Yohandra L.

Polanco
K. Johnson
ENC 2135
3 March 2016

Preparatory Assignment #1: Research Proposal

The topic I became interested in is hyper masculinity in correlation with videos games. I
became interested in this topic when it was brought up in class as a group exercise. We were
supposed to use the same topic but make it more interesting. As I discussed with my group I
realized that I was able to contribute way more insight on the topic than expected. I related it to
some of my real life experiences and antidotes told to me by others in the past week. In actuality
I did not come up with the question myself but I brainstormed about the supporting details.
Video games are usually equated with creating violent children but that theory has already been
visited by many researchers. Parents have expressed their views in support or against video
games in their household and studies have been done on children who play them. All of these
ideas have already been visited or criticized but no one has really spoken on how video games
are supporting gender norms and encouraging sexism.
Violent war video games reinforce gender norms through hyper masculinity. The male
characters in these graphic games are portrayed as muscular and rough looking individuals. As
one plays you are allowed to choose from a variety of weapons and war tools like bombs. The
weapons used are huge automatic shotguns and rocket launchers. These graphics reinforce the
fact that boys should look more manly, use guns and enjoy violence. Due to these game
techniques some boys are pushed to believe that they have to follow those gender norms of being

tough. Some become insecure because they do not fit the gender norm and psychological
problems begin to arise. In addition to that sexism is encouraged in certain video games. They
are not very inclusive to the female population because video games contain no female character
options. Some boys say that the games are too gruesome for girls or that they just would not get
it but in reality that may not be true. Everyone has a difference tolerance level to certain things
so there should not be any room for judgement or exclusion towards females. Once again
because of some video games males are forced to fit into the stereotypical behavior and
aggression attributed to them.
I believe that this topic is very important because it is an ongoing problem in society. It
may create low esteem issues in boys and oppress females all at the same time. If a boy does not
like these games and prefers other activities his sexuality should not be questioned. We are all
humans and have the right to have our likes and dislikes. The goal to making this world more
progressive is by helping to cut down on oppressive and non-inclusive behavior. The media
controls much of the worlds perspectives on certain issues so if their imagery is negative then
someones views may become negative as well. I plan on exploring my theory by researching
more about how the media portrays boys. I also plan to explore the question in my research by
looking at different video games and interviewing both boys and girls. I hope that this will be
able to shine much light on a least popular public opinion.