Lots of things go in cycles – planetary movements, fashion, and of course, video game journalism. “Are video games too violent?” becomes the topic du jour whenever there’s a tragic shooting involving a perpetrator who owned a copy of Call of Duty or anytime a new Grand Theft Auto or Mortal Kombat hits the market. With the resurfacing of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider (which has been gone long enough for anyone who was in their teens to forget how poor the earlier games were, and anyone younger than that to have not played the previous versions or to have been so young as to think the games were actually good), the focus now shifts to sexism in games.
Allow me to be very clear on a few things before we go any further:
Sexism, racism, ageism, weightism, classism, and just about any other –ism you wish to name/make up is a huge problem, and has been for as long as people have been thinking, “You know, I really need a way to make myself feel better than those other people. Oh, I know, they’re different from me. I bet if I find a bunch of people who are like me, and point out how those people are different, they’ll all agree, and then I’ll be popular!” It is not, as surprising it may be if you pay attention to mainstream media, a problem that is the sole domain of the entertainment industry.
There’s one reason in particular that game journalism is focusing on issues regarding sexism right now. It gets people to click on the article. That’s not to say that there aren’t valid points, well-intentioned commentary, and great insights to be found in their work, but it seems convenient that we’re only talking about this right as the aforementioned Tomb Raider hits shelves. Of course, God of War: Ascension added to the discussion recently with it’s poorly-worded (and even more poorly-timed) “Bros Before Hos” achievement, but I’m willing to wager that, had the game come out a few months before or after Lara made her return, it wouldn’t have gotten quite as much attention (though it’s still astounding that it took so long for someone at Sony to say, “Maybe we should think about renaming the trophy where you kick that one chick’s face in.”).
Having an intelligent discussion about sexist issues and their portrayal in video games (both on the male and female sides), isn’t a bad thing. But with video game journalism being a business, it seems likely that the discussion will regrettably be put on hold at some point (just as violence in video games, pushed back into the spotlight by the Sandy Hook tragedy, has now once again been relegated to the back burner), at least until some video game company makes a mistake egregious enough for sexism to become a talking point once more (or Tomb Raider 2 comes out). That’s regrettable, even if the mere discussion of sexism doesn’t necessarily rid us of a problem that’s literally been around for millennia (though perhaps universal adoption of a set of “Don’t Be An Asshole” rules could be a step in the right direction).
While it’s not the exclusive responsibility of the media to push society into a more open, less archaic way of thinking, the reach of such outlets (and particularly those covering video games, as they tend to cater to a younger audience) could be a boon in helping society slowly creep towards the goal of "equality". Sexism, like violence, corruption, or proper distribution of money and services to the needy, is not a problem that can be easily or quickly solved in our lifetimes. These changes are almost always extremely slow, and a real, practical solution may not be on the horizon for centuries, if ever. However, so long as journalism sticks to its topic du jour mentality, the topic of sexism in mainstream media (not to mention other large-scale societal issues) will have a definitive, and far too short, life cycle, which can’t be helpful towards the ideal of society making a lasting change.
It is rather difficult, after all, to have an in-depth conversation when someone keeps changing the topic.
(Also, as a final aside for anyone lamenting the absence of strong, positive female leads in video games, allow me to introduce you to Lightning, voiced by Ali Hillis, who is a role model in her own right.)
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