Healthy Habits: Video Games and Body Dissatisfaction

Many individuals are worried that sexualization in video games may increase female players' body dissatisfaction. 

Contrary to expectations, new research findings in the American Psychological Association's journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture did not find that sexualization increased body dissatisfaction or aggression toward other women. Media influences from video games appear to be minimal.

"Examining the Effects of Exposure to a Sexualized Female Video Game Protagonist on Women's Body Image" is based on research by Danielle Lindner, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Stetson University; Chris Ferguson, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Stetson University; Stetson University alumna Melissa Trible; and Ilana Pilato, Ph.D. candidate, at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

During the study, female players were randomly assigned to play either a more or less sexualized avatar in a "Tomb Raider" video game. Participants also reported on their self-objectification and body dissatisfaction as well as hostility and aggression toward a female character. Research results indicated that exposure to a sexualized avatar in a video game did not influence any outcomes for female participants. These results indicate that, at least for video games, exposure to sexualized females may not have a substantial impact on female players.

The journal article link includes additional information, and I had a chance to interview Dr. Lindner to learn more.

My primary area of research is body image, and Chris studies video games, so our collaboration was very natural. People voice a lot of concerns about whether exposing people to sexualized female characters in media -- whether television, movies, print, or video games -- has a negative impact on women's body image. Chris and I designed an experimental study to test whether exposing female college students to a sexualized female video game protagonist would have a negative effects on self-objectification, or the extent to which a woman views her body in sexually objectified terms as someone else might, and body satisfaction. Participants came to the lab and played a version of the Lara Croft video games -- one that included a sexualized version of Lara Croft (i.e., where Lara was wearing a sexualized bathing suit), and one where Lara was wearing clothes more appropriate to the task and less revealing. We found that exposure to the sexualized video game protagonist had no effect on women's body image. 

Can you share a little bit about the limitations of the study and what effects that could have?

I think the biggest limitation of the study is also it's biggest strength -- the study is a well-controlled experiment conducted in a research lab, examining the effects of exposure to a specific video game over a specific period of time. Experimental studies are important because they allow us to look clearly at the causal relationships between variables. However, the level of control we need in experimental studies doesn't always match what people do in the real world. So for instance, we can't say that women would respond to other video games or differing lengths of play in the same way. We also only tested female college students, most of whom were early in their college career. We can't say anything about how other people would respond either. 

Do you think there's a difference between short-term and long-term exposure to video games and self-image?

I'm not aware of any studies on short-term vs. long-term impacts on body image due to video game exposure. The relationship between video games and body image is much less frequently studied than the relationship between video games and violence. There isn't reason for me to believe that the relationship would be different over the long-term than it is in the short-term. I do think, though, that it's important to look at other places in our culture where women may be exposed to sexually objectifying messages or interpersonal interactions that leave women feeling objectified, as the latter in particular is likely to impact women in a more salient way.