Is Street Fighter Sexist/Racist?

[The Crispy Tiger]

As a black man, Capcom has done some stuff to piss me off. IE. Resident Evil 5. But I don't think that they come from a place of hate. To quote Yahtzee, "They're just idiots!". I love them, but damn it, they can be really fucking stupid sometimes. Recently my library just got Street Fighter 4, so I played it with my little sister, this is my first Street Fighter experience, AND I have never heard of any other characters besides Ryu. So I pick the black guy in every fighter I get to and I get to Dhalsim. And he looks fucking crazy... I eventually figured out he was Indian not black, but he still looks like a huge stereotype.

Then we get to Cammy...

And fucking hell, right then and there I just figured out my sister is going to be a feminist...
Cammy's main attribute (besides me kicking ass with her character every time) is her as-athletic abilities. And also that booty don't lie!

But seriously, I Cammy also looks crazy as shit too. I have no problem with women being sexy in games as long as they can also be fleshed out, fully realized, 3 dimensional characters, but this is FUCKING Capcom. I didn't play the story, and maybe she's the best female character since Jade from Beyond Good and Evil, but something makes me doubt that.

Don't get me wrong here, with the hour I spent playing Street Fighter, I had a fucking blast. It was badass. I loved playing it. But I also felt dirty for enjoying it. I don't know guys, What is your opinion? I'd love to hear it.

 

[Fireaxe]

Why are you expecting properly fleshed out characterisation in a one on one fighter? that's like expecting balls to the wall action from a turn based game.

The characters are designed to be equal parts stereotype (the Japanese characters are stereotypes, by the way) and eye catching, they're not trying to make an artistic or social statement.

 

[The Crispy Tiger]

Why are you expecting properly fleshed out characterisation in a one on one fighter? that's like expecting balls to the wall action from a turn based game.

The characters are designed to be equal parts stereotype (the Japanese characters are stereotypes, by the way) and eye catching, they're not trying to make an artistic or social statement.

That's not what I'm saying. Cammy should have more to her character besides, you know, her ass. She doesn't seem to much of a character. I mean even Dhalsim had character. A fucking hugely racist character, in my opinion, but still a character. She just boring from what it looks like, which is the most disappointing. Also, just because something is equal parts stereotype DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT. That's a lame excuse. It's still stereotyping and that's not cool. I'm also not looking for an artistic statement from a game called FUCKING STREET FIGHTER. But decent characters would be fine. Mortal Kombat had interesting (although stupid) female characters. What's this games excuse?

 

[Benpasko]

Why are you expecting properly fleshed out characterisation in a one on one fighter? that's like expecting balls to the wall action from a turn based game.

The characters are designed to be equal parts stereotype (the Japanese characters are stereotypes, by the way) and eye catching, they're not trying to make an artistic or social statement.

That's not what I'm saying. Cammy should have more to her character besides, you know, her ass. She doesn't seem to much of a character. I mean even Dhalsim had character. A fucking hugely racist character, in my opinion, but still a character. She just boring from what it looks like, which is the most disappointing. Also, just because something is equal parts stereotype DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT. That's a lame excuse. It's still stereotyping and that's not cool. I'm also not looking for an artistic statement from a game called FUCKING STREET FIGHTER. But decent characters would be fine. Mortal Kombat had interesting (although stupid) female characters. What's this games excuse?

I didn't play the story

Then why are you judging her lack of character? Go play story mode, educate yourself before you go complain about her character. How can you judge her writing... when you've never seen her writing?

Also Street Fighter 5 isn't out, you have 4 most likely.

 

[NeutralDrow]

The weird thing is, she actually does have more to her character. It just doesn't at all come out in the straight-up fighting that she's actually a female clone of M. Bison who rebels against Shadoloo. Whereas even Dhalsim gets an ending that shows he's not only a (relatively) ascetic Hindu yogi who follows Agni, but also a loving family man with a wife and child.

Not saying there's not racism in the Street Fighter universe (hello, T. Hawk, and possibly Hakan), but frankly, Dhalsim's stages always struck me as odder in that regard than he was. And Cammy feels like kind of a weird outlier (along with Elena and Sakura's underwear shots) in the series that also gave us Chun Li, C. Viper, and Makoto.

Oh, and as far as black people in Street Fighter, the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Deejay, Sean, Birdie, Dudley, and Elena (and I hesitate to group them together, because they're Jamaican, American, two Brits, and Kenyan, respectively). Can't really judge any of them, myself...'cept maybe Elena.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Oh, and as far as black people in Street Fighter, the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Deejay, Sean, Birdie, Dudley, and Elena (and I hesitate to group them together, because they're Jamaican, American, two Brits, and Kenyan, respectively). Can't really judge any of them, myself...'cept maybe Elena.

maybe his name is different in your country...but how could you forget http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balrog_(Street_Fighter)

I mean, as far as I know...he is THE original black guy in street fighter.

OT: stereotyping in a one on one fighter to distinguish different characters doesn't bug me really...it's not like they were going around saying "hey! look! our fighters are so original and clearly don't represent any generalizations!"

 

[mecegirl]

Street Fighter is full of stereotypes. Just about all of the characters, even the Japanese ones, are stereotyped.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Oh, and as far as black people in Street Fighter, the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Deejay, Sean, Birdie, Dudley, and Elena (and I hesitate to group them together, because they're Jamaican, American, two Brits, and Kenyan, respectively). Can't really judge any of them, myself...'cept maybe Elena.

maybe his name is different in your country...but how could you forget http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balrog_(Street_Fighter)

I mean, as far as I know...he is THE original black guy in street fighter.

...

I can't even begin to hazard a guess how I forgot about him.

 

[Yuuki]

In order to be called sexist/racist it has to be discriminatory and portray that sex/race in a negative manner. But Street Fighter is basically one giant pile of cartoonish stereotypes...none of whom are supposed to be taken seriously.
Unless of course you're one of those people who can get offended by a glass of water, in which case not much can be done.

If your sister is going to be a feminist based on the fact that Cammy exists, I think she's in for a bumpy ride full of lessons and discoveries

 

[Fappy]

If your sister is going to be a feminist based on the fact that Cammy exists, I think she's in for a bumpy ride full of lessons and discoveries

That's what she said.

OT: As others have stated, Street Fighter isn't so much racist/sexist as it is, well, dumb. Don't get me wrong, there are certain aspects to the series I love, but it's not meant to be taken seriously in any regard. Stereotypes are not inherently offensive. It's how you use them. In fact, I'd give Street Fighter props for having so many different female characters in the first place. Not many fighting games (save for Dead or Alive) have so many playable, kick ass women.

And only one of them is a Ryu clone!

 

[Yuuki]

And only one of them is a Ryu clone!

Urgh, it's more of a case of too many damn shoto-clones in SF (hado + shoryu + tatsu all day) and one of them was bound to be a girl

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I never got the controversy behind Resident Evil 5. Africa + Zombies = African Zombies. You shoot them because they're undead, not because they're black. The only offensive thing I can think of is the portrayal of the Ndipaya tribe, and you might argue they're taking the Indiana Jones route of caricature (never heard a peep about the portrayal of Peruvian tribesmen in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, not even from my Peruvian buddies). There's a general concensus it's dumb and harmless.

 

[lacktheknack]

Cammy is weird because she's a stuffy traditional Brit... in dat leotard.

Anyways, based off of SF4, no, it's not sexist. Men get to be sexually appealing too, and not all the women are sexualized (Rose and Chun-Li spring to mind, assuming you don't have a thing for muscly legs). I'd argue that Sakura isn't either because... well... she's a kid. D:

As for the racism angle... again, no. Sure, the prominent black guy (Balrog) is an absolute asshat, but the crew is pretty diverse and race is never put in a poor light (come one, you know you want to Yoga as hard as Dhalsim does). I think most of the characters are Japanese anyways, with the only truly white characters being a ridiculous fat guy (Rufus) and a couple of soldiers (Cammy and Guile).

 

[TekMoney]

I never got the controversy behind Resident Evil 5. Africa + Zombies = African Zombies. You shoot them because they're undead, not because they're black. The only offensive thing I can think of is the portrayal of the Ndipaya tribe, and you might argue they're taking the Indiana Jones route of caricature (never heard a peep about the portrayal of Peruvian tribesmen in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, not even from my Peruvian buddies). There's a general concensus it's dumb and harmless.

After apartheid, the image of a white cop shooting Africans is a little troubling to some. I think understandably so.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I never got the controversy behind Resident Evil 5. Africa + Zombies = African Zombies. You shoot them because they're undead, not because they're black. The only offensive thing I can think of is the portrayal of the Ndipaya tribe, and you might argue they're taking the Indiana Jones route of caricature (never heard a peep about the portrayal of Peruvian tribesmen in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, not even from my Peruvian buddies). There's a general concensus it's dumb and harmless.

After apartheid, the image of a white cop shooting Africans is a little troubling to some. I think understandably so.

Context is everything. Getting offended by things not tied to the thing that is offensive is a character flaw.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

As a black man, Capcom has done some stuff to piss me off. IE. Resident Evil 5.

I tried to care, but i'm too busy laughing at this.

Oh man, I still can't believe anyone takes that seriously.

On topic though, nah, it's not. Not really. They're all just kinda toony characters that are heavily done in stereotypes to start with. Besides, apparently it's really a thing for at least one female character to have some sort of fan-service as a character trait.

Or at least, that's what i've noted from almost all anime/fighting games i've played.

 

[Salad Is Murder]

stuff you said

Ehhh...

Let's face it, half the cast in SF is basically just a grab bag of racial/ethnic stereotypes. It's so in your face about it that it could easily be confused for parody.

Dhalsim: The only guy from India and is a mystical magic Hindu with a child bride.
Balrog/Mike Bison: Once the only black guy in the game, criminal and disgraced boxer, can't seem to form complete and proper sentences.
Dee-Jay: Another brother from a different mother - was the second black character in Street Fighter and we already got boxer so what's up next Stereo-tron 3000? Dance fighter...with maracas!? That sounds totally not like a racial stereotype at all. And hey, give him a big sambo grin so he looks extra friendly while he's doing his dancin'.
T. Hawk: Oh poor, gentle T.Hawk, where to begin. Is it your feathered headband, your blue jean jacket with blue jeans and rawhide boots with tassels and beads? Is it how your Ultra finishes with you sitting cross-legged on your opponent...hand raised, uttering "How"?
El Fuerte: What's that, wanted to add a luchador to your fighting game? Why not, everyone else has already put one in theirs. Better make him from Mexico, they spontaneously combust if they're from anywhere else. Better make sure all of his special moves are named after stereotypical Mexican foods or no one will know what to do!
Hakan: Okay guys, we're not laughing with you anymore. Turkey can be found on a globe, not Dante's Inferno (the book, not that PoS game).

What's next, a dark-haired Roma girl with magic fortune telling powers?

 

[Ryotknife]

Capcom is mostly stereotypes...

Hell, Dead Rising 2 had a lot of stereotypes as well.