People can't seem to stop talking about feminism and big boobs in games. I wanted to share my perspective on the issue. Most feminists are intelligent, reasonable people, and I think the industry should work towards being more inclusive. The problem I have with many journalists complaining quite vocally on the issue is that they completely fail to grasp one simple point- the disparity between inclusion and exclusion.
Let me clarify: Women with big boobs exist in real life. In real life, the female gender is diverse, and consists of women with small boobs, medium boobs, big boobs, women who are short, women are tall, women who are average height, women who are dark skinned, light skinned, olive skinned, women who are young, women who are middle aged, women who are old, women who are chubby, women who are curvaceous, women who are skinny, and women who are athletic. Diversity is the nature of real life.
And yet, when games have a diverse cast of many different body types- like Soul Calibur, which had many women who were flat chested or small boobed- people complain about the inclusion of women with big breasts, complaining that this is offensive to women. Think about that for a moment.
This is, quite literally, a complaint that including a group of people who exist in real life- people who solve mathematical calculations, cuddle cats, watch horror movies, sing along to Dr. Horrible, do gardening, sail boats, restore classic cars for fun, and who generally go about the business of being human, is offensive, simply because of what their breast size is.
Again, just think about that. There is a world of difference between saying that the video game industry should be more diverse, and saying that it should exclude a group of human beings who exist in real life. There is a world of difference between arguing in favor of exclusion and inclusion. And the argument that it they should be excluded because they are generally designed to appeal to heterosexual men is false as well. Should bishounen be excluded because they are designed to appeal to heterosexual women, or should bishounen be included in the diversity of the artistic medium of video games? Should characters designed to appeal to homosexual men be excluded, or included?
Some people will respond with the childish argument that not every character or game should be sexualized. The flaw in that argument is that many games today mostly include characters who are not sexualized (Fallout 3/NV, Half Life, Rainbow Six, and countless others) and yet people still complain. Most of the complaints and demands I see are not for the existence of non sexualized female characters, but for the non existence of sexualized female characters, and not for the inclusion of women with small boobs, for the exclusion of women with big boobs. There is a world of difference between saying there should be more women who are not sexualized, and demanding that there be no women who are sexualized.
Part of the problem with the whole debate is that while most feminists are intelligent, reasonable people, many of the loudest and most vocal journalists claiming to be feminists are bigots demanding exclusion, rather than reasonable people asking for inclusion. Do you agree? What are your thoughts on the issue?
Let me clarify: Women with big boobs exist in real life. In real life, the female gender is diverse, and consists of women with small boobs, medium boobs, big boobs, women who are short, women are tall, women who are average height, women who are dark skinned, light skinned, olive skinned, women who are young, women who are middle aged, women who are old, women who are chubby, women who are curvaceous, women who are skinny, and women who are athletic. Diversity is the nature of real life.
And yet, when games have a diverse cast of many different body types- like Soul Calibur, which had many women who were flat chested or small boobed- people complain about the inclusion of women with big breasts, complaining that this is offensive to women. Think about that for a moment.
This is, quite literally, a complaint that including a group of people who exist in real life- people who solve mathematical calculations, cuddle cats, watch horror movies, sing along to Dr. Horrible, do gardening, sail boats, restore classic cars for fun, and who generally go about the business of being human, is offensive, simply because of what their breast size is.
Again, just think about that. There is a world of difference between saying that the video game industry should be more diverse, and saying that it should exclude a group of human beings who exist in real life. There is a world of difference between arguing in favor of exclusion and inclusion. And the argument that it they should be excluded because they are generally designed to appeal to heterosexual men is false as well. Should bishounen be excluded because they are designed to appeal to heterosexual women, or should bishounen be included in the diversity of the artistic medium of video games? Should characters designed to appeal to homosexual men be excluded, or included?
Some people will respond with the childish argument that not every character or game should be sexualized. The flaw in that argument is that many games today mostly include characters who are not sexualized (Fallout 3/NV, Half Life, Rainbow Six, and countless others) and yet people still complain. Most of the complaints and demands I see are not for the existence of non sexualized female characters, but for the non existence of sexualized female characters, and not for the inclusion of women with small boobs, for the exclusion of women with big boobs. There is a world of difference between saying there should be more women who are not sexualized, and demanding that there be no women who are sexualized.
Part of the problem with the whole debate is that while most feminists are intelligent, reasonable people, many of the loudest and most vocal journalists claiming to be feminists are bigots demanding exclusion, rather than reasonable people asking for inclusion. Do you agree? What are your thoughts on the issue?