Measure Up

The videogame Measure Up will show how real-world women face sexist, racist, homophobic, fatphobic and other forms of backlash for how they dress and appear, no matter what choices they make. Via the game’s design, players can experiment with different options for dressing diverse avatars and receive (scarce) praise or (more often) criticism for their choices. Via the game’s fiction of dressing women to appear as makeover contestants on a reality show, the player will also witness how harassment and criticism are often more reliable ways to earn ratings and revenue in contemporary society than acceptance of diverse styles. 

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In the game, it should slowly become apparent to the player that there is no way to ‘win’ in making the audience think positively of the women contestants’ choices, and that women are doomed to fail no matter what they choose to wear or in how they choose to present themselves. The game shows this to be true of all types of women, across a variety of contexts.

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Measure Up will serve as an exemplar for how videogames can intervene in cultural conversations about sexist, racist, ableist, and fatphobic representations of women. Game designers can use it as a launch pad for furthering their own ideas for how to use games to critique popular media, and also rethink their own future character designs. The game can also serve as a conversation starter for players interested in discussions of images of women in society.