Just a month later, Electronic Gaming Monthly (also released in North America) featured Lara on their front cover. Their aims are further evident through the text, where it states in italics “with plenty more pictures”, proposing that there may be more explicit images of Lara Croft within the edition, encouraging consumers to purchase their product as well as the upcoming game. Yet, it ultimately reveals the intentions of the media and Core Design to exploit this image that they had created. Given that PC Gamer was a magazine used to inform the gaming community of updates, changes, and new releases, it was almost out of character for them to place Lara on the cover like this. This positioning is important as it is also inviting to consumers, encouraging them to follow her on her next adventure in the sequel. Lara was strategically placed at a familiar angle to the players, who predominantly see Lara from behind during gameplay. The magazine cover (Figure 1) displays a scarcely dressed Lara Croft in a bikini looking back, holding a gun, accompanied by the title “Lara’s Back!”. One of the first magazines that sexualised the character of Lara Croft was PC Gamer, published in the United States and Canada in August 1997 prior to the release of Tomb Raider’s sequel in November. There is a variation in the means in which Lara was displayed, yet they all have one thing in common: they were all done to satisfy the male gaze. This is particularly evident in PlayStation’s official magazines globally, PC Gamer, Loaded and Electronic Gaming Monthly, all of which starred Lara on the front covers of their issues. In this sense, Lara was objectified and merely reduced to her physical attractiveness as the magazine covers focused heavily on her body and genitals, rather than her face. The magazines represented Lara in a manner that reflected the male gaze and promoted the idea that her primary concern was attracting and satisfying men. Playboy created poses, contexts and standards for female attractiveness which were later used by the following magazines and applied to Lara Croft. The magazines adopted a Playboy-style approach, where they modelled Lara according to male preference and perspective. Lara Croft was the subject of numerous magazines worldwide in the years following Tomb Raider’s first release in 1996 and was exploited to both the company and the media’s advantage. To do this, the company resorted to the notion that “sex sells” and, therefore, adopted sexualisation as a marketing strategy. Gard recognised that to be able to create a sequel, people must be interested enough to do so “if they haven’t had enough of the first one”. Tomb Raider’s marketing team, aware of the aforementioned factors, wanted to maintain and profit from this image that had been created. Such magazines are crucial to the understanding of Lara Croft due to their ability to relay information regarding the larger context of Core Design’s marketing strategies, target audiences, and trends. In doing so, this paper will argue that the character of Lara Croft was ultimately created to satisfy male fantasies through her sexual objectification. Thus, the following essay will examine the representation of Lara Croft in media, placing a particular focus on four magazine issues published in the years subsequent to the release of Tomb Raider’s first three editions, Tomb Raider I (1996), II (1997), and III (1998). Though, it was her marketing that distorted this image beyond the realms of the game rather than being viewed and celebrated as a revolutionary feminist icon in video games, Lara Croft’s character and abilities were merely reduced to her appearance and what profit could be made of her body. Lara Croft was a self- governing, highly intelligent woman, thus an extraordinary representation of female empowerment. Within the game, it is unquestionable that Lara Croft poses as a feminist icon of the 1990s, particularly one that fits within the scene of the “Riot Grrrl” feminist movement. This paper recognises her as both, yet within different realms. Conversations, with many scholars attempting to place her within the “feminist icon” or “action babe” categories.
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