FemShep : féminité sexualisée ou subversive?
Analyse du personnage féminin de la série Mass Effect
Keywords:
video game, female character, Mass Effect, FemShep, action heroine, gender performance, sexualisationAbstract
The female version of the main protagonist in the Mass Effect series (BioWare, 2007-2012), named FemShep, is often considered as a particularly interesting female character, and is appreciated by many players. However, the discussions surrounding her identity are often contradictory. While some people only see her as a feminized and sexualized copy of the male avatar Shepard, others see FemShep as a potentially subversive female character, because she differs from the usual portrayals of women in video games. This article proposes several possible readings of FemShep, analyzing the character in both advertising, and the series of games.
References
ADAMS M. B. (2015), « Renegade Sex: Compulsory Sexuality and Charmed Magic Circles in the Mass Effect series », Loading..., vol. 9, no 14, p. 40-54.
BEAUVOIR S. (1949), Le Deuxième Sexe, Paris, Gallimard.
BROWN J. A. (2011), Dangerous Curves. Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular
Culture, Jackson, University Press of Mississippi.
BOURCIER M-H. et A. MOLINER (2012), Comprendre le féminisme, Paris, Max Milo.
BURRILL D. (2008), Die Tryin’: Videogames, Masculinity, Culture, New York, Peter Lang.
BUTLER J. (1988), « Performative acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory », Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no 4 (décembre), p. 519-531.
BUTLER J. (2005), Trouble dans le genre. Pour un féminisme de la subversion, Paris, La Découverte.
COBBETT R. (2012), « Ms. Effect: The Rise of FemShep », EuroGamer, http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-21-ms-effect-the-rise-of-femshep
CONSALVO M. (2003), « It’s a queer world after all. Studying the sims and sexuality », The Interface, http://www.theinterface.org/index.php/research_archive_doc/3067/#
DELVAUX M. (2013), Les filles en série, Montréal, Éditions du Remue-Ménage.
DIETZ T. (1998), « An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Videogames: Implication for Gender Socialisation and Aggressive Behaviour », Sex Roles, vol. 38, no 5/6 (mars), p. 425-442.
DILL K.E., BROWN, B.P. et M. A. COLLINS (2008), « Effects of exposure to sex-stereotyped video game characters on tolerance of sexual harassment », Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, no 44, p. 1402-1408.
ESCAPIST FORUMS (2012), « Poll: Which Commander Shepard has the better voice acting? », The Escapist, http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.348348-Poll-Which- Commander-Shepard-has-the-better-voice-acting?page=1. Page consultée le 10 juin 2015.
ESCAPIST FORUMS (2013), « Poll: Female Shepard vs Male Shepard – Mass Effect Series », The Escapist, http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.824197-Poll-Female-Shepard- vs-Male-Shepard-Mass-Effect-Series . Page consultée le 10 juin 2015.
FAHEY M. (2011), « You Picked FemShep’s Look, Now Pick Her Hair Color », Kotaku, http://kotaku.com/5831822/you-picked-femsheps-look-now-pick-her-hair-color
HAMILTON K. (2011), « Fans picked the Blonde in a Controversial Video Game Beauty Contest, But That’s not a Bad Thing », Kotaku, http://kotaku.com/5826702/fans-picked-the- blonde-in-a-controversial-video-game-beauty-contest-but-thats-not-a-bad-thing
INNESS S. (ed.) (2004), Action Chicks. New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture, New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
KENNEDY H.W. (2002), « Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo? », Game Studies, vol. 2 no 2 (décembre), http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/
KLINE S., DYER-WITHEFORD N. et G. DE PEUTER (2003), Digital Play: the interaction of technology, culture, and marketing, Montréal, McGill-Queen’s University Press.
KONDRAT X. (2015), « Gender and video games: How is female gender generally represented in various genres of video games? », Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, vol. 6, no 1, p. 171-93.
KOTSIOVOS J. (2013), Representations of Feminity in Mass Effect 3, Mémoire de recherche, University of Witwaterstrand.
LAVIGNE C. (2015), « “She’s a Soldier, not a model”; Feminism, FemShep and the Mass Effect 3 vote », Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, vol. 7, no 3 (septembre), p. 317-329.
LAYNE A. et S. BLACKMON (2013), « Self-Serving Princess: Feminism and Post-Play Narrative Modding », Ada : A Journal of Gender, New Media & Technology, vol. 2, http://adanewmedia.org/2013/6/issue2-layne-blackmon/
MACCALLUM-STEWART E. (2008), « Real Boys Carry Girly Epics: Normalising Gender Bending in Online Games », Eludamos. Journal for Computer Game Culture, vol. 2, no 1, p. 27- 40.
MILLER M. et A. SUMMERS (2007), « Gender Differences in Video Game Characters’ Roles, Appearances, and Attires as Portrayed in Video Game Magazines », Sex Roles, vol. 57, no 9,
p. 733-742.
MULVEY L. (1993), « Plaisir visuel et cinéma narratif », 20 ans de théories féministes sur le cinéma, CinemAction, no 67, p. 17-23.
POLO S. (2011), « BioWare Pledges to Totally Acknowledge Female Shepard in Mass Effect Marketing, This Time », The Mary Sue, http://www.themarysue.com/femshep-in-mass-effect- 3/
SAÏD E.W. (2015), L’Orientalisme. L’Orient créé par l’Occident, Paris, Éditions Points. SARKEESIAN A. (2013), « Tropes vs Women: Ms Male Character », Feminist Frequency. http://feministfrequency.com/2013/11/18/ms-male-character-tropes-vs-women/
SHAW A. (2013), « The lost queer potential of Fable », Culture Digitally. http://culturedigitally.org/2013/10/the-lost-queer-potential-of-fable/
SHAW A. (2014), Gaming at the Edge: Sexuality and Gender at the Margins of Gamer Culture, Minneapolis, MN, University of Minnesota Press.
SMEE A. (2010), « Mass Effect 3 & Beyond », IGN.ca, http://ca.ign.com/articles/2010/02/07/mass-effect-3-beyond
SURPRENANT M-E. (2015), Manuel de Résistance Féministe, Montréal, Éditions du Remue- Ménage.
TRÉPANIER-JOBIN G. (2013), « Le Cyberthéâtre des identités », Avatars, personnages et acteurs virtuels, Québec, Presses de l’Université du Québec.
TRÉPANIER-JOBIN G. et M. BONENFANT (2017), « Bridging Boundaries Between Game Studies and Feminist theories », Kinephanos, Special Issue: Gender Issues in Video Games (July).
WITTIG M. (2007), La pensée straight, Paris, Amsterdam.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
