(MMO)RPG Video Oyun Karakterlerinin Cinsiyet ve Etnik Stereotipleri

Abstract

Internet and related new communication environments have also caused many changes in social and cultural structures. Games which are a mass communication medium, provide a space where players can easily obtain images, ideas, and evaluations to determine their own behavioral schedules. There are a number of studies that have included a variety of methodologies and data sources to determine whether or not video games, are also a direct influence on people’s thoughts and behaviors such as traditional media environments that address millions of people. Today, MMORPGs are becoming more and more difficult with increasingly difficult tasks and wars. Different types of media such as visual and print media are the platforms that people can meet different stereotypes. Stereotypes are common thoughts that they are not private and carried on by sharing within the same community. While stereotype has a more uniform quality, prejudice can encompass a large number of stereotypes (ex, race, religion, sex stereotypes). This study aims to determine whether or not there is a relationship between gender and racial stereotypes of video game characters and variables such as race, gender, body types, and sexual portrayal-attire. Of the 107 RPG games that were examined, there were a total of 273 (46.2%) male characters and 318 (53.8%) female characters. Results of the chi-square analysis indicated that there were significant distribution differences between dependent and independent variables.