Let’s Clear the Air: A Closer Look at the Sexist Games=Sexist Gamers Study

A recent study out of Germany, “Sexist Games =Sexist Gamers? A Longitudinal Study on the Relationship Between Video Game Use and Sexist Attitudes,” attempts to assess whether playing sexist video games contribute to sexist attitudes in real world situations.

Since its release, members of the gaming community have argued as to whether the study offers quantifiable data regarding the effects of sexist or misogynistic representations of women in video games. Members of the #GamerGate community had been touting this study as irrefutable proof that narratives published by those they term Social Justice Warriors, like Anita Sarkeesian and Jonathan McIntosh, are completely unfounded, and they’ve seized upon this as yet another opportunity to attack Sarkeesian’s work, both her dissertation and current work on Tropes vs Women in Video Games for Feminist Frequency. What the #GamerGaters have largely missed, either by not actually reading the study or blatant misrepresentation, is that no data from the study can be transferred to a wider set of gamers. The study itself is limited in scope and problematic in quantifiable data—both of these problems are acknowledged by the authors but remain unresolved. What’s more, #GamerGate supporters are using this study as proof that games don’t create sexist attitudes… an argument that has not been made. Sarkeesian’s work, and the work of others (including our own) is generally focused on revealing the existence of sexism in games (and in the industry), rather than investigating the idea that games cause sexist reactions.

The three-phase study, which was conducted via a telephone survey over a three-year time span, asked respondents to identify leadership and household roles of both men and women as a means of determining whether sexist attitudes correlate to attitudes in real life situations. In the first phase of the study three questions were asked to determine if the respondents were “sexist.” The study then asked respondents to identify what types of genres (FPS, RPG, and Action) they played and how often. Phase two and three repeated these questions to a portion of the initial participants in order to gauge whether there were any shifting perceptions of sexist ideologies related to game consumption. No information regarding questions asked in phase three was released.

A Closer Look: Research and Methods
The study uses a Mass Communication theory known as Cultivation Theory to determine whether sexism in video games translates to out-of-game scenarios. This theory, which attempts to assess whether long term exposure to media affects an individuals perception of social realities, is typically divided into two orders with the first pertaining to general beliefs and the second to specific attitudes. Usually this theory is used to determine if violence in video games actually translates to real world tendencies towards violent behavior. Yet, claims that violent video games beget violence have pretty much been debunked in recent years.* So, it’s interesting that this study, started just three years ago, would use a theory that hasn’t been effective in providing quantifiable data regarding video games. The authors even admit that the likelihood of Cultivation Theory yielding evidence of the effects of video games on real world attitudes is “mixed at best.”

Also interesting is the fact that only data from phase one and two were included in the article appendix yet the researchers did not use phase two in their final assessment because gender was not discussed. Only phase one and three were used to assess whether links could be made between sexist video games and sexism.

Cold Hard Data of Study/Implications:
50,012 German citizens over the age of 14 were asked about their use of video games in an omnibus telephone survey. 25% of the respondents reported that they were active gamers (N=12,587). 2% (or a random sample of 4,500) of these gamers were recruited. In phase two and three, 50% of respondents were selected from the previous phases. Phase 1=4,500, 2=2,199, and 3=902.

This is a pretty darn good sample size; ask any statistician. But why conduct a survey regarding video games over the telephone? Couldn’t the study have just as easily been sent out via email? Or, better yet, put the survey on a website and allow gamers to complete the survey at their leisure. Perhaps they would have received more relevant data? It’s curious that in this study the average age of gamers in Germany is 38 (m=38.17) which is a few years older than the average age recorded by the ESA in 2015. Perhaps this is because of the antiquated method used to transmit surveys? At the end of the day it’s a German study on German citizens and only offers information regarding German perceptions of video games and sexist attitudes. Any claim that this is quantifiable data regarding all gamers is erroneous. Even the researchers admit that their finding are not conclusive and that the data is limited because the respondents are only German. Also, the age range limits the findings to anyone 14 or older, thus no implications (if any) regarding early cultivation can be assessed:

“There are several limitations to consider when interpreting the findings. First, the current study was conducted within Germany. As such, the results cannot be generalized to other countries and cultures.”

Even more troubling than the absence of technology in transmitting the survey are the questions asked of the respondents to determine sexist attitudes. On a five increment scale, the respondents were asked if they agree that (1) the man should be responsible for all major decisions made in a family; (2) in a group of male and female members, a man should take on the leadership; and (3) even if both partners work, the woman should be responsible for taking care of the household. According to the study, higher increments (=strongly agree) indicated that the respondent exhibited sexist attitudes. Not only are these leading questions but it is very easy to parse out which answer is politically in/correct. Based on these questions, it’s impossible to determine whether the surveys truly garnered any reliably quantifiable data regarding sexist attitudes.

So what does this offer Game Studies?:

“As indicated by the limitations of the present study and the tentative evidence from previous work, it may well be that, similar to television, ‘some genres/games have some [cultivation] effects on some players.’”

While this research is interesting, it is difficult to assess whether the study offers any new information regarding sexist video games and their effects. The study suggests that future research be conducted on more specific genres and subgenres to determine if any correlation between video games and sexism exist and ultimately admits that the research is limited due to location specificity. Certainly, the study does not offer quantifiable proof that games do not cultivate first order attitudes nor does it disprove Anita Sarkeesian’s claims regarding video games. All this study really reveals is that we should shift our focus from investigating the belief that games cause certain behaviors and instead concentrate on the attitudes that allow and promote sexism in games.

*For more on the links (or lack thereof) between video games and violent behaviors, see: Anderson CA, Dill KE. Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 2000; 78:772–790; Van Mierlo J, Van den Bulck J. Benchmarking the cultivation approach to video game effects: a comparison of the correlates of TV viewing and game play. Journal of Adolescence 2004; 27:97–111; Festl R, Scharkow M, Quandt T. Militaristic attitudes and the use of digital games. Games and culture 2013; 8:392–407; Gabriel Chong YM, Scott Teng KZ, Amy Siew SC, et al. Cultivation effects of video games: a longer-term experimental test of first- and second-order effects. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology 2012; 31:952–97; Williams D. Virtual cultivation: online worlds, offline perceptions. Journal of Communication 2006; 56:69–87.

Jenny, a graduate student at Purdue University, is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition. She obtained her first 100% game completion in the form of a high five from her older brother when she finished Tink! Tonk! Tonk in the land of Buddy Bots at the ripe age of four. After a brief hiatus where she traveled the U.S. doing humanitarian stuff (she’s got a congressional medal to prove it!) and studying propaganda tactics during the Cold War, she has returned to gaming and with a vengeance! If she’s not researching or gaming, you can usually find Jenny binge watching the entire series of Trailer Park Boys.