Nobody Suspects a Female Inquisition: Gender Representation in Video Games

Date
2016-05
Authors
Hays, Natalie Ann
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Abstract
A developer can put women into a video game, but is it a fair representation of all the facets of their gender? Are they flat characters compared to their male counterparts, or are they dynamic individuals who are equally important to the narrative? My thesis will analyze female representation within the Dragon Age: Inquisition through gender and sociological perspectives. A video game fresh in everyone’s mind, Dragon Age: Inquisition, is my object of analysis due to its popularity and relevance to current video game culture. Through my analysis of Dragon Age: Inquisition I have found that the women are designed to be more individualistic overall, and can be interacted with in both progressive and regressive ways. In analyzing Dragon Age: Inquisition as a cultural phenomenon I hope to gain insight into the representation of women in consumable media, and find an answer to the question of whether or not video games as a media are gaining or losing ground in equal and fair representation of the sexes.
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Keywords
video games, gender representation, women, gender studies, media studies, Honors College
Citation
Hays, N. A. (2016). Nobody suspects a female inquisition: Gender representation in video games (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.