American actress Tati Gabrielle has said that “women are hypersexualised” in video games as they are very often “tailored to men”.
abrielle, 26, stars in Uncharted, the big-screen version of one of the Sony PlayStation’s most popular – and female-centric – games to date.
Speaking with Glamour Magazine for a gaming special of the publication, Gabrielle suggested female gamers are misunderstood.
She said: “I do feel that women get sort of shorthanded in that way. Immediately people, when they hear that a girl is a gamer, it’s always like a ‘Really?’ as opposed to a ‘Yeah! Dope!…’”
Gabrielle went on to explain how games are often designed with men in mind, meaning women are frequently presented as stereotypes.
She said: “Often in games, women are hypersexualised with heavy cleavage, very curvy… Games have been tailored to men in that way.”
The actress, who starred in the most recent series of the Netflix hit You, also spoke about her relationship with fellow film star Zendaya.
She said: “I grew up with Zendaya! We went to school together.”
Gabrielle stars alongside Zendaya’s boyfriend, Tom Holland, in Uncharted and she revealed that, “Tom was texting her while we were filming and then she texts me – it was like, ‘Hey, he says you’re doing super-awesome! Sending love!’”
She also shared the biggest lesson she learnt while on the set of the new blockbuster, from co-star Mark Wahlberg.
“(He) really took me under his wing during the shooting and gave me a lot of different advice,” she said.
“Mostly how to carry myself and to know to ask for what I needed; to never be afraid of speaking up; and to just gain confidence in myself and whatever I say and do.”
Tati Gabrielle on the cover of Glamour Magazine (Brandon Abreu/PA)
She added: “As well as learning that, yes, you should be a team player, always, but don’t let anyone walk over you or take advantage of you.
“Because that, for me, hurts more than you think it does.”
Read the full interview in the Glamour UK February digital issue online now.
