Positive empowerment or freedom trap? Female companions’ voice attractiveness capitalization, gender roles, and gamer identity

Yasai Chen () and Yiru Chen
Additional contact information
Yasai Chen: Shanghai Normal University
Yiru Chen: Shanghai Normal University

Palgrave Communications, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract In China’s rapidly growing online gaming industry, female game companions have emerged as key players within the neoliberal economy, leveraging voice commodification to navigate a competitive, male-dominated market. This study employs mixed methods to examine how female companions construct and present their unique role dynamics. A survey of 308 participants reveals that “voice attractiveness as power” and the “sexualized enjoyment of voice attractiveness” are significant psychological drivers behind their active self-sexualization in gaming interactions. In-depth interviews with 25 participants illustrate how game companions strategically nomadize their voices, adapting them to exploit cultural stereotypes in gaming while benefiting from both female and gamer identities. This process fosters self-empowerment and economic gain and reinforces gendered power dynamics and precarious labor conditions. The study critiques the commodification and youthification of sexual capital, highlighting the paradox of free choice amid immature sexual norms and the absence of industry protections.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04673-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04673-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/palcomms/about

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04673-7

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Palgrave Communications from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().