Most video games star white males.

[Thyunda]

...why is it a problem that most games star white males? If there's no reason for him not to be a white male...let him be a white male. If your game is set in a country with a mostly white population, and you don't consider his race to be an important factor in his character, then make him a white male, because then you don't have to concern yourself with other aspects of the story that might involve race or gender.

Wow. You're obviously not aware of it, but this is a ridiculously ignorant statement.

Please explain this comment.

I can't speak for yunabomb, but the problem for me is seeing white as "default" and non-white as "other". It's not that any particular character is a white male - after all, why not? It's that almost all of them are. If there's no reason for him not to be a white male, then surely there's no reason for him not to be a black male, or latino male, or South Asian male - or indeed a woman of any race.

I'm guessing nobody read the second half of my post.

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS ARE NOT REAL PEOPLE. THEY ARE SYMBOLS. A WHITE MALE IS A BLANK CARD. WOMEN HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED UNTIL FAIRLY RECENTLY. A FEMALE PROTAGONIST REPRESENTS GENDER EQUALITY.

There's a whole list of character types defined by nationality or gender.
Let's take Rico Rodriguez (Just Cause). He's a CIA agent, but he's not American. If he WAS American, then by the rules of character-creation, he'd automatically be associated with the trigger-happy traits of the US. But he's not. He's Hispanic. This makes him removed from the Americans, but still on their side. His nationality is there to separate him from his employers.
Look. Read my original post.

 

[yunabomb]

...why is it a problem that most games star white males? If there's no reason for him not to be a white male...let him be a white male. If your game is set in a country with a mostly white population, and you don't consider his race to be an important factor in his character, then make him a white male, because then you don't have to concern yourself with other aspects of the story that might involve race or gender.

Wow. You're obviously not aware of it, but this is a ridiculously ignorant statement.

Please explain this comment.

It's hard to explain, but I will try. Viewing white people and men as a default group is a major aspect of societal racism and sexism.

This is why having people of color and women in videogames (and other forms of visual entertainment) without tokenizing them or making them fanservice items is important. It's not as if developers are required to talk about race and sex if a person of color or a woman is a protagonist. In a game with a character-based plot, doing that effectively would make it interesting, though.

 

[twaddle]

Alright. I believe this thread needs to be edited because white is usually a term associated with primarily Americans and not with what the thread is really about Race. White is ethnic and race and ethnicity have separate meanings. What the thread needs to be called is "Most video game stars are Caucasian Males".

 

[Commissar Sae]

I actually thought about this for a while during a recent media class. It was also the subject of an article here on the escapist if you want to look it up. It's hard to come up with positive characters who are outside the ranks of white masculinity who aren't either blatant stereotypes or hyper-sexualized.

There are of course examples tat can be found, but they are relatively rare compared to white males asically for the reason most people have already mentioned: most gamers are currently white males. So I guess I both agree and disagree with you on this one. It is an interesting subject to be sure and you could probably write a half-decent essay on the subject if given the chance.

 

[Joshimodo]

The majority of videogame protagonists are:

30-something white heterosexual males who speak English.



The largest demographic that purchase videogames are:

20 or 30-something white heterosexual males who speak English.



The majority of Western game developers are:

30-something white males who speak English. No idea on sexual preference there, but it's probably pretty normal, with the heterosexuals being the larger percentage.




If games are racist because of main characters being depicted relatively similar to the most prominent demographic, then every form of visual media is racist. Including all of art history.

This is one of the most ridiculously convoluted and outright stupid threads I've seen here in a while, and that's saying something.

 

[an874]

JC Denton can be black, pretty sure Shepherd can be too.

Also, looking for flamewar much?

Race isn't really a big issue in games, a characters personality and motivations are much more important than race.

You don't think it's a little insulting that there isn't more genuine diversity in gaming, and for that matter in the media at large? You don't think that imprints on and affects a public's perception of race and what roles a people of different races end up getting to have? Look up minstrel shows before you answer that question, unless you already know what those are.

Ok yes, I'll give you that there could be more diversity, and I'm quite happy to play whoever the hell the devs put as their main character so long as they're a good character, but your last statement is just making shit up.

We're not in the age of slavery and minstrel shows anymore, and I don't know what backwards bizarro universe you come from, but people are NOT that impressionable, even very young children don't make that assumption unless their parents have told them that "black people are evil!" just because characters of certain skins are in certain roles in video games, it doesn't make people think that that's how people are. Although we do still have genuine racism in society, most people are sensible enough not instantly turned into racists just because Deathwing in WoW takes on the form of a black dude when he's in human form. In fact, scrap that, nobody is that fucking stupid.

Times are not as bad, as they used to be that's true. But what racism exists became more covert and more insidious, so that instead of publicly disrespecting someone, say a white man doing so to black person, we have situations where these feelings are expressed in other more subtle ways such as job discrimination or racial profiling. Kids may not be impressionable enough to be taken in by blatant racism, but the trend in video games and the rest of the media (to lesser extent outside video games, and perhaps comic books) to have default white males as the default character at the helm of just about EVERYTHING is a contributing factor to this insidious new form of racism, and kids are affected by this. Video games are toys, all of them, and even ones meant for adults are obviously often played by kids, so this point still stands.

 

[Thyunda]

...why is it a problem that most games star white males? If there's no reason for him not to be a white male...let him be a white male. If your game is set in a country with a mostly white population, and you don't consider his race to be an important factor in his character, then make him a white male, because then you don't have to concern yourself with other aspects of the story that might involve race or gender.

Wow. You're obviously not aware of it, but this is a ridiculously ignorant statement.

Please explain this comment.

It's hard to explain, but I will try. Viewing white people and men as a default group is a major aspect of societal racism and sexism.

This is why having people of color and women in videogames (and other forms of visual entertainment) without tokenizing them or making them fanservice items is important. It's not as if developers are required to talk about race and sex if a person of color or a woman is a protagonist. In a game with a character-based plot, doing that effectively would make it interesting, though.

Not at all. Fiction works totally different to real life. In real life, you could meet a black man with a perfectly valid claim to being descended from Sir Francis Drake. Nathan Drake being black, however, would raise questions the developers didn't see the need to answer, so they just made Drake white. Once again. Fictional characters are not people, they are symbols. You will pass off a real person's race. When talking to a black man, you don't remember them for being black. In a story, the character's colour is often noted. Unless they're a white man.
The white man has no societal chains to throw off. He has no history of being oppressed. He has no 'against the odds' story.
If I were to set a game in Kenya, my main character would be Kenyan. Unless I wanted a subplot about the character being an outsider. If your game is set in a predominantly white male society, then unless you have plans for their race or gender, the character is a white male.

Take L.A. Noire. Try and make Cole Phelps anything BUT a white male. It's not possible. Even if the plot remained identical, the message would be totally different.

 

[Sangreal Gothcraft]

meh....politically correct much? Anyways minorities tend to get stereotypes...so yeah....lets just leave em white....or chosen in rpg like style....

 

[Shinclone]

If the OP is actually serious and not trolling then they seem to be the type of nutter who foamed at the mouth and screamed that Resi 5 was racist because you kill black people in it.
As many people have said games are aimed at white males between the ages of 15-35. Why? Because it's good business.
OP would you consider the Cosby show racist because it only had black people on it?

 

[yunabomb]

There are of course examples tat can be found, but they are relatively rare compared to white males asically for the reason most people have already mentioned: most gamers are currently white males.

The problem isn't really that most gamers are white and/or male, it's that the developers in American studios are. I mentioned movies earlier, where a majority of viewers are women, while a majority of protagonists are men. We'd still have the same characters even if women were the majority of gamers.

 

[ms_sunlight]

Spoiler: Spoilered for brevity

...why is it a problem that most games star white males? If there's no reason for him not to be a white male...let him be a white male. If your game is set in a country with a mostly white population, and you don't consider his race to be an important factor in his character, then make him a white male, because then you don't have to concern yourself with other aspects of the story that might involve race or gender.

Wow. You're obviously not aware of it, but this is a ridiculously ignorant statement.

Please explain this comment.

I can't speak for yunabomb, but the problem for me is seeing white as "default" and non-white as "other". It's not that any particular character is a white male - after all, why not? It's that almost all of them are. If there's no reason for him not to be a white male, then surely there's no reason for him not to be a black male, or latino male, or South Asian male - or indeed a woman of any race.

I'm guessing nobody read the second half of my post.

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS ARE NOT REAL PEOPLE. THEY ARE SYMBOLS. A WHITE MALE IS A BLANK CARD. WOMEN HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED UNTIL FAIRLY RECENTLY. A FEMALE PROTAGONIST REPRESENTS GENDER EQUALITY.

That's the point. A white male is not a blank card. White is not default, non-white exceptional. Male is not default, non-male exceptional. Why should a blank card be of one particular race or gender? One of the best examples of "blank card" character from the last few years is Chell from Portal, and she's a non-white woman.

(I read your original post; I just didn't agree with it.)

 

[ZeroMachine]

Most movies are about white males

Last I checked, this was a forum section about video games.

Seems a very typical white privilege thing to do to shift the blame so that something racist suddenly becomes irrelevant.:/

That's the most racist thing I've ever seen anyone say on here.

On some subconcious level? Yes.

As en masse you find people who claim to think that they find black women unattractive and a myriad of racist notions that contradict their claim that "I'm not racist" and "I don't think any races are any better than any others".

Thing is, that most people don't realize that they hold racist notions. And white privilege tends to erase the idea from their minds that society might be racist.

1. No.

2. I don't find most black women attractive. That doesn't make me racist. That just means that I don't find most black women attractive. It doesn't make me think they're any lesser than I or any white girl that I do find attractive.

3. Again, that comment is, in and of itself, racist.

TO BE FAIR, I've seen this point brought up time and time again. You are in no way the only person to pick up on the fact that most protagonists are white males. It is, in fact, somewhat of an issue- I, personally, would like to see more games with more diverse main characters.

But the problem isn't really racism (I'll stick with that side of the argument, I think we've seen a good boost in female main characters). A little bit, yes, denying that would be foolish. BUT, when making games (or any other story-telling medium, but let's just stick to games), the developers work with what they know and what their greatest target audience is.

Most developers are white. I honestly rarely see black developers in behind-the-scenes stuff. So, it'll be easier for them to write for a white character.

Most gamers are white. Therefore, it'll be easier to market white characters in games.

This isn't so much racism as it is just cold, hard facts. Do you think that black people don't play games as much because "whitey" doesn't want them to? 'Cause, let's face it, the pure idea of that is just silly.

Racism exists. Racism in marketing exists. Racism in games (movies/books/tv shows/etc) exists.

But pointing at it and going "THIS IS BAD. YOU MUST CHANGE IT." will do nothing. The problem has nothing to do with developers seeing black people as inferior. It's a market problem.

 

[OneTwoThreeBlast]

Well of course most video game stars are white males. We live in a female-oppressive patriarchy where men are considered more powerful, more interesting, and more deserving of exaltation. Until we fix what is truly wrong with how our society approaches gender, we shouldn't expect any less.

EDIT: and while one may legitimately argue that more gamers are male, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether this a symptom of how games portray women rather than a cause.

 

[Thyunda]

Spoiler: Spoilered for brevity

...why is it a problem that most games star white males? If there's no reason for him not to be a white male...let him be a white male. If your game is set in a country with a mostly white population, and you don't consider his race to be an important factor in his character, then make him a white male, because then you don't have to concern yourself with other aspects of the story that might involve race or gender.

Wow. You're obviously not aware of it, but this is a ridiculously ignorant statement.

Please explain this comment.

I can't speak for yunabomb, but the problem for me is seeing white as "default" and non-white as "other". It's not that any particular character is a white male - after all, why not? It's that almost all of them are. If there's no reason for him not to be a white male, then surely there's no reason for him not to be a black male, or latino male, or South Asian male - or indeed a woman of any race.

I'm guessing nobody read the second half of my post.

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS ARE NOT REAL PEOPLE. THEY ARE SYMBOLS. A WHITE MALE IS A BLANK CARD. WOMEN HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED UNTIL FAIRLY RECENTLY. A FEMALE PROTAGONIST REPRESENTS GENDER EQUALITY.

That's the point. A white male is not a blank card. White is not default, non-white exceptional. Male is not default, non-male exceptional. Why should a blank card be of one particular race or gender? One of the best examples of "blank card" character from the last few years is Chell from Portal, and she's a non-white woman.

(I read your original post; I just didn't agree with it.)

And I notice you remember Chell quite easily. She stands out. Valve did a grand job creating a memorable character, despite her being a blank card. With her being female, you remember HER and not just her actions. Most games like to make you feel like you've accomplished those things, not the character you play as.

Besides. There are always exceptions to the rule. Sometimes those exceptions are secretly conformers in disguise - making a character a minority (I don't like the term, makes it sound like there's one black for every fifty whites) just to show that they can be as uninteresting as a white male is conforming to the rule.

Chell, however, IS an exception. Unless you want to dig really deep and conjure a feminist metaphor out of nowhere. But I'm not THAT kind of person, so I'll let you have her.

 

[Thyunda]

Well of course most video game stars are white males. We live in a female-oppressive patriarchy where men are considered more powerful, more interesting, and more deserving of exaltation. Until we fix what is truly wrong with how our society approaches gender, we shouldn't expect any less.

Ahem. No. Drop the female oppression crap, it's gone. That stuff ended twenty years ago. And that's pushing it. Now we just have the after effects of the female oppression. And since fictional characters are not people, and are in fact visual metaphors, a female protagonist carries undertones that a developer may not want their game to be about.

 

[OneTwoThreeBlast]

Well of course most video game stars are white males. We live in a female-oppressive patriarchy where men are considered more powerful, more interesting, and more deserving of exaltation. Until we fix what is truly wrong with how our society approaches gender, we shouldn't expect any less.

Ahem. No. Drop the female oppression crap, it's gone. That stuff ended twenty years ago. And that's pushing it. Now we just have the after effects of the female oppression. And since fictional characters are not people, and are in fact visual metaphors, a female protagonist carries undertones that a developer may not want their game to be about.

Really? When did they stop paying women less than men for the same work? Did that end today? Because last I checked, it was still the case. Just because things have improved doesn't mean the issue of oppression is over and done with. It's a mistake to simply brush it off as "soooo yesterday."

 

[Redryhno]

Yes, that includes the ones made in Asia.
Uncharted
Gears of War
Crysis
Assassin's Creed
Metal Gear
Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.
Deus Ex
Mass Effect
Max Payne
Hitman
Kane & Lynch
Devil May Cry
ect. x 1000
Surely I am not the only one disturbed by this.

Not trying to "disturb" or "upset" you, etc., but who cares if your pixels are white or not? I mean, if you're disturbed by your little guy breaking crates that belong to someone else being white, why not also be "disturbed" by the guy being a guy at all? Where's the ugly, completely unattractive woman as a protagonist that has such a small cadre of games?

Making a white protagonist in a video game isn't racist.

The tendency for video game developers to make protagonists as white is racist.

Haven't I seen this same kind of thread somewhere else posted by someone with this exact picture complaining about how white supremacy has ruined the world? or something to that effect. And it's no more racist than two black guys sitting on a porch, car, etc. yelling at each other, with every third word being "****** this", "****** that", and not giving a care in hell, and as soon as someone that's not black come up to them - doesn't matter if they've been friends for twenty years - and say, "hey nigga" and immediately being attacked for being racist, beaten to a pulp, and subjected to breathing out of a tube for the rest of his life. And the best part was, the guys get off a battery charge because he was being "hated on",

I don't really see how this is a big deal anymore, except for the extremes we've gone to keep everyone "happy", and the PC world the world's turn into is so sad from my view seeing as how you are no longer allowed to say black, mexican, honduran, white or asian anymore because that's "racist" and you then have to turn everything you say into an extra three syllables when the people you use them for don't care as a whole whether or not you call them by their "proper and respectful" names, come on, where's Caucasian-American or whatever the proper term is, why can't we be angry by not being "respected" as our own little section of society?

I don't see what the difference is between a black guy shooting an AK and a Russian, besides their probably differing political views or whose faceless country sent them into the warzone. In short, I think you're just blowing this whole thing out of proportion. so the polys are white? does it lessen your interest in the game, or are you one of those people that, you know, found out really early that that skin-deep myth/legend/etc. didn't apply to you?(sarcastic joke... kind of)

 

[Syphous]

Most "leading men" are white. That's true for books, movies, television, and video games. But really, who cares? Does it even matter? Who is sitting at home thinking "I would love to play Uncharted, but the main character is white, and for some reason that's fucking racist!"

 

[Thyunda]

Well of course most video game stars are white males. We live in a female-oppressive patriarchy where men are considered more powerful, more interesting, and more deserving of exaltation. Until we fix what is truly wrong with how our society approaches gender, we shouldn't expect any less.

Ahem. No. Drop the female oppression crap, it's gone. That stuff ended twenty years ago. And that's pushing it. Now we just have the after effects of the female oppression. And since fictional characters are not people, and are in fact visual metaphors, a female protagonist carries undertones that a developer may not want their game to be about.

Really? When did they stop paying women less than men for the same work? Did that end today? Because last I checked, it was still the case. Just because things have improved doesn't mean the issue of oppression is over and done with. It's a mistake to simply brush it off as "soooo yesterday."

Are you aware that women don't have to sign up for national service, whereas men do? It's gender INEQUALITY. Not oppression. Fuck me, can tell you've grown up in the past two decades. No idea what oppression is.

 

[OneTwoThreeBlast]

Most "leading men" are white. That's true for books, movies, television, and video games. But really, who cares? Does it even matter? Who is sitting at home thinking "I would love to play Uncharted, but the main character is white, and for some reason that's fucking racist!"

I personally don't think it's a big problem, but when coupled with the use of women as merely fodder for male gamers and when placed within a larger context of patriarchy, it's just one more question we should ask.

More importantly to us as gamers, we should ask whether this pushes women away from gaming. We all would like gaming to become more socially acceptable and more widely embraced; it's possible that we are hindering that goal.