In this report, I will explore the effects that popular female video game characters have on contemporary feminism and whether their depiction helps or hinders the feminist movement in the modern world. However, due to the huge range of female characters within the industry, I have chosen to focus on two whom I believe have had, not only a profound impact on gamers and the industry alike, but also represent two contrasting archetypal representations of women throughout history; Princess Peach and Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. To achieve this, I must first acknowledge that interpretations of feminism can be broad and subjective, thus, for clarity purposes I shall be adhering to the following definition: “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of equality of the sexes.”And, I personally, will define a feminist icon as: ‘One who encourages the progression of equality and feminism through her/his actions or speech’.

The video game market has been a significant part of people’s lives dating back decades, yet, its portrayal of strong, well-written female protagonists has consistently trailed behind other media outlets, such as the film or TV industries. One must only look at Princess Leia, the critically acclaimed Star Wars heroine, famously portrayed by Carrie Fischer (in the late seventies and early eighties), or Sarah Michelle Geller’s groundbreaking depiction of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (in the late nineties and the early noughties) to see that the gaming industry is falling far behind. According to a survey conducted by the non-profit organisation Feminist Frequency, at, the gaming covention, E3 2015 only 9% of the 76 games showcased centred around a female protagonist, whereas, 32% centred on a male. Then, if we are to consider the The Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, or ESA, found the videogame demographic to be made up of 42% female gamers that very year, the lack of representation of nearly half of the people buying the games is worryingly apparent. The problem lies in the inherent belief, despite the evidence, that the game space is male-dominated, and therefore, is male-geared. Shigeru Miyamoto (the creator of the Super Mario series and Princess Peach herself) commented on this when asked about the historic lack of female characters within Nintendo: “The arcades [back then] were not places girls went into often. And so we didn’t even consider making a character that would be playable for girls”. This type of attitude has such firm roots within the industry it can be hard to overcome a problem like this, so naturally, it has led to the more popular franchises, such as action series, being marketed towards boys and men, leaving female players and protagonists overlooked. This has been evident from the beginning of the games industry to the current era of gaming. For example, the first ever dialogue from a female character was Pauline shouting, “Help me!” to Jumpman (later known as Mario) in 1981’s Donkey Kong. A revamped look and position as the mayor of ‘New Donk City’ in the 2018’s Mario Odyssey had huge potential to rewrite and modernise the standard for female representation in Nintendo’s future gaming endeavours, yet her new status as a strong, independent woman, the elected leader of an entire city, is undermined by her dependence on Mario. Her responsibilities as mayor seemingly extend to requesting Mario’s help over and over in a different context, merely a way of papering over the cracks of this character who has been inherently limited by her creators. This is to say, the concept of a ‘damsel in distress’-type character is fundamentally damaging to contemporary ideologies of womanhood and feminism, which I shall go into more detail on further in the report, and Nintendo has only superficially adapted Pauline to the current political climate rather than fixed her character holistically. However, as mentioned, the characters I will focus this report on both address this issue and various others.

Princess Peach, formally Princess Toadstool, was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and debuted in 1985’s Super Mario Brothers, where she played the role of the ‘Damsel in Distress‘. Thus, requiring Mario to rescue her from the clutches of Bowser – for the most part the characters conform to the classic role of the hero, princess and villain, which was not uncommon in 1980s media. The Super Mario series quickly took off and became the best-selling video game franchise to date, yet Peach still found herself continually in need of rescue in subsequent instalments to the series. She has often faced criticism for her stereotypically ‘pink’ and classically effeminate design, along with her dependency on men for her wellbeing, by those who believe that she sets a bad precedent for the young girls who often idolise her.

The character to whom I shall compare her, debuted in the 1996 game dubbed ‘Tomb Raider’. Created by Toby Gard, Lara Croft has proved herself to be one of the most popular, albeit controversial, fictional protagonists in video game history. Being one of the most successful video game franchises in history, and 2013’s Tomb Raider having sold 11 million units worldwide, it’s fair to say that she’s a protagonist at the forefront of the action/adventure genre, yet her sex appeal has led many to criticise her success – suggesting that she is a poor representative of a real world woman.

Firstly, I would like to establish the real-world implications of a poor or an overtly sexual representation within the media. “Sexual objectification occurs when a woman’s body, body parts, or sexual functions are isolated from her whole and complex being and treated as objects simply to be looked at, coveted, or touched (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997). Once sexually objectified, the worth of a woman’s body or body part is directly equated to its physical appearance or potential sexual function and is treated like it exists solely for others to use or consume.” The implication of sexual objectification within the media has only just begun to be explored in the last few decades. Emma Rooney (2016) compiles a list of various prolific side effects that women experience including: shame, anxiety, and depression caused by constant exposure. This can also lead to health risks, which we can observe due to studies pinning sexual objectifying behaviours as a significant predictor of most eating disordered symptoms within women. Rooney then cites Objectification Theory’s (Frederickson and Roberts, 1997) assertion that constant objectification “creates a continuous stream of anxiety-provoking experiences, requiring women to maintain at least part of their concentration on their physical appearance and safety at all times in order to better anticipate the perceptions and actions of others (Frederickson and Roberts, 1997)”. No media which portrays women as nothing more than sexual beings is free from these implications, Behm-Morawitz and Mastro conducted a study specifically to assess the effects of video game characters on Undergraduate students at a large American university. The study concludes that “Female self-efficiency was negatively affected by game play with the sexualised female character. Results cautiously suggest that playing a sexualised video game heroine unfavourably influenced people’s beliefs about women in the real world.” The hyper-sexualised female character (one with similarly exaggerated sexual characteristics as Lara Croft) encourages a perversion of the player’s views regarding women’s bodies’ and sexualities’. The immersive nature and often exceptional visuals experienced whilst gaming only further the realism, and therefore, objectification of these characters. Yet, it is essentially the intention of the game, to make the female character as sexually appealing as possible to the assumed straight male gamer. Unfortunately, this assumption is gravely mistaken, as mentioned previously the ESA found that 42% of gamers were female in 2015 and this number is on a steady increase as in 2018 the ESA found that 45% of gamers in the US were female. This representation modifies the beliefs of the gamer to view women and their bodies as objects and as solely sexual beings that exist only for a sexual purpose. The video game presentation of women contributes to the dehumanisation of women and can lead to misogynistic beliefs concerning their inferiority. Equally, the hyper-sexualisation of women has been strongly linked to mental health disorders in women, and are a frequent precursor to anxiety, eating disorders and even depression.  Beasley and Standley conducted a study in 2002, and “found that 70% of female characters in Mature-rated video games and 46% of female characters in Teen-rated games were depicted with abundant cleavage, 86% of female characters wore clothing with low/revealing necklines, and 48% of female characters were dressed in outfits with no sleeves. This is in contrast to only 22% of male characters represented in clothing with no sleeves and 14% of male characters wearing clothes with a low/revealing neckline. Moreover, female characters were twice as likely to be scantily-clad than their male counterparts.” Video games inspire a standard of judging oneself and others off the precedents set by video game design, which reduces feelings of self-worth within women and may lead to negative or archaic beliefs regarding the role of women (for example a belief that a woman’s defining trait is her sexuality rather than her holistic self). Behm-Morawitz and Mastro argue that it may be the case that some women are “empowered by these portrayals of strong, powerful heroines through their embodiment of female success, strength and intelligence”. However, they argue that “the overwhelming sexualisation which exudes from these characters diminishes any positive effects they may have”. To summarise, overtly sexual female characters have been linked to feelings of poor self-worth within and an overall negative view of women in terms of social equality and whilst Princess Peach is not an overtly sexualised character, her presentation is undoubtedly culpable of facilitating the latter by way of her traditional appearance and demeanour. Her appearance and role within the Super Mario franchise may reinforce archaic beliefs that women should remain submissive to men and dress in a traditionally demure manner. Princess Peach, in this way, acts as a stark contrast to Lara Croft, whilst they both reinforce negative stereotypes about female sexuality. As mentioned, both explicitly represent female sexuality, one being a traditional ideal, and the other a more modern, fetishised idol, a product of the social climate. This dynamic represents the evolution in the way society perceives female sexuality, the evolution from Audrey Hepburn to Nicki Minaj as sex icons.

As I have touched upon, Peach and Lara (this how I shall be referring to them subsequently) have both experienced criticism for their representation as the most prominent female characters in the video gaming industry to date. One can draw parallels to the Mary vs Eve analogy – Peach presents as a classic woman, very demure and conforms to traditional stereotypes concerning femininity; her pink floor-length ball gowns, high pitched voice and tiara contribute to these criticisms. Yet, we have to recognise that the Mario series is primarily marketed towards younger players and Peach’s design is intended to appeal to younger female players, her representation is, presumably, a consequence of years of stereotypes and assumptions placed upon women and girls. Society has often perceived that a love of princesses, dresses and the colour pink is intrinsically feminine, thereby influencing Peach’s design in order to appeal to her target demographic. One can observe the shift in social climate in the games industry through comparison of Peach’s presentation in Mario Bros. to the protagonist of Tomb Raider (1996). The title character, Lara Croft, was a drastic shift from the portrayal of the feminine stereotype presented in Super Mario Bros. (1985). Lara Croft is presented as a strong, adventurous, fiercely intelligent and powerful female character. However, as a pioneer of the action/adventure genre, and as the aforementioned were traditionally aimed at boys, her design featured excessively large breasts, tiny waist and wide hips – accentuated by a camera angle which featured a prominent view of her buttocks. Her voluptuous figure and sexualised mannerisms allude to the assumption that the target demographic was solely heterosexual men. This rhetoric was exemplified by Lara’s exaggerated appearance and design based on model, Nathalie Cook. These elements of her design perfectly capture the theory of sexual objectification (Frederickson and Roberts 1997). Lara was simply an object for an assumed male player to control and view as he liked. Lara’s first appearance in gaming perpetuates a negative view of women, as the studies have shown. Lara’s hyper-sexuality and the negative stereotypes which she fosters, arguably diminish her ability to be a ‘feminist icon’ due to the implications which stem from her sexual objectification, including the reduction of feelings of self-worth within women and an increase in negative attitudes towards women from both genders. Princess Peach’s appearance doesn’t fare much better as she epitomises stereotypes of femininity and traditional girlishness – perpetuating archaic stereotypes which patronise women, thus making neither character, upon their first debut, particularly progressive in terms of feminism.

However, to argue that Lara’s hyper-sexuality is debilitating to her feminist undertones, as some would, actually has anti-feminist connotations that would suggest any woman who owns her sexuality is inherently anti-feminist, one could easily argue that another iconic female character, Wonder Woman is as much a feminist icon as she is a sex symbol, easily one of the most empowering female characters in history but, equally boasts very sexualised proportions. Since 1996, Lara Croft has been represented as a strong, independent, powerful character; never once relying on a man to help her. Despite this, it could be argued that Lara is written as an oxymoron, her very appeal is her independence yet she relies on the heterosexual male gaze in order to sell her games through her sex appeal, essentially, she is her own worst enemy.

Peach’s tendency to get kidnapped is often the biggest point of contention amongst feminists in terms of her ability to become a feminist icon. She, unlike Lara, has always almost entirely depended on a male character to rescue her. Whilst not sexually, she has been objectified in the sense that she is merely a trophy to be won by the player: her value to the game/player is simply what she represents as a prize to be won. Unlike Lara, she solely represented a traditional subordinate woman who is utterly and irrefutably dependant on a man.

As society has developed in terms of women’s rights and equalities, video game developers have been forced to adapt their representations of women accordingly. As women found their place in a rapid-changing society, so did many female characters in video games. As heroes like; Samus, Jill Valentine and Chun Li established themselves as fan-favourite female characters, Nintendo and Eidos were forced to make drastic developments to their presentation of females in video games and quickly.

Peach eventually found herself as the protagonist of the 2005 game Super Princess Peach, 20 years after she initially debuted as a distressed princess. It was marketed in the West with an advert featuring young girls dressed as Peach braving an army assault-course with a voiceover reminiscent that of the A-Team. The whole advert feels compiled to present Peach as a strong and capable character, on par with iconic male heroes such as those from the A-Team.  This demonstrates the rapid development in society as children born in the 70s would become the game developers of the 00s. Having grown up playing Mario Bros. and watching the A-Team whilst simultaneously experiencing the cultural shift in gender dynamics – including massive events such as Britain’s first ever female prime minister – the marketers chose to represent Peach as a strong feminist icon, on parr with other female protagonists of the gaming genre. To a Western audience, the game presented a proverbial emancipation of the Princess; from a meek damsel into a power-wielding hero on parr with Lara Croft or Samus Aran. This suggests that the Western marketers were far more aware of the implications of the game’s material and presentation of Peach’s ‘powers’. The Japanese advertisements for Super Princess Peach presented clips from the game as Peach used, not the elements to her advantage, but her emotions – transparently renamed ‘vibes’. This (some would argue tone deaf) decision was neither tactful nor in line with modern thinking regarding a woman’s place in Western society. This may be due to differing attitudes towards women in the East which sometimes oppose Western ideologies, yet does not excuse the suggestion that a woman’s sole power derives from a heightened emotional state (with strong allusions to pre menstrual tension, or PMT). Peach’s powers allow her to set herself alight and rampage across a 2D stage with ‘rage’, fly and sing with ‘joy’ and regain health with ‘calm’. These characteristics present Peach as essentially a caricature of an overly emotional woman, a state which has often been a stereotype used to subjugate and demean women. The worst offender for this, however, is Peach’s Sadness ability, it causes her to sob uncontrollably, washing away swarms of enemies with her overwhelming emotions. The choice of powers for Peach is rather problematic in terms of the representation of the Princess as a powerful being (her power lying in her emotions) as it reinforces the archetypal feminine ideal Peach represents and this, as studies have shown, reinforces that same attitude within both male and female players. As Ryan Davis sums up in his 2006 review, “there’s something rather sexist about the idea that Princess Peach’s big secret weapon is that she can get overly emotional at the drop of a hat” which demonstrates that, even in 2005, the premise sat rather uneasily with Western audiences. Peach’s other tool of destruction comes from her magic parasol, Perry. He removes the need for Peach to rely on physical prowess, as Lara and Chun Li do, in order to overpower her foes – this even separates her from Mario or Luigi as a protagonist and suggests that she is not as capable as men in terms of combat ability – relying on others. Even her special ability in Super Mario Bros 2. and Super Mario 3D World (2013) she can float when jumping, meaning that she is far from the enemies and firmly removed from the action, unlike the other (male) playable characters in the game. In Mario 3D  World, however, Rosalina makes her debut as a playable character in a main series Mario game. Interestingly, Rosalina is the only playable character who can use an actual attack within her non-powerup moveset (which doesn’t involve jumping upon an enemy’s head). To me, Rosalina represents a strong, modern female character (who rocks a blue dress) within Nintendo’s flagship franchise, but also represents Nintendo’s unwillingness to give their flagship damsel the same treatment and bring her in line with the new generation of strong inspirational women, gracing our screen. 

When speaking of physical ability, Peach is staunchly the opposite to Lara whose combat prowess is second to none, taking down even a tyrannosaurus rex with an arsenal of weapons ranging from crossbows to grenade launchers. Her strength due to her gender was never in question, however her games (which were originally ingenious cinematic masterpieces) were at the time (the early 2000s) relatively comparable to the majority of titles on the marketplace. The commercial failure of Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness led to Crystal Dynamics revamping the game not once, but twice. The first revamp came in 2006 with Tomb Raider: Legend. Eidos reduced sexualising marketing campaigns for Tomb Raider and released a title (developed by Crystal Dynamics) which spends time developing Lara as a person, adding a backstory in which her mother vanishes and familial love then becomes a motivating factor in her quest to find Avalon. The increased level of storytelling and writing began to establish Lara as a notably likable and relatable protagonist, whilst still intertwined with cinematic Bond-esque motorbike chases and a shootout wearing nothing but a cocktail dress, although one should note she removed her heels. The practicality of such an action an almost irony given the reluctance of many social events requiring women to wear heels, without exception. One only needs to look at the controversy surrounding the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 where “Multiple guests, some older with medical conditions, were denied access to the anticipated world-premiere screening for wearing rhinestone flats”. This event highlights the double standard regarding the ways in which women are expected to dress in order to appear ‘suitable’ as recently as 2015 and Lara’s removal of said heels could allude to her rapid character development into a more realistic representation of a capable woman, and she will not be hindered by heels where many women often allow themselves to be in order to conform to social standards. Despite the outlandishness of her escapades, she remains a relatable character due to the motivations set out for her, despite her suave attitude and unflinching courageousness (notably, standing up to the Yakuza). Thanks to strong writing, she is allowed to develop her own narrative through her love for her mother and passion for adventure, unlike Peach who, even when she finally headlines her own game, solely depends on men by the fact that her narrative is centred on the tradition of a powerless woman being saved by a man (and in one case her unique set of ‘powers’ to liberate him). This means that her existence depends on a man in the sense that her story has never not revolved around being rescued by (or in one case rescuing) Mario. This contrasts with Lara’s familial motivation, which itself is a twist on a traditional use of game storytelling in which a male protagonist’s wife or daughter is kidnapped or murdered in order to provide motivation and thereby, justification for the gratuitous violence of the video game (see Streets of Rage, 1991). Although in more recent titles when Peach is playable, such as Mario 3D World (2013), Peach is the first to jump to the rescue of the Sprixie Princesses which shows she does have her own initiative, but Mario, Luigi and Toad seemingly follow Peach who has fallen down the pipe. Although the game is not specific, Mario’s visible shock seems more in regards to Peach’s fall than the kidnapping of the Sprixie, thus his motivation is to, once again, protect Princess Peach. This is to say Peach depends on men for almost every outing into the gamesphere, whereas Lara has her own motivations in spite of any male character. Suggesting that Lara is developing into a strong female protagonist, the likes of which, mainstream video games are severely lacking.

These developments in Lara’s character and context in which she appears, were only precursors for the 2013 reimagining of Tomb Raider. Now published by Square Enix rather than Eidos, but still developed by Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider took Lara Croft from a seasoned adventurer with unparalleled combat abilities to a desperate, emotional survivor constantly pursued and to whom killing is nothing but a grim necessity. Written by Rhianna Pratchett, the story focuses on Lara’s struggle to escape a murderous cult when shipwrecked on the lost island of Yamatai. Her struggle is candidly portrayed, the player experiences every emotion, every trauma and every loss along with her. Her emotions often hinder her as they do many of us, her strength sometimes gives out but she perseveres. Whilst her experience is traumatic, her resilience is inspiring nonetheless. Unlike Princess Peach, Lara’s emotions are not presented as delightful tools with which she may dispatch her foes; they consume Lara causing moments of tears, rage or relief, but they never stop her and certainly never define her in the way they do Peach in ‘Super Princess Peach’. One could easily question the presentation of Lara as an emotional being and critique her presentation and assume that she suffers, as Peach does, from negative stereotypes surrounding women like ‘hysteria’ and being overly-emotional. However, I disagree. Lara Croft’s portrayal is an anomologic protagonist when it comes to traditional cinematic action experiences. Lara represents a deeply human fight for survival. Despite the endless violence, Lara Croft is a very human, relatable character, her emotions, not a strange choice of ‘power’, but a device that allows for powerful, narrative-driven storytelling which strikes a chord with the gamer. Whilst we may enjoy the quips of Nathan Drake or the outlandish carnage of any Grand Theft Auto protagonist, we cannot relate to them as we do Lara, because they are almost surreal representations of what it means to be a human, unfazed by horrors worthy of a Steven King novel. Lara, however, demonstrates grief and takes realistic displeasure in the atrocities she is put through and forced to commit herself. In a now iconic scene, Lara kills a deer and the moral dilemma appears to be a first for video games, in which killing animals in order to procure resources is often done without thought (see Minecraft). Her emotions and her overcoming her failings are what cement her as a powerful, believable female character and outstanding video game protagonist. Her motivation in this game is survival. This, like the aforementioned kidnap or murder of a wife or child, does essentially provide the game an excuse for Lara to eventually become an one-woman army and fill our screens, yet again, with gratuitous violence. Yet the narrative is so raw and Lara is such a likable character, the gamer still feels a strong sense of admiration for her and a desire to see her succeed. This well written narrative, changes Lara from a merely sexual object, to a powerful, emotional woman, whose presence at the forefront of gaming separates women from the stereotypes that Peach, and Lara, had perpetrated. Lara is a presentation of a non-overtly sexualised woman and one who does not conform to archaic constraints of femininity as Peach often does. For the time, she seems to have found a healthy middle ground, which not only discourages negative stereotypes regarding women and their place in society, but actively encourages an egalitarian view of women in society and as sexual equals.

Although the main-series Mario games have left Peach woefully underdeveloped, her position as the eternal victim relegates her to little more than an award to signify the players completion of the game and her kiss implies that her sexuality is something which the male character is entitled to after completing a number of predetermined goals. This reinforces negative real world attitudes involving a woman’s sexuality being subject to a man’s wants. This has been seemingly addressed in later years, Peach’s aforementioned heroism in Mario 3D World and the ending to Mario Odyssey in which Peach rejects both Mario and Bowser, leaving them consoling one another dejectedly, and her post-game escapades in which she can be found dotted around the extensive game world independent of anyone else, not to mention donning outfits far more practical than her usual ball-gown.  However, these developments are minimal, infrequent and inconsistent or mere easter-eggs in an attempt to quell the criticisms surrounding Nintendo’s token princess. Despite Peach’s lack of serious development in the core games, the peripheral games (excluding Super Princess Peach) allow for a greater spotlight on and more extensive development of sidelined characters. These side games often cater to a multiplayer experience. Firstly, I would like to make a distinction between multiplayer games marketed universally and those marketed at boys. Video games aimed at boys typically stem from stereotypes surrounding masculinity, such as: games containing warfare or extreme/gratuitous violence (such as Call of Duty), games focusing on traditionally masculine sports, such as football or cricket (see the Fifa and Ashes Cricket series), or ‘beat-em-up’ games (see Castlevania or Darksiders) whereas, games which are not exclusively marketed towards boys are often marketed as ‘less serious’ or less ‘hardcore’ and are frequently marketed as ‘family friendly’ or ‘party games’. Nintendo has often aimed its consoles and games at families, as seen by one of the Nintendo Switch’s tagline, “Family fun, on the go!”. In fact, some of Nintendo’s most successful video games such as Mario Kart Wii (selling 37.14 million units as of September 30th 2018) was primarily marketed towards a party/family-centric multiplayer experience. The most common adverts for Mario Kart Wii featured a family playing harmoniously in their living-room. The marketing campaign features both male and female players enjoying themselves equally and therefore, implies that this is a game for everyone to enjoy irrespective of gender. So having established that Mario Kart Wii is unarguably a game intended for and marketed towards a multiplayer experience unhindered by one’s gender, I would like to compare Peach’s depiction in this game to the presentation of her in Super Mario Strikers for the same console. Super Mario Strikers is another Nintendo multiplayer title however, unlike Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Strikers’ advertising features only teenage boys playing in their garage, as opposed to featuring family-friendly, gender-neutral fun. This game is not marketed as welcoming to, or intended for female players. In Mario Kart Wii Peach, although dressed in what is essentially a cat-suit, is dressed as practically as Mario or Luigi and, whilst fairly curvaceous, does not achieve the perverse bodily-proportions of many female characters appearing in games intended for a male audience, such as Lara or Catwoman (from Batman: Arkham City). However, the presentation of Peach in the male-aimed Super Mario Strikers follows this disappointing correlation. Peach’s character model boasts: ‘booty shorts’, an exposed midriff, and a more curvaceous design than Mario Kart Wii. The stark contrast between these two character models demonstrates the negative stereotypes which plague video game depictions of women and girls. Peach epitomises the femininity and girlishness marketed towards young girls and the fetishised Princess marketed towards men and boys. Both games place Peach, finally, on an even playing field to the male characters of the Mario series, yet is the price of independence and capability sexual objectification? Seemingly so, as it is often the case, but as Peach from Mario Kart Wii and Lara from the rebooted trilogy (2013-2018) show that proficiency and sexualisation are not synonymous. This presentation of women as capable, but sexualised which is constantly marketed towards men and boys has dangerous implications, it encourages men to view women and their bodies as merely objects, unfortunately these attitudes facilitate men’s entitlement over women’s sexuality which can lead to sexual abuse or assault – which is becoming much more publicised thanks to women being encouraged to speak out in the last few years. The variety of games in which Peach has appeared allow us to draw the conclusion that, when a video game is marketed towards boy (especially action/adventure games, such as the Tomb Raider series), the female characters will be sexualised in an attempt to appeal to those to whom the game is marketed (heterosexual men and boys) as we can see when examining Lara or Peach, when she appears in male-geared titles. When a game is marketed towards a more inclusive/multiplayer audience, female characters will often appear as hyper-feminised in order to appeal to girls and women. Both these depictions gravitate around negative and archaic gender stereotypes and do not reflect an accurate overview of the gaming audience and help reinforce negative stereotypes about women.

Considering all of these implications, could anyone call Lara Croft or Princess Peach feminist icons? I would argue, yes. Peach, whilst for the most part represents a hyper-feminised trophy to which the player is entitled, shows that she can be a capable character and can dress practically (see Odyssey and Mario Kart Wii). Her hyper-femininity, whilst a tired cliché, does not mean that she is unable to inspire feminism and challenge negative stereotypes about women by proving she is just as proficient as male characters, her writers just need to give her more independence and stop relegating her to captive status (Super Princess Peach 2?). Lara, on the other hand, is undoubtedly a feminist icon. Her development from a disproportionate and overtly sexualised leading lady, to narrative driven, emotionally candid, incredibly ‘badass’ hero is unprecedented. Since Lara has been marketed towards people regardless of gender, her character development has allowed her to become one of the most compelling action/adventure heroes and her position as a well-written, non-sexualised, powerful female character cements her as a feminist icon, laying waste to traditional tropisms concerning gender in video game culture such as sexualised or passive female characters.