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Revealing A Spectrum Of Racialized Sexuality: Representations Of Video Game Characters Over Time, 1981-2012, Kelly Kathleen Mccarthy

Sociology ETDs

While researchers have examined controlling images of race and gender in the media, many have failed to acknowledge the role video games play in the hegemonic domain of power and few have examined the simultaneity of race and gender. This study expands upon existing literature by using video games as a site of racial formation, through which racialized "others" are created and Whiteness is normalized. Through the lens of intersectionality, I examine representations of female characters that appeared in popular video games between 1981 and 2012 and assess changes in racial composition, sexualization, narrative role, and aggression. A content analysis …