Representações da identidade corporal em jogos eletrônicos por adolescentes e adultos jovens / Body identity representations in eletronic games by adolescentes and young adults

Abstract Adolescence is a period of change, specially in relation to the body, in which body indentity is transformed. This can be understood by the physical and psychologica perception, and influence by the socio-cultural contexto, which is presente in eletronic games. The aim was verify in what ways the body identities of adolescentes are represented in eletronic games. The netnographic methodology was used, which allows data collection from characteristics of digital enviorinments and communication mediated by computers, with participant observation. Therefore, for data collection it was used a structured interview was carried out on online platforms by Google Forms, which reached 153 players from League of Legends, Perfect World and Second Life. Quantitative analysis showed that male adolescentes feel more represented by avatrs (p ≤ .05), consequently, they choose characters of the same gender. In addition, gaming habits indicate that, depending on the type of game, the longer the hours played (p = 0.024). Indeed, it can be obvserved that the construction of the characters of the games is crossed by the socio-cultural aspect, reproducing the discouses of gender stereotyping. However, it was found that the relationship of body image representation and games are the meanings produced by the player.  Keywords: Video games; body image; adolescents; sport psychology.