»Dude, How Much Health Do You Have Left?«

Abstract

Many video games reinforce a rationalizing logic of self-care through the use of health management tools like hit points and health bars. This paper attempts to problematize the quantification of health in games by situating it at the nexus of objective rationality and hegemonic masculinity. I argue that this assemblage not only necessitates the conditions of existence for hit points and status effects, but also embeds the mechanisms with biopolitical scripts that (re)produce the ideal masculine biocitizen. This rationalization of health in games reinforces hegemonic practices of biomedicine that aim to preserve masculinity rather than improve overall health. Hit points and health bars therefore reproduce masculine ways of seeing that contribute to masculine health practices in the everyday world and consequentially men's health disparities.