Portrayal of Pregnant Women in ‘Fallout Shelter’ Attacked by Feminist Cultural Critic

On June 14, 2015, Bethesda Softworks released Fallout Shelter, a simulation game about managing the populace of an underground fallout shelter in which female characters can become pregnant. But the reactions that the pregnant characters have to in-game events were criticized by feminist cultural critic Anita Sarkeesian:

Once pregnant, otherwise-competent women will become hysterical and run away from danger while flailing their arms. pic.twitter.com/NgKmae4Kqe

— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) July 2, 2015

As suggested by other Twitter users, the “hysterical” nature of the pregnant character above seems to be justified considering the fire that appears to be directly on her, the flames licking at her womb. Some commenters noted a biological explanation for why these pregnant characters might behave erratically:

https://twitter.com/MaggeyWolfe/status/616469032867381248

But Sarkeesian also lamented what she perceived as a generally sexist system of gameplay:

The pregnancy mechanics in Fallout Shelter are super troubling. The primary way to progress is to impregnate as many women as possible.

— Feminist Frequency (@femfreq) July 2, 2015

Based on other simulators like SimCity, Fallout Shelter is described as a game in which “you manage a vault and its dwellers to try and make sure everyone is happy.” The vault’s inhabitants have skills that the player can improve while purchasing them new clothes and gear. Fallout Shelter’s reproduction mechanic serves as a way of introducing new members to the player’s population. Gamers must manage their citizens’ food, power, and water and can send their population outside to explore the wasteland.

Fallout Shelter is currently available on Apple products, with Bethesda Softworks stating the Android version will be “hopefully out in a few months.”

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