, which is indeed a great reason, the scientist elaborates, just that the bogey of alleged damage that can’t be demonstrated should not be used.
Ferguson went even further, calling the accusations in the media as scapegoats for social problems.
