United States: In video games, black women are victims, Latinas don't exist

Off Our Backs, Mar/Apr 2002 by Douglas, Carol Anne, Dragiewicz, Molly, Manzano, Angie, McMullin, Vanessa, Et al

A study conducted by the child research organization "Children Now" found that only 16% of human characters in top-selling video games were females. When female characters did appear in video games, they mostly portrayed as bystanders (50%), more likely to scream, and less likely to be fully clothed than male characters. No Latina characters appear in the most popular video games, and the few Black women who appeared in games were overwhelmingly portrayed as victims of violence: 86% of Black female video game characters are violently harmed in the games.

The study also found that almost all of the heroes in the games are white. Blacks and Latinos are usually portrayed as athletes, and Asian men are often portrayed as wrestlers.

-info from The Black World Today, 12/20