Archangel357 said:
*snip*
To illustrate my point: if we had a game in which sexual prowess were of no consequence to the character's goals, but a male character were, in promotional materials, artwork etc, depicted as having an enormous penis, would you have a problem with that?
All very good points, and I understand and agree with what you mean.
As for the last part that I did not cut out: No, it honestly would not bother me at all. I genuinely do not care about that kind of thing, be it males or females being used.
Would I be interested in the game? Probably not, but I also don't tend to like games with sexualised women either. I do not defend them because I like them or play games that include them, but because I don't see them as harmful, and therefore do not see them as an issue.
BreakfastMan said:
It isn't her body type that is the problem; it is the fact that she as portrayed as a sex object in a way all the other characters in the game aren't. This wouldn't be bad if it wasn't so common for crap like that to happen. It isn't necessarily sexualization that is the problem; it is the lack of diversity, and what that does to reinforce traditional gender roles. Ben Kochera had a pretty good article on such things on the PAR a while back.
No argument there, I have always strongly believed that the lack of diversity is the issue, not the actual sexualisation itself. Although as for the first sentence, I'd say that having one character as more sexual than the others,
is showing diversity. There are more sensible characters, and there are characters with disturbing shaped bodies, so it's not like a message is being made that women should look a certain way.
The different being, you are not expected to act such ways IRL. Grabbing a shotgun and curb-stomping cops is looked down upon in society. The problem is about roles that society pushes people towards and encourages. Society generally doesn't encourage being a sociopathic criminal.
A very good point, although I'd say the cause and affect are the other way around. Sexualised media exists because of attitudes that already exist, they do not exist because of the media creating them.
Sex sells because people like sex. People don't like sex because sex is sold.
If people want to complain that sexual media reinforces or encourages these already existent beliefs, I can accept their point, although I'd disagree purely because I believe most people can easily differentiate between fiction and reality.
Although perhaps I am being too optimistic.
I disagree; Violent media often shows acts that are stupidly impossible. Sexualization often shows images that are at least probable (yes, I have met women with breasts bigger than their head IRL. No, I don't know how they walk).
Absolutely, it happens both ways, but I will bring up a point I have made in other discussions.
There are different "types" of fiction. There is fiction such as Halo, where it tries to stay grounded and "believable", where you are supposed to happily suspend your disbelief. In these stories, they try and keep things logical as much as they can. The troops wear realistic armour, when a person does something impossible, there is an in-universe explanation for it (like the Spartan's armour) and the game has a consistent logic to it.
Games with overly sexualised women very rarely fit that description. They are not grounded, or the kind of game that is trying to be "believable". They are more like fantasies, where things don't have to make sense or be explained. Like how in anime, characters often have unrealistic hair colours, and nobody bats an eyelid. That kind of thing is considerably less common in "serious" ones, but in light hearted or over the top ones you will see it more often.
There are always exceptions of course, and I am by no means saying that all sexualised characters are okay, but I strongly believe that there is a large divide between fiction and reality, and that a lot of people tend to blur it too much when it comes to their criticisms.
Only if you afford me the same courtesy. XD
Of course. I am many things, not all of them good, but I try my hardest not to be a hypocrite.