Horny for Ghost: The Sexualized Remediation of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on TikTok

The paper investigates the sexualized remediation, reappropriation, and remixing of the character Simon "Ghost" Riley from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on TikTok. It aims to understand how and why Ghost is repurposed to elicit arousal from fans, particularly within the context of persistent male gendering in games and gaming communities. The study highlights a women- and queer-driven fandom that challenges traditional interpretations of Call of Duty as a bastion of masculinity, noting a backlash from long-time, presumably male, fans.

The research employs a nethnographic study of the Ghost fandom on TikTok, collecting 782 videos between November 2022 and January 2023. The analysis is framed by three theoretical concepts: remediation, reappropriation, and remix, which help interpret fan creations as collective processes of "poaching" and transformation. The study will explore three key topics: sexualization as opposition, where fans frame their actions as a response to the historical sexualization of female characters in games; remediation for arousal, focusing on how game elements like dialogue and sound are repurposed for sexual tone and fan-based lore; and the construction of "spicy" memetics, examining how TikTok's affordances shape content, particularly concerning Ghost's mask, size, and in-game interactions.

This phenomenon is considered anomalous in game culture, as even transgressive games often avoid explicit sexual content. However, gamer fans have a history of oppositional readings to create space for excluded genders and sexual identities through fan creations. The sexualization of Ghost on TikTok represents an evolution of these practices, leveraging TikTok's unique affordances for remaking and remixing content. The study positions this phenomenon at the intersection of game, fan, and TikTok cultures, where new game-related practices are emerging, influencing perceptions of the original game and its characters.