Ikasury said:
why not just make kick-ass females, not male-proxies, actual women? why is that so freakin' hard and scary?
I think it's because, a lot of the time, so-called 'kick-ass females' are obnoxious. I mean, REALLY obnoxious. Indeed, you can say the same for kick-ass men, but it's a stereotype done to death so much, you can do it ironically. More often than not, you're not supposed to find them relatable i.e. Kratos.
Hardened women in real life tend to be the most obnoxious, annoying human beings in the world. They tend to be.... wait a second, they usually tend to be feminists! Without a sense of humour, without anything intelligent to say (in terms of discussion as opposed to being intelligent, period), very mouthy, overly confrontational, and overly sensitive. Just... nothing to like about them, no matter what angle or like you see them from.
I do agree there should be more gutsy women in games. But IMO the balance is really hard to pull off. My personal favourite heroines are Heather from Silent Hill 3, Victoria McPherson from Still Life (if you want a story-driven game with a gutsy heroine, you NEED to play this game, if you haven't already), and Ayame from the Tenchu series. All of these women are smart, seem to have a goal you want them to accomplish, and at least the slightest bit relatable.
As a guy, I actually enjoy playing as female characters in games more. I will openly admit that this is partially due to the T&A, with games like, say, P.N.03 for the Gamecube. But as mentioned above, playing as a more bold women, when done right, can be really refreshing also.
When I play as male characters, I'm not usually into the muscle-head characters either. I can think of Guts from 'Sword of Berserk', and the two leads from the Army of Two games, but mainly because of the comedy banter between the pair of them.
Thing is, there is ALWAYS going to be T&A in gaming, as long as men play games, period. Because we're men. Even if you changed it so that every single game in the world was altered so that no men or women characters were sexualised in any way, men would still find a way of sexualising them in their minds. Because we're men. That's what we do.
I'm not saying this is a free-pass for all games to sexualise women. It's not. It's all about context with any game you play. But whenever I read the words 'level the playing field', I watch to *****-slap these people. Because the playing field will NEVER be even. Men and women are different in what we find sexually stimulating, how often, and how much. There is never going to be a balance. Hence, we should review each and every game in its own context, rather than blasting the whole industry on the matter.
here's a question of my own, anyone think that these male-oriented mentalities put into games may be effecting female-gamers perspectives on what's 'hot' and what's 'not'? since we have to play in the mindset of 'dudes' all the time, i'm honestly starting to think this is effecting my normal capacity to even be 'attracted' to men, quite honestly i recognize 'tits' more then i do 'pecks' as something that should be 'hot' because of the subliminal everything that's geared towards 'men', but me as a woman just has to 'deal with it'? lame...
I think, yes, women must be affected by the way they see women portrayed in video games, or should I say, in the media as a whole. But I have something to ask on the matter also. How many women's magazines and TV shows also affect what you what's hot and what's not? I'm not being funny, but you ask most men, they don't want their women caked in make-up. And yet, I read a statistic a few years back, stating about 65% of all women wouldn't leave the house without makeup on (I believe it was Cosmopolitan magazine, which I do read when I have the chance, which has been a few times as my whole family consists of women).
Where are we drawing the line? Who does have the right to decide what's hot and what's not?
i hope they start making more female oriented games, then you dudes can feel all weird about being 'gay' and i can tell you to 'get over it' honestly...
Do you genuinely think we don't have to deal with this already? I'm sorry, but whenever women say this, it does come off as a little ignorant.
I've worked in several female dominated workplaces, surrounded by posters of semi-naked, buff and gorgeous looking guys hung on the walls, and had to sit and listen to an endless number conversations from women co-workers on the issue of what kind of man they find sexually attractive. In fact, in my experience in over 10 jobs in the last 10 years, I can safely say, here in the UK, women talk about their sexual preference in men way more than men talk about their preference in women!
Here's a question I'd like to ask you - how many women do you know who specifically, or at least partially, watch films and television shows for the hunks in them? Because I know so many in the UK that only saw High School Musical and Twilight, or TV shows like The Only Way is Essex, solely for the male ass. How many women genuinely watch a movie starring Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt, solely for their acting ability?
I know video games are very male dominated, but what do you have to say for other mediums like magazines, television, and film, where there are plenty of sources objectifying men? Do you think it has an affect on the male psych?
On a side note: I'm intrigued to know why you like Aya Brea so much? I've only played through the start of PE2, and most of 3rd Birthday, but I found her to be completely usesless in terms of character in 3rd Birthday.
P.S. I hope none of this post comes off as offensive to you. I think, genuinely, you have some very insightful things to say on the matter.
