Is the Witcher 2 sexist?

[Sexy Devil]

So I've been vaguely interested in the Witcher 2 a while now as I've heard "it's like a bioware game but better" but I remembered how awfully misogynistic the first game was and murmurs that the second game was pretty bad too. So I watched some videos of the game and wow oh wow that opening scene with Triss was bad. Really bad.

Now, I'm still interested in the rest of the game but I was wondering if it improves later or continues/gets worse? I find most games presentation of woman pretty bad but this just looked awful. Does it get better?

And I should probably just add to keep the conversation civil. I know stuff like this can get out of hand so I hope we can try and attempt to not let it and act like reasonable people.

Why exactly is it misogynist? Because the game had the audacity to show tits? Because some random foot soldier is a dickhead. Gee, that stuff never happens in real life ever. Seems like your definition of misogyny is not being scared of girl's bodies.

But there's a sex scene with Triss in the first act, and there's a scene with Philipa being creepy in the second act, then there's a part where a character gets raped, but that's pretty much it.

There's nothing at all like the sex cards though.

 

[Neonit]

how can an object be sexist?

but in all seriousness, i dont think its worse nor better than 1st. but if you were somehow offended by 1st part, well, you might as well be offended by second so keep that in mind.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

So many spoilers in here. I've had to skim read everything, you bastards.

I'm still playing through Witcher 1, and I have to agree with Zhukov. I don't know that it's SEXIST, necessarily. And I think that word is being misused a little here, although maybe I'm just misunderstanding it. There are plenty of strong women with agency in The Witcher (almost a comical level of sexual agency, at that). But there is a glorious shitload of PANDERING. And whether or not you're the sort of person to find said pandering offensive or irritating is largely dependent on whether or not you find The Witcher's juvenile take on sexuality enticing or silly.

Obviously I can't say for sure whether 2 is as bad as 1, but based on what I've skimmed in this conversation, it sure sounds like it is.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Depends on your view of misogyny. Sure, there are plenty of naked women to be found and several prostitutes scattered about. Some of the female characters can also be seen as more of bad cariactures of women too.

But on the other hand, there are several good female characters in the game (Triss, Vos and the leader of the rebellion to name those I can think of on top of my head) and some of the male characters are pretty cariacture too.

I, as a woman, did not find Witcher 2 very sexist. It is set in a sexist world, just like Game of Thrones (but unlike GoT, I do not get the vibe that CDProjektRed get a turn on from writing submissive women), but the game itself never felt like it tried to convey the idea that this sexism was a good idea to me. Quite the opposite, considering that at least 2 of the women in the game are very capable and driving to the plot.

Basically this.

Also OT: I actually consider Witcher games significantly less sexist than your average [http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/03/the-bizarre-sexism-in-biowares-star-wars-the-old-republic/] Bioware game [http://ferretbrain.com/articles/article-563]. So if you played the Mass Effect games and nothing significantly bothered you, the stuff in Witcher 2 probably won't either.

 

[VanBasten]

Spoiler

What's wrong with being sexy?

 

[Woodsey]

No.

The world it takes place in is sexist, plenty of the characters are sexist, the game itself is not sexist.

I'm not sure why you think the opening scene with Triss is bad; its no different to how Game of Thrones handles a number of its scenes. There's nudity, there's sexism, there's racism, there's violence; that's the world of the game. There's no sense of anything leery or misogynistic coming from the developers themselves as you play.

But yes, the first game was a bit "Look! Naked women!", whereas the second is firmly in the "Yes, there's naked women" category.

 

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

I can see the original posters point which can only mean one thing - we need more naked men in games and more male on male action. Balance things out nicely.

 

[Claptrap]

No, Just because a game portrays some "sluts" doesn't mean all the women in it are sluts, The same way some of the characters are racist, Doesn't mean they all are, It simplys portrays a dark gritty world.

 

[Nantucket_v1legacy]

I can see the original posters point which can only mean one thing - we need more naked men in games and more male on male action. Balance things out nicely.

But we already have MGS, what more do they want?

Just more.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

It's not sexist. It's just that the world in The Witcher is not a nice place to live in. It's full of racists and sexists. It's a shithole. Don't worry though. You get to kill most of those racists and sexists.

 

[Popadoo]

Like pretty much everyone has said, the game itself isn't sexist. Hell, one of the main cast and most powerful ally in the game is a woman. It's the fact that it's set in a sexist place/time period.

 

[TheRookie8]

Uh...there's a part of the game where Geralt, who becomes intoxicated with several other soldiers, wanders into a whorehouse in a drunken stupor, and attempts to mount a prostitute and ride her across a river "to get to Paradise". He also gets a nifty tattoo...so yeah...

I don't believe the game is intentially sexist, I think it is merely reflecting the fictional time period. This is sort of like Deadwood from HBO. It is simply how it is. I'm not upset by it, because I have other videogames and shows which provide equal-sex portayals.

...and Geralt seemed very ashamed after he woke up naked by the river...

 

[kyogen]

No, I don't really find either of the Witcher games to be sexist. Yes, there are a few utterly ridiculous costumes and the collectible cards in the first game, but even those struck me as being more on the silly than the misogynistic side of things. In any case, the devs had the good sense to get rid of the cards and design more practical costumes for the second game, so they really don't strike me as hard-core woman-haters.

It is, however, a rough and dirty in-game universe: true dark fantasy, not high fantasy playing with ketchup and pretending to be grumpy. Nobody has it easy. Many of the women are treated as sex objects, but quite a few of the men come off as complete idiots who deserve everything they get and are too stupid to see coming from the various ladies in their lives.

 

[DRes82]

(but unlike GoT, I do not get the vibe that CDProjektRed get a turn on from writing submissive women)...

Good post, but I feel I have to call you out here. GoT portraying submissive women? I'm afraid that you are either watching or reading a different series than I or just not paying attention when you are. I was actually surprised when I read the books at what a strong role martin placed women in where the setting does, typically, call for weak, submissive women. I suggest reading the first book if you havn't already.

On topic, Witcher II is a pretty amazing game. Several of the main characters are very strong women in prominent roles and I think the thought that it is any more misogynistic than other video games (where the demographic is mainly young males) is just silly. My opinion is that if you feel this way, that you might be a little sexually repressed and that the openness of the game makes you uncomfortable.

 

[wench]

I wouldn't say it is sexist... it has a lot of sex in it, which I'm all in favour of. It's also very in-keeping with the books. The guy writes really strong women characters on a number of different levels, and I think ProjektRed managed to keep that going in the games. They have men and women across the spectrum of nice/evil/smart/dumb/pretty/ugly...