This study examined how exposure to sexualized female avatars in video games influences gender discrimination in faction choice. 67 participants played Left 4 Dead 2 with either a sexy, average, or masculine avatar and then made choices that could follow male or female confederates. Results found that after seeing the sexy avatar, there was a trend of men preferring to follow men, compared to choosing at random with the average avatar. The study also found that overall, females preferred to follow other females. The authors hypothesize this may be because females are seen as better leaders when women aren't overly sexualized, and same-sex coalitions are more productive.

1. Group Coalition in Video Games: How gender discrimination influences
how we choose our factions
Amanda M. Jones and Dr. JudithA. Easton
Texas State University
Introduction
Despite 46% of game purchasers being female (“Essential”, 2013), only 13.91%
of all video game characters from 2005 were female (Williams, 2009).
When comparing appearance in popular games form 2005, 4% of males were
partially or fully nude compared to 43% of females. Of all the characters examined,
25% of females versus 2% of males had unrealistic body proportions (Downs &
Smith, 2009).
After viewing sexual stimulating females in a video game, male participants
reported having thoughts related to female objectification compared to the control
group who saw no sexual content (Yao, Mahood & Linz, 2010)
 It is hypothesized that exposure to the over-sexualized female avatar will cause
participants to choose to follow the male confederate more than the female
confederate. Exposure to the average or masculinized avatar should cause
participants to choose to follow confederates randomly, as they have not been
primed with the typical female video game stereotype.
Method
67 participants (Men: 32, Women: 35) aged 18 to 34 (M = 19.98, SD = 2.39)
References:
Down, E., & Smith, S.L. (2010). Keeping abreast of hypersexuality: A video game
character content analysis. Sex Roles, 62(11-12), 721-733. Doi:
10.1007/s11199-009-9637-1
“Essential facts about the computer and video game industry.” (2013), URL
(consulted 31 March 2014):
http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2013.pdf
Williams, D., Martins, N., Consalvo, M., & Ivory, James D. The virtual census:
representations of gender, race and age in video games. New
Media & Society 11(5), 815-834. Doi: 10.1177/1461444809105354
Yao, M. Z., Mahood, C., & Linz, D. (2010). Sexual priming, gender
stereotyping, and likelihood to sexually harass: Examining the
cognitive effects of playing a sexually-explicit video game. Sex
Roles, 62(1-2), 77-88. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9695-4
Email: amj3@txstate.edu
Left 4 Dead 2 - Screenshots
Discussion
Men and women
appear to be choosing at
random with non-sexy
avatars.
Trend indicates a preference for
men after seeing the sexy avatar
May be influenced by a
gender difference.
Overall it appears that
females prefer to follow
females
People may be following
males because they are
perceived as better
leaders when women as
seen as overly sexualized
Same-sex coalitions may be
more productive and conducive
than mixed sex
 Could explain why
females may be following
females
The first path participants faced
was a simple fork in the road.
The second path was a long
garden maze, where they went
to the far left or the far right.
Results
Sexy
Avatars
Average Masculine
The avatars were made using Guild Wars 2, an online video game. They were then pilot
tested to check for differences while remaining realistic. The masculine avatar (M = 3.59, SD
= 1.02) was perceived as more masculine than the average (M = 2.79, SD = .89) and
sexualized (M = 3.55, SD = .98) avatars. The sexualized avatar (M = 4.00, SD = .99) was
perceived as more sexy than the average (M = 3.50, SD = .98) and masculine (M = 3.45, SD
= .93).
Pre-Study
Survey
Play
Left 4
Dead 2
Path
Choice 1
Path
Choice 2
Sexy
Avatar
Buff
Avatar
Average
Avatar
0.73
1.36
0
0.5
1
1.5
Men Women
Mean-RateofFollowing
Female
Gender of Participant
Exposure to Sexy
Avatar
0.83
1.23
0
0.5
1
1.5
Male Female
Mean-RateofFollowing
Females
Gender of Participant
Gender Difference in
Choosing Females
0.9
1
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
1
Men Women
Mean-RateofFollowing
Female
Gender of Participant
Exposure to Average
Avatar
t(20) = -2.04, p = .06
F(1, 62) = 3.57, p = .06
t(17) = -.23, p = .82