March 02, 2004

By: Melissa Schneider
Website: http://www.1st-in-kids.com

Top-selling Video Games Unhealthy for Girls, Study Shows

Almost half of top-selling console video games with female characters contain negative messages about girls, according to new research released today by Children Now, a national child advocacy organization. Those negative messages include violence, promoting unrealistic body images and stereotypical female characteristics, such as provocative sexuality, high-pitched voices and fainting.

The current analysis examined the top ten selling games for each of the three most popular games console systems. The games sales for Sony PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 were ranked by PC Data, a computer industry sales tracking company. Overall, 54% of the games surveyed contained female characters whereas 92% contained male characters.

Of the games that contained female characters:

* 38% displayed those characters with significant body exposure: 23% exposed breasts or cleavage, 31% exposed thighs, 15% exposed behinds and 31% exposed stomachs or midriffs.

* In addition, 38% of female game characters had large breasts and 46% had unusually small waists.

* 54% involved those characters fighting or being violent. Overall, 46% of games included violence.

Parents may want to think more closely when purchasing and renting games for their children, especially during this busy holiday season, said Lois Salisbury, president of Children Now. The unhealthy messages that both girls and boys absorb from these new media impact the way they think girls are supposed to look and act,she said.

Children Now's last nationwide study of media influence on girls demonstrated that in television, movies, commercials and teen magazines, media reinforce troubling stereotypes about the importance of appearance in girls' lives. For example, two out of three girls said they wanted to look like a character on TV and one out of three said they had changed something about their appearance to resemble that character.

According to a previous academic study at UCLA, when children themselves designed video games, girls preferred non-violent games with positive feedback for players. In addition, girls did not program evil characters nor did they incorporate conquering an evil enemy as the goal of their games. In comparison, most boys in the study designed games that terminated with violence, usually resulting in the death of a player's character.

Video game producers need to stop thinking pink, said Patti Miller, director of Children Now's Children & the Media program. Research shows that girls want games that engage and challenge, as well as entertain them, not girlie versions of games originally designed for boys.

About The Author:

Melissa Schneider is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-kids.com.  Helping parents find kid-approved clothes, toys, games, books, activities and more.