Villains and Vixens: The Representation of Female Vampires in Videogames

Vampires populate our culture and have become a recurrent presence in ction and the media. In all cases the inclusion of the vampire has given voice to “socio-culture issues faced in particular times and places; issues that may otherwise remain repressed” (Dillon and Lundberg 2017, 47). is socio-c...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Borham-Puyal, Miriam, Escandell Montiel, Daniel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repositorio:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/155987
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/155987
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Vampiros
Vampiresas
Violencia de género
Gender violence
Vampire
Female vampire
Video games
Videojuegos
Descripción
Sumario:Vampires populate our culture and have become a recurrent presence in ction and the media. In all cases the inclusion of the vampire has given voice to “socio-culture issues faced in particular times and places; issues that may otherwise remain repressed” (Dillon and Lundberg 2017, 47). is socio-cultural subtext is complicated when the vampire is female, for she is now doubly othered by her gender. Her monstrosity is seen as twofold: as a vampire and as a transgressive woman. While many studies address female vampires in popular culture, their portrayal in videogames has been recurrently overlooked. Games potentially help shape gender attitudes in thousands of players; therefore, it is particularly relevant to examine the varied representations of these monstrous or othered female gures and to understand how they adhere to or challenge misogynistic readings of women and their bodies. In light of this, and interpreting videogames as a narrative medium, this article provides an analysis of signicant vampiric videogames and discusses the female vampire in relation to violence against women and postfeminist agendas, following a narrative rather than ludology approach.