Silence is the Enemy: Sexually Violent Video Games

[Contributed by guest blogger, Katherine Broendel]

The last time I posted, I wrote about the effects pornography and violent pornography may have on viewers’ perspectives of women and sexual violence. Rather than stating an opinion, I provided a brief review of some of the studies I read as preliminary research for my thesis. On a related note, I want to explore the topic of sexually violent video games, or, rape simulation video games.

A couple weeks ago, an AAUW colleague and fellow AU grad student, Mandy Toomey, wrote an interesting blog post about rape simulation video games. I have not read much about entertainment media’s effects – if any – on women and sexual violence, but it seems like it would be a fascinating and relevant study. I’d like to link to her post here and open the comments for thoughtful and informed opinions because I’m curious to see what people know and think about the issue. If anyone knows of any good studies or research where we could all read more about sexually violent depictions in video games, music, etc., please feel free to share your citations.

As video games remain incredibly popular, I do think it’s important to understand what effects they may or may not have on participating audiences.