Dove take a stand against overly-sexualized female characters in video games

Dove has teamed up with Epic Games’s Unreal Engine education team and Women in Games to launch the sequel to its Real Virtual Beauty campaign.

The aim is to eliminate beauty stereotypes and build self-esteem in the next generation of young players. In the video, viewers see a young woman shed an over-sexualized costume and become more comfortable with herself.

 

The campaign is inspired by Dove’s research showing that 60% of girls and 62% of women feel misrepresented in games, with over one-third of young girls’ self-esteem negatively impacted by a lack of diversity in avatar characters. 74% of women wish for more inclusivity in female video game characters.

Leandro Barreto, global vice-president at Dove, said: “Although the games industry has made significant strides to become more inclusive, progress needs to be accelerated to challenge the narrow definitions of beauty still visible in the virtual world. Together with our partners, we hope to make a real impact on the millions of women and girls who spend their free time playing games.”

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