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Am I sexist when it comes to video games? I don’t think so, but some people may think that so. I’ve been a gamer since I was 6 years old. (I’m 21 now). I’ve always played as male characters because most of the games I’ve played had male characters as the lead role. And honestly, I’ve always liked it that way. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for gender equality, I mean come on, I’m a woman. But when it comes to video games, I’d prefer to play with a male character rather than a woman any day. I know what you’re thinking. “How can you say that,” “Women characters are just as good men” and blah, blah, blah. That’s all good and stuff but I got my reasons.

Male characters are always portrayed as a powerful figure. They have these wonderful physiques, awesome weapons, and turn out to be all around badasses. For example, Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5. He was the main character in this game. He pretty much took charge of everything. He took all the calls from his team, and gave all the orders. When it came to weapons, he handled them like a pro. With every gun he obtained, each shot was done in style. Now his sidekick, Sheva, is another story. She pretty much annoyed me throughout the whole game. When I needed help, she was nowhere to be found. She looked awkward with every gun she held. She also didn’t strike me as a strong female, just a weak partner. I never played as her. When I played two players, I always fought to play as Chris. I don’t know….I just felt that playing as Chris made everything easy and Sheva’s presence was unnecessary.

Even games like Sonic and picking certain characters mattered to me. I’m totally fine with picking characters like Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles. But when it comes to characters like Amy and Rogue, that’s where I drew the line. The male characters also seem to have better attacks than the females. While the males are the heroes in the game, characters like Amy always seem to screw up or become the damsel in distress. They’re just annoying and they were never characters that I chose unless I needed to.

Art by BobbaCroft12345

I’m not bashing all female characters, there are plenty that I like. Ellie in the Last of Us was awesome. She is the definition of badass. Joel and Ellie were a wonderful team; they supported each other well and they both had their uses. Ellie was definitely a girl who didn’t need anyone’s help. Lara Croft is another example of a powerful woman. She kicked ass. I was a little skeptical about playing her character in games but when her character developed more and more, I learned to love her. I remember seeing her get stabbed in the leg, and she continued to walk. That was awesome!

I have nothing against female characters. I guess what affects my judgement is how they’re portrayed. If they have a strong male counterpart, then I’ll always choose the male. But if the woman is the main character, then that will change my perspective. When it comes to character customization in games, I ALWAYS make a man. I don’t know why exactly, but I feel male characters are more dominant than their female counterparts. This feeling does not affect my perspective on real world men and women roles, but when it comes to video games, I always choose a man. Not because of their roles per se, but because of how they are portrayed.

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