Who can resist Lara Croft? You?

Abstract

This article discusses how the electronic game Tomb Raider constructs processes of subjectivation in relation to gender and sexuality. To develop this argument, two main questions were taken: Who does this game imagine 'you' are? Who does this game suggest 'you' to be? Both were built based on the Foucaultian Theory about processes of subjectivation, together with the concept of 'mode of address', developed by Elizabeth Ellsworth and some discussions about gender and sexuality. Based on this, this investigation wants to show how culturally built marks of gender and sexuality are used on elaborations of the main character of the game: Lara Croft. However, in conclusion, those marks cannot set the possible choices up, but are creations and inventions made by the game designers and the players.

Gender; Mode of Address; Processes of Subjectivation; Power Relations; Sexuality