The average women in video games has an unrealistically proportioned body. (A women with her actual measurements would topple over from the weight of her breasts.) And of course, with such an "amazing" body (like these pictured below: Ivy of Soul Calibur(left) and Laura Croft(right)) they should want to show off. And they do, even though these costumes may seem completely impractical for any task at hand.
How can women expect to feel comfortable playing a game that makes them feel like they are being objectified?
First thank you, it’s hard to get any kind of representation of female characters and of female characters in video games and it is nice when someone acknowledges that there are strong female role models in games like the two examples you pointed out.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to answer your question about why females still play games even if they are presented with exploited images of themselves. As a female gamer who plays a wide range of games mostly on the rpg and fighter side I am use to these big breasted, small waist, and sometimes just all around smaller images of females. You can take any female from any rpg or any fighter or even action base game and apply them to the same set body figure. Yet, you have to remember when you buy these games that there is a certain fanbase. If I wanted to pretend that these games were not just being marketed to males I’d be fooling myself. It’s sad that men think this way but there is nothing more alluring to a gamer than something beautiful and that’s what these females are. If you made a normal looking female a lead or a supporting character that would be intimidating for men to handle and so if you make the women ultra beautiful you do not presenting a conflicting image of masculinity. It does not conflict with the idea of masculinity men are suppose to a line with because if asked why they play they can use the excuse that it’s a hot chick. I think it is a way to make these kind of games nonthreatening or alien for male gamers.
I also want to point out that it goes the same way now too. Tell me the last rpg you can think of that did not have a pretty boy main character? Those go for us too and allure female players in. It might not totally work the same way but it’s a big help in choosing what game to play. Who doesn’t love Cloud in FF 7? How many girls do not drool over his image on the world wide net? We like our man meat too.