Sexy, Dangerous—and Ignored

Although evidence has shown that video games portray women as hypersexualized objects, video game magazines have received little study. Using the theory of Hegemonic Masculinity, an in-depth review of six video game magazines (three print and three online) revealed that the magazines consistently treat digital women as vacant pinups to be ogled or irrelevant sidekicks to be tolerated, and real women as annoying interlopers to be bullied.