Increasingly skinny women in video games?

[Kahunaburger]

Snip

And in classical art women were portrayed as bigger, because having fat on you was a status symbol and that was seen as more beautiful.

It's almost like our ideas of beauty through time change and our art portrays predominantly what is seen as more beautiful at that time!

Gasp!

I mean...really this is a non-discussion.

The real question, however, is why we are obsessed with depicting only female characters that fit a specific modern standard of beauty to the point where the obsession undermines other aspects of the work in question and/or perpetuates objectification, body image issues, racism, etc.

 

[lacktheknack]

A pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?

I guess what I'm trying to say is: awesome name!

Anywho... on topic...

Yeah, this has been going on for a loooong time now. Now... I'm not really trying to justify it or anything... but how come everyone always gets so upset over the female characters with unrealistic proportions, yet no one seems to care about the male characters with hilariously unrealistic proportions?

Remember Chris Redfield? He used to look like this...

Spoiler

And now he looks like this...

Spoiler

And people don't seem to be upset about stuff like that? Really?

Fact of the matter is that neither gender tends to be represented particularly well in games.

HIS BICEPS ARE BIGGER THAN HIS HEAD. DOES NOT COMPUTE

OT: I'm in a "PLAY ALL THE OLD GAMES" binge right now, and I find I prefer the characters who have a more "possible" look.

http://www.freewebs.com/silenthill2fan/Eddy.jpg

http://www.fisicx.com/revelation/bigimages/tomahna_atrus.jpg

http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/257448_L/Beyond-good-and-Evil.jpg

Hell, even early/later Lara Croft had a lower body (butt, thighs, calves) that actually matched that of someone who ran and jumped a lot.

http://futurist.typepad.com/my_weblog/images/tomb_raider_tomb_of_qualopec.png

All of these are a lot more attractive to me than, say, anything in the laughfest that is TERA, because these people feel real.

(OK, maybe not Lara Croft's upper half, but work with me here...)

 

[Burst6]

This is one of the reasons i love dark souls so much.

Take the strongest, heaviest armor in the game.
(warning, big pictures)

Spoiler: Here's the male one

Spoiler: Here's the female one

OR one of the best medium armors in the game

Spoiler: male

Spoiler: female

Mmmm.. delicious indiscriminate practicality. It tastes like well done unseasoned beef.

 

[ElPatron]

Who ever said anything about obese bush pigs? I'm talking about the considerable degradation of athletic, muscular women in video games. There's a difference!

You could complain about real life instead.

Check "women in military" photos and chose the believable ones. They are most times skinny and not muscular.

I find it highly amusing that you're touting that people having fat on their bodies doesn't make them obese, but haven't considered that skinny people can be strong and fit enough to be heroes/heroines.

 

[BENZOOKA]

Games follow the ideals, just like movies.

Females are fit, with nice bodies and revealing outfits.
Males are fit, muscular and very manly.

It's as boringly simple as that. Nothing really to argue nor wonder about.

 

[geK0]

I find this woman to be the most attractive person to ever appear in a video game!

Spoiler: warning! image is too beautiful for those who are unworthy!

But she sets such an unrealistic standard of beauty that no woman can ever hope to achieve! I hate when women are objectified like this!

Caption this with "Oh stop it, you."

Done!

Spoiler

 

[Kahunaburger]

Check "women in military" photos and chose the believable ones. They are most times skinny and not muscular.

Yeah, I've seen games that go for that type of pseudo-realism in character design. Example: Halo. Spess mehreens in that game are about as muscular as IRL athletic people (as opposed to, say the other Spess Mehreens). However, note the difference between this:

and this:

 

[Kahunaburger]

A fat character wouldn't have the stamina, strength, or confidence of a non-fat character. I hope this game of yours revolves around the challenges of getting up off the couch to grab some chips from the kitchen cupboard, because that's all you're going to be getting from a fatty.

Well, I can't imagine Al Capone running a 10K anytime soon, but he did kinda sorta run a crime empire for a while. And died of a heart attack at age 48.

 

[ElPatron]

and this:

To me skinny doesn't mean "non-muscular". A lot of women in the military have much thinner arms and legs than that character, almost no ass and no noticeable breasts. I consider that my standard for skinny, not a girl who is low on fat but has tits and ass.

 

[Purplecoyote]

Dragon Age 2 had pretty diverse body shapes for women if I recall. At least in my opinion. Also, no "curvy" chest plates on the heavy armor.

 

[Lilani]

I don't really think they're getting "increasingly" skinny, but I do think video games still have a lot of growing up to do in regards to how they portray female characters. And I don't just mean how they are portrayed physically (whether it be through clothing or what sort of "poses" they strike in battle), I mean as characters.

If a female is going to be fat or thin, or dress conservatively or like a stripper, then fine. But there needs to be a reason behind it. It needs to fit her character, and be for more than just eye candy. There has to be a story, some reason for it. So it's the apocalypse and she chooses to wear booty shorts and a bikini top rather than cargo pants and a hiking or athletic shirt. Why? Does she keep all of her stuff at a set base, or is she so confident in her survival skills that she doesn't feel she needs to carry a lot? Or maybe she's fat and wears those things because it's the end of the world and what does she have to lose?

 

[SnakeoilSage]

im going to leave this here..

Saints Row 3 is shit. I'm going to leave this here.

 

[Phenomenis]

Most women AND men in the media are of societies' ideal image. Most of the guys are super-wedge, ridiculously muscular, and all the gals are fit, small waist, big boobs, wide hips. The only difference between the two is the reaction of the sexes to their representations. I don't truly see what the problem is. For as long as one version exists, there can be no arguments to get rid of the other. Girls get Taylor Lautner wearing no shirt, guys get Scarlett Johansson in a tight leather suit.

Also, just want to say, using Miranda as an example doesn't work that well, since she makes a whole thing about being specifically designed to be perfect looking and, at other stages, how she can easily control men.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Let's take a more recent realistic female character: Makoto, from Street Fighter 4.

Note the clothing and pose. She's not popping her breasts out for everyone to see, she's not sticking her rear out like she's trying to balance a tray of drinks on it. She's here for business, and her business is to beat the crap out of her opponent. Hence: A plain white gi, a sensible red sports bra beneath it (becuase you don't want the boobs swinging around when you fight), a yellow neckband, and no footwear.

Comparison: Ivy, from the Soul Calibur series.

Aside from the mystery of how she even puts this outfit on in the morning, it is absolutely impractical for someone whose hobby is engaging in fights against angry people with sharp objects. Her (ridiculously ponderous) breasts are practically unsupported, the high heels are not exactly conducive to maneuvering in a fight, the skintight leather and straps would prevent smooth movement more than help it, and the fact that she has an entire skirmish suit's worth of armor on one arm while leaving the rest of her body unprotected is nonsensical. The whole "she dresses like this to distract her enemies" argument falls flat when one remembers that numbering amongst her enemies are women, several undead, a bipedial reptile, and the embodiment of evil trapped inside a sword.

It's fine for female characters to be attractive, and they don't have to be featureless slabs of armor in order to make sense. But when there's such a broad contrast between the sexes within the same game, for no reason other than eye candy... why shouldn't some people be put off?

 

[MorganL4]

Well... yeah. Don't fictional characters usually conform to ideals of physical appearance?

You'll notice that most guys in video games are tall and muscular.

That said, it would be cool to see some more chunky and/or chubby characters in games, if only for the sake of variety.

Well in fairness women do get it a tad worse.

How?

Can you give a reason other than "because I say so"?

example: Victoria' Secret Fashon show on network TV every year... But Structure is not.....

Spoiler: Structure

Still think guys have the sex stereotype worse or even equal?

 

[Relish in Chaos]

The reason this is still a problem is because men actually don?t give a shit about it. They couldn?t care less how impractically revealing Ivy's costume in Soul Calibur is, because they?re not women and they want to get their jollies off to some good old-fashioned fanservice (even though they could just Rule 34 it on the internet). To put it simply, they still hold the power in this industry and probably will do for sometime, and they're not speaking out because it's a non-issue to them. They'd rather moan about unoriginality, or unsatisfying endings to video games.

 

[Angryman101]

A fat character wouldn't have the stamina, strength, or confidence of a non-fat character. I hope this game of yours revolves around the challenges of getting up off the couch to grab some chips from the kitchen cupboard, because that's all you're going to be getting from a fatty.

Well, I can't imagine Al Capone running a 10K anytime soon, but he did kinda sorta run a crime empire for a while. And died of a heart attack at age 48.

So...you want the daily life of someone who uses his minions to kill other people and run a criminal empire from a desk?

 

[Angryman101]

Snip

And in classical art women were portrayed as bigger, because having fat on you was a status symbol and that was seen as more beautiful.

It's almost like our ideas of beauty through time change and our art portrays predominantly what is seen as more beautiful at that time!

Gasp!

I mean...really this is a non-discussion.

I just ran a search on 'classical art'. All of the women have visible ab outlines and flat stomachs with wide hips. Where's the 'bigger'? They just have a body type that is common for that time period, they're not the fatties bumbling around that are so common today.

 

[LookAtYouHacker]

Call me paranoid, but I think this is to somehow appeal to the modernistic ideal of beauty (skinny equals perfection); the idea that even menial/healthy amounts of fat define morbid obesity.

On an interesting note, despite that some people think bestowing a woman with large breasts is sexualisation, what people consider as sexually attractive is subjective! In order words, some men may find a woman with small breasts attractive etc.

Hahahaha.
What lengths people go to rationalize things to themselves. 'I'm fat but someday someone will love me because BEAUTY is SUBJECTIVE!' Fat chance (heh). Men (aside from some weirdos and really desperate guys) have always been attracted to slender babes that displayed clear signs of health, fertility, and good secondary sexual characteristics: wide hips, soft skin, beauty in the face, ample bosoms, and slender bodies.

Y'know what I'd like to see? A fat character where the subject of their weight is never once addressed. Not the dorky comic sidekick or anything. Just a normal dude (or dudette) who just happens to be a bit overweight.

Why? Like, I'm really curious. Have you ever been fat? It pretty much consumes your thoughts and mannerisms. I used to be fat and it was literally what I was thinking about 50% of my day, when wondering why I was still single and girls always friendzoned me.
A fat character wouldn't have the stamina, strength, or confidence of a non-fat character. I hope this game of yours revolves around the challenges of getting up off the couch to grab some chips from the kitchen cupboard, because that's all you're going to be getting from a fatty.

But your negative perceptions of yourself were also because of society's desired beauty ideal. I think you're being very shallow, sorry.

 

[EeveeElectro]

Yeah, I remember mentioning this to someone once. We're making steps in the right direction by involving fuller figure ladies in other media such as movies, TV and music. Then viddyagames are just like, "lol nope. rake-thin girls plz."

Not saying thin is unattractive, unless unhealthy but I don't particularly like girls who are so skinny they don't cast a show being in every game.
I thought Serah from FFXIII was insane! There's no way she would be healthy >.<