When girls turn into men and boys into women : a postfeminist reading of The Last of Us and BioShock

Abstract

This study explores the ways in which certain societal anxieties regarding femininity and masculinity surface in post-apocalyptic video games BioShock (2007 2K Games) and The last of us (2013 Naughty Dog). A postfeminist perspective is employed in order to explore the privileging of so-called ‘masculine values’ in late neo-liberal societies, and the subsequent negation of the (seemingly) binary opposite of stereotypical femininity. This explorative study is situated within a broad framework of postfeminism, and focuses on providing alternative understandings of the representation of gender in video games. By considering video games as a medium that is firmly rooted in traditional masculinity, I argue that anxieties regarding the subordination of so-called ‘feminine values’ in society as a whole, manifest visually in BioShock and The last of us, in both the gameplay as well as in narrative structure. In an attempt to gain a better understanding of how these anxieties surface, I explore the ways in which a disillusionment with ‘masculine values’ become evident in the post-apocalyptic settings of the two games under discussion. This study aims to highlight the ways in which BioShock and The last of us attempt to subvert normative constructions of masculinity, and instead posit feminine values as positive, desirable and necessary in order to acknowledge and realise a broader sense of ‘being human’; one that does not depend on culturally sanctioned notions of gender.