I want to get out of the way that I am a sex positive feminist, and when I criticise sexualized female character designs, it has nothing to do with prudishness or slut-shaming or anything like that; instead, it comes from a place of frustration, because how the hell are we supposed to combat sexism in gaming when one of the biggest examples of that--that serves to both reinforce and reflect sexist viewpoints--is consistently let slide?
Because yes, if you have a game where all the dudes are covered from head to toe and your one female character is running around in a trash bag bikini and looking thoroughly uncomfortable about it, it's sexist. It reinforces the (already widespread, particularly in gaming "culture") idea that women are objects who exist solely for male titillation and pleasure. It's not "puritanism", it's wanting to be treated like goddamn people.
There's nothing wrong with a female character wearing a bikini if, for example, a game is set on a beach, and the male characters are in their swimming trunks. Complaining about that would be prudishness, and a little ridiculous. But it often seems like developers are so desperate for boobs that they're willing to break the audience's suspension of disbelief and hurt their own narrative in the process, and it's like, wow, do you really want to objectify women that badly? Can't you just leave us alone for five fucking minutes? Because Quiet breathing through her skin is not a compelling reason for a trash bag bikini, within the narrative or outside of it. If you really, really want to stick with the skin-breathing, fuck, just dress her in a sports bra and running shorts. At least that would be practical, and not grossly out of character. Cindy is a mechanic in the fucking desert who walks around in hot pants and a bikini top, because she has grease-repelling skin that never burns, I guess. Meanwhile, Noctis and co. roll up in jeans and t-shirts. It's like, okay, we get it, this game is for dudes and the women are there for eye candy. Can we stop now, please? We're just so fucking tired of this. And then we get steamrolled by dudes who barge in and try to insist that this shit is actually empowering and we're just prudes, and, like, we get it, you don't want anyone to take your boobs away, stop pretending it's some righteous cause, thanks.
(I've talked about objectified female characters in gaming before, and I have received some amazing responses: I'm jealous because I'm a fat ugly loser; I have no idea what I'm talking about and Quiet wearing a trash bag bikini is actually empowering and feminist; "ohmygod why are you trying to take away my BEWBS"... you get the idea. Still, hopefully this time will go a little better.)
==== MOD EDIT ====
People (especially dudes) posting in this thread for the first time, please be considerate, and heed these little guidelines by avoiding posting the likes of:
- "I don't care, I love T&A". Good for you, but coming in a thread about women's opinions to tell them you don't care is rude and inflammatory. Don't be that guy.
- "What's the problem anyway? It's just fiction/video games/etc.". The "problem" has been explained in detail across the whole thread. You might not want to read the whole thread, and that's fine -- but in that case, just don't reply.
- "Just vote with your wallet/play other games". It's not that simple, for reasons explained in the thread, and it's also dismissive.
- "Censorship is bad." Yes it is. But criticism isn't censorship. This is a strawman argument.
- "You're just being prudish". Nope. One can enjoy sex and nudity without enjoying seeing their gender being constantly objectified in media.
- "Men are sexualized too." It's a false equivalence, also explained in detail in the thread.
- "You don't speak for all women." Obviously not. But plenty of women have spoken in the thread. And funnily enough, they are almost all of the same mind as the OP. The only people complaining about the title so far have been men. Funny huh?
If you are interested to know what women (several women, cis, trans and non-binary, of all orientations) have to say, then by all means stay a while and listen, and ask your questions and participate. Many of them have posted in this thread. If you're here to tell us we are wrong, overreacting, or to dismiss our opinions, then please don't bother.
Because yes, if you have a game where all the dudes are covered from head to toe and your one female character is running around in a trash bag bikini and looking thoroughly uncomfortable about it, it's sexist. It reinforces the (already widespread, particularly in gaming "culture") idea that women are objects who exist solely for male titillation and pleasure. It's not "puritanism", it's wanting to be treated like goddamn people.
There's nothing wrong with a female character wearing a bikini if, for example, a game is set on a beach, and the male characters are in their swimming trunks. Complaining about that would be prudishness, and a little ridiculous. But it often seems like developers are so desperate for boobs that they're willing to break the audience's suspension of disbelief and hurt their own narrative in the process, and it's like, wow, do you really want to objectify women that badly? Can't you just leave us alone for five fucking minutes? Because Quiet breathing through her skin is not a compelling reason for a trash bag bikini, within the narrative or outside of it. If you really, really want to stick with the skin-breathing, fuck, just dress her in a sports bra and running shorts. At least that would be practical, and not grossly out of character. Cindy is a mechanic in the fucking desert who walks around in hot pants and a bikini top, because she has grease-repelling skin that never burns, I guess. Meanwhile, Noctis and co. roll up in jeans and t-shirts. It's like, okay, we get it, this game is for dudes and the women are there for eye candy. Can we stop now, please? We're just so fucking tired of this. And then we get steamrolled by dudes who barge in and try to insist that this shit is actually empowering and we're just prudes, and, like, we get it, you don't want anyone to take your boobs away, stop pretending it's some righteous cause, thanks.
(I've talked about objectified female characters in gaming before, and I have received some amazing responses: I'm jealous because I'm a fat ugly loser; I have no idea what I'm talking about and Quiet wearing a trash bag bikini is actually empowering and feminist; "ohmygod why are you trying to take away my BEWBS"... you get the idea. Still, hopefully this time will go a little better.)
==== MOD EDIT ====
People (especially dudes) posting in this thread for the first time, please be considerate, and heed these little guidelines by avoiding posting the likes of:
- "I don't care, I love T&A". Good for you, but coming in a thread about women's opinions to tell them you don't care is rude and inflammatory. Don't be that guy.
- "What's the problem anyway? It's just fiction/video games/etc.". The "problem" has been explained in detail across the whole thread. You might not want to read the whole thread, and that's fine -- but in that case, just don't reply.
- "Just vote with your wallet/play other games". It's not that simple, for reasons explained in the thread, and it's also dismissive.
- "Censorship is bad." Yes it is. But criticism isn't censorship. This is a strawman argument.
- "You're just being prudish". Nope. One can enjoy sex and nudity without enjoying seeing their gender being constantly objectified in media.
- "Men are sexualized too." It's a false equivalence, also explained in detail in the thread.
- "You don't speak for all women." Obviously not. But plenty of women have spoken in the thread. And funnily enough, they are almost all of the same mind as the OP. The only people complaining about the title so far have been men. Funny huh?
If you are interested to know what women (several women, cis, trans and non-binary, of all orientations) have to say, then by all means stay a while and listen, and ask your questions and participate. Many of them have posted in this thread. If you're here to tell us we are wrong, overreacting, or to dismiss our opinions, then please don't bother.
Last edited by a moderator:
