This post was updated Aug. 3 at 5:39 p.m.
Flashy capes, entertaining quips, moments packed with action yet full of heart – these are the characteristics most people associate with superheroes. But what if the emphasis was instead on the heroes’ physique?
In December 2024, NetEase Games released the video game Marvel Rivals – which highlights the heroes’ bodies more than their powers or strength.
While the game is entertaining, certain characters’ bodies, such as Invisible Woman, Emma Frost and Namor, are unrealistic and hypersexualized. Skins, the appearances and outfits available to buy for characters, are revealing – as seen in the recently released summer collection.
“I think it is very extreme. The costumes are very intense, when they don’t even have to be,” said Paxton Phanthanusorn, a rising third-year public affairs student and the director of UCLA Esports.
The age range for the game, according to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, is ages 13 and up.
Considering some players will be kids who are 13 – or even younger – the revealing skins and accentuated bodies of the characters in the game are disturbing. Marvel Rivals exposes children to overly sexualized versions of the superheroes that they look up to, influencing the way they view themselves and others.
“I think it sets an unrealistic standard when, in reality, that’s not the point of superheroes,” Phanthanusorn said. “Anyone can be a hero.”
Unfortunately, this is not a novelty. Marvel Rivals is now merely an addition to the trend of hypersexualizing characters, as seen in games such as Overwatch or League of Legends.
“I think it’s a continuation of a story we’ve already seen,” said Lily Tran, an alumnus who received her master’s degree in social welfare from the Luskin School of Public Affairs.
This trend of sexualization in video games is rooted in the male gaze and is exclusionary of female perspectives. The way the characters look reflects the discriminatory work environment women endure in gaming companies. For example, Activision Blizzard was sued by the California Civil Rights Department for gender discrimination in the workplace, and Riot Games was sued for systemic sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
“I know Emma Frost is always a revealing character, but I thought they were gonna stray more away from the comics,” said Miranda Rodriguez Benavides, a rising fourth-year American literature and cultures transfer student.
Rodriguez said that some may argue character designs were based solely on comics, but the extent to which these female characters are sexualized in the game is has gone a step too far.
Furthermore, even if the characters were sexualized in the comics, there is no need for a 21st-century video game to perpetuate such stereotypes.
“It’s about power that men think they hold over women,” Tran said, “It’s about depicting women in a way that makes them seem weak and vulnerable.”
Young boys could be negatively influenced by these character designs and become prone to develop misogynistic perspectives. They may not understand that what they see is unrealistic and thus find it normal to objectify women the same way players and developers do in video games.
As the media reels in the male audience by oversexualizing characters, they do so at the expense of others – notably, women.
“It just becomes another thing, another source telling us we’re not good enough,” Tran said.
Another impact of this hypersexualization is the loss of a female audience, as women do not feel the games are meant for them.
“I’ve often tried to pull my sister into playing games with me, and she just never has as much fun. Because it doesn’t feel like the games are built for her interests,” said Sreyan Sarkar, a rising third-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student and vice president of Enigma at UCLA.
As gaming companies compete against each other to win over their male audience, gamers lose touch with reality.
“They want to pump out as much delusion into your mind to get you to think, ‘Oh this is who I’m like. This is who I identify with’ – when in reality, you take a look at yourself in the mirror, and you’re not happy with what you see,” said Braylen Munson-McDowell, a rising second-year African American studies student.
The male characters have exceptionally fit body types, and the female characters resemble the gamer’s ideal woman.
The sexism behind the gaming industry paves a dangerous path to follow for gamers and developers alike. It bleeds into gaming communities and influences how players behave – both in the game and real life.
“It’s the subtle ways that people hold up the patriarchy that, all in all, collaborate to affect the ultimate outcome,” Tran said.
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