Virtual games: Reproducing gender duality through feminine stereotypes

Abstract

This paper analyzes the reproduction of gender stereotypes in a virtual media. The research analyzed 348 online games created especially for the “female sex”. The authors discuss gender as a concept that problematizes the naturalization of women. The paper also highlights the concepts of stereotype, socialization and play to argue that feminine roles are defined through a complex relation between individual and society. Analyzing online games revealed that a leisure device that is presented as neutral, ultimately contributes to produce subjectivities that reproduce classical stereotypes about girls or women. The technology evolves, but rigid sexual divisions are repeated. Support: CNPq.