There’s a new academic paper up, as presented at Wiscon 31: Idealizing Fantasy Bodies.
Abstract:
Through fantasy anything, no matter how far-fetched, can become real. And yet, despite the elf ears or red skin, fantasy characters in video games still manage more often than not to fit into the idealized body types for humans. This paper explores the rationale behind making fantasy creatures conform to narrow standards of beauty/strength in games such as World of Warcraft, and examines what this may imply for our conception of fantasy as a genre.
By Andrea Rubenstein
Through fantasy anything, no matter how far-fetched, can become real. And yet, despite the elf ears or red skin, fantasy characters in video games still manage more often than not to fit into the idealized body types for humans. In a game such as World of Warcraft, a player can choose from a variety of fantasy races: everything from elves to anthropomorphic bovines, and yet no matter how divorced from humans a race might be, in the end they all share most of the same characteristics that are found in idealized human bodies.
This paper explores the rationale behind making fantasy creatures conform to narrow standards of beauty/strength in games such as World of Warcraft, and examines what this may imply for our conception of fantasy as a genre by investigating the delicate balance between emulated reality and fantastical escapism found in video games. (more…)
For those of you who are going to WisCon this year, you may be interested to know that Iris’ own Andrea Rubenstein will be giving a presentation on body types in World of Warcraft.
From the WisCon 31 Programming Schedule:
101 Playing for Self-Esteem: How Video Games Represent Females And Affect Female Self-Esteem/Idealizing Fantasy Bodies in Video Games
Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.
1) As females have developed a growing interest in video games, research needs to be done to study the effect these games can have on their self-esteem. The few journals which did mention concerns in the area of self-esteem had varied conclusions. My original hypothesis stated video games have a positive effect on self-esteem, which would give female gamers a higher sense of self over female non-gamers. Results showed a difference in general self-image; non-gamers had a higher self-image than gamers. No difference was found in the three areas of self-esteem: performance, social, or physical; however, gamers felt a relationship would not give them higher self-esteem in those three areas. This shows how, although gamers have a low self-esteem, a relationship may not help make them feel confident, and further research should work to determine what catalyst would give them higher self-esteem.
2) Through fantasy, anything—no matter how far-fetched—can become real. And yet, despite the elf ears or red skin, fantasy characters in video games still manage more often than not to fit into the idealized body types for humans. This paper explores the rationale behind making fantasy creatures conform to narrow standards of beauty/strength in games such as World of Warcraft, and examines what this may imply for our conception of fantasy as a genre.
Jason Nicholas Boggs, Andrea Diane Rubenstein
The May 2007 issue is out! The theme is getting women “out there” in gaming journalism, and we have some great articles about that.
We’re currently looking for submissions for our June issue. Here’s the call for submissions:
Submsision deadline: May 15, 2007
Theme: The Making of a Gamer
Chances are if you’re a gamer, you have a story (or three) to tell about how you got there. Whether it be playing video games with our parents, reflecting on how it felt with our first gaming group, or even looking at how we were, and sometimes still are, treated by the workers and customers in our local gaming establishments, every woman has had unique experiences that have shaped our identities as gamers.
Do you have a story to tell about an experience or two that shaped your identity as gamer? Do you want reflect on the good and bad of being a young gamer, or talk about what games helped get you into gaming, or think about the first character in a game that you really got attached to and why? If so, then this is the issue for you!
