The Expansion of Gender Roles in the Legend of Zelda Series

Abstract

This study asked how the existing roles in video games may or may not change over time. The study used The Legend of Zelda series for a content analysis of the actions performed by all characters that appear in a segment of the game and all actions were recorded as data. The study used Judith Butler’s concept of gender being a performative act as a critical lens. Results showed that the possibilities for performing different character roles for male, female, and ungendered characters expanded across the study. The majority of females were found to be the Healer, Non-Profit Gifter and the Helper. While male characters were mostly the Hero, Explorer, Scenery and For-Profit Seller and appearing in greater numbers than the other genders. Ungendered characters were sparse and performed only a few actions. While there was expansion in role possibilities, there is still a lot of expansion to be done.