High-Tech, Low Representation : Women Gamers on Cyberpunk 2077’s Sexualized Representation
Huhtamaa, Jade (2025)
Huhtamaa, Jade
2025
Viestinnän monitieteinen kandidaattiohjelma - Bachelor's Programme in Multidisciplinary Communication Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-01-30
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202501131310
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202501131310
Tiivistelmä
This thesis studies the ways female gaming communities criticize the female representation in Cyberpunk 2077. Although studies about gaming communities and their interaction have been conducted, female-led communities specifically are still a newer topic of focus. There are several online platforms where communities for gaming can be found, but many women still feel excluded from these conversations due to sexism. As a result of this, female-led communities have been created as safe spaces, where women can freely discuss their hobbies, even in male-dominant topics.
The subreddit r/GirlGamers is an example of a female-led community, and the conversation surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 in this community is the subject of this thesis. Two posts and their comments from the subreddit were picked to be analyzed through the method of qualitative content analysis. The final number of comments that were analyzed was 76, as well as the two main posts. The results of this thesis showed that many women felt that female representation in the game was still shallow and sexualized, although the game genre provided some explanations for why this was the case. On the contrary, some women felt like the sexualization and representation of men and women was equal throughout and had no criticism in relation to these topics.
The subreddit r/GirlGamers is an example of a female-led community, and the conversation surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 in this community is the subject of this thesis. Two posts and their comments from the subreddit were picked to be analyzed through the method of qualitative content analysis. The final number of comments that were analyzed was 76, as well as the two main posts. The results of this thesis showed that many women felt that female representation in the game was still shallow and sexualized, although the game genre provided some explanations for why this was the case. On the contrary, some women felt like the sexualization and representation of men and women was equal throughout and had no criticism in relation to these topics.
Kokoelmat
- Kandidaatintutkielmat [10016]