I?ve been wanting to make a video like this for a while, and with all this controversy recently it seems this is the perfect time to bring it up. I?m going to talk about how women are portrayed in video games, why I think it happens, and at the end I?ll list some ways to solve the problem and a few examples of who?s been doing this right. Sorry if this gets a bit rambly, this is the first time I?ve ever made a video like this. So here we go.
As has been pointed out by many the last few years, women in video games are often portrayed in a very...polarizing way. This wasn?t a big issue 10 to 15 years ago, but now that more and more women are playing video games and the gaming culture itself is becoming more vocal and more networked, it?s something that can?t be ignored any longer. Just as film and television had to grow out of giving women roles no more important than being the main causes of trouble or the prize sought by the man at the end of his adventure, video games and the community at large are going to have to grow out of the notion there is never a problem with making all the women in a game dress like strippers. I think the crux of the issue is this: the way women are portrayed in video games is not how they want to see themselves. It?s how men want to see them.
Now I do understand that a lot of it has to do with target audience. If your target audience is 14 year old boys, then by all means, appeal to those 14 year old boys. Bring in the aliens dressed as strippers and the damsels in distress.
But if your target audience is a mix of genders and age groups, then a lot more thought needs to be put into who is in your game and how they are being portrayed. When your target audiences start conflicting, or when one side is being favored over the other, that is when you start offending people and putting them off.
Now before I get carried away with myself, I?d like to take care of just a few questions and common objections I?ve seen regarding this. First question:
?Don?t women want to explore their sexuality??
Well yes, yes we do. We like looking and feeling sexy. That is not an issue at all. But here?s the thing: we want it to be on our terms. We want to fulfill our vision of sexy, and we want it to be our choice as to when and where we appear so. But when it comes to armor in games, you don?t really have an option as to what you?re wearing. It?s however the armor was designed, and if it?s to be sexy it?s whatever the designer and their target audience?s definition of ?sexy? is. And believe it or not, when a woman thinks of herself as sexy, it?s not usually the same thing an 14 year old boy thinks of.
And you know what? I can prove this. When I was in high school, the quintessential ?sexy? men according to girls my age on down to about 14 were none other than Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. And never, in my life, have I heard of any guy from my or any generation say they wish they could be as sexy as Edward or Jacob. A man?s definition of sexy, from what I?ve been able to gather anyway, is somewhere closer to James Bond. Suave, debonair, cool, and a lady-killer. A well cut suit instead of exposed pecs, and remaining cool and aloof about love instead of all sappy and desperate. So no, it?s not that we?re ashamed of our sexuality, it?s that the kind of ?sexy? being used to define us isn?t what we have in mind for ourselves.
Objection number two: ?Men are portrayed just as unrealistically!?
Yes, I?ll give you that men in games are usually just as hypermasculine as the females are hyperfeminine. But last I checked, guys don?t often come equipped with armor that makes them look like they?re heading to roleplay night at Chippendales. Idealized is one thing, sexualized is another thing entirely. And while we?re here, femininity is not inherently sexual, and neither is masculinity. For example, there are feminine and masculine outfits, but not overtly sexy. These are also feminine and masculine, but a lot more sexualized. Let?s not get these mixed up.
And the last objection I?ll be covering: ?If you women don?t like how you?re being portrayed, then why don?t you try and change it!?
First of all, I am trying by making this video. That Tropes VS Women fundraiser was also trying to make a difference, and it was met with a lot of resistance. Secondly, I understand men just have a tendency to make things that are male-oriented, and there isn?t anything inherently wrong with that. I know in my creative works, I tend to make things female-oriented. So I?m not trying to say guys can?t make guy games. My only goal here is to clear the ambiguity and confusion that occurs in situations where the creators are actively trying to appeal to both genders.
And third, to be perfectly honest, this skewed image of what women are ?supposed? to look like in games and in popular media in general was not caused by women. So to think that women are the only ones who should make an effort to clean up the mess is just arrogance and petulance. Everybody has a hand in the problem, so everybody should have a hand in the solution. I think that is only fair.
So, now that that?s cleared up. On to the main event: ambiguity. See usually in media, when a character is meant to be sexualized, it?s pretty obvious. However, in the gaming community, I?ve seen a lot of people trying to legitimize the appearance of clearly sexualized characters, like Lara Croft. They say, ?Well, she dresses like that because she?s so confident in herself. And of course she?s thin and toned, just look at all the athletic stuff she does in the game!?
While I agree a strong, healthy body is very much explained by her character and her chosen profession, I?m not so sure any experienced hiker in their right mind would choose booty shorts over cargo pants in a rainforest, where insects, spiders, and leeches are always looking for a bit of exposed skin to nibble on. That doesn?t make logical make sense, and it raises the question: is she really dressing that way for herself? Or was she designed that way for the enjoyment of the audience the original Tomb Raider game was made for in 1996?
When you make overt visual sexuality a part of your character, can be confusing and even off-putting if the reason for it isn?t made clear.
It makes me think of another game I?ve played, Final Fantasy X-2. Do not judge me! See, the costumes of the main cast, especially Rikku and Yuna, really on my nerves. In the first game, Final Fantasy X, they were properly dressed for their characters. Rikku was basically an Al Bhed mechanic, so she wore a mechanic?s work suit. Yuna was a respected religious figure, so her outfit was distinct, but modest and fit the part. In both cases, their outfits are appropriate for their characters and backstories.
But two years later in the sequel, Rikku is wearing a bikini top and a skirt so short its top edges don?t even cover the straps of her thong. And Yuna is wearing a minimally covering shirt and micro shorts.
Their new looks are never brought up in the game as some sort of statement, or a change in their attitudes. Rikku never expresses a fondness for spontaneously taking a swim to explain her bikini top, and Yuna doesn?t really express any sort of feeling of liberation after defeating Sin and leaving the Summoner business. She does enjoy the freedom being a sphere hunter over having to follow Yevon?s rules, but I don?t feel the change was ever made out to be so significant it would cause such a drastic change in her wardrobe. Then, taking into account that they are sphere hunters who travel all over Spira, from the beaches of Besaid to the highest and coldest peaks of Mount Gagazet, their outfits have absolutely no functionality in that respect and make no sense. I mean imagining how Lulu made it up Gagazet in the first game was hard enough, but imagining those two doing it the way they?re dressed in just ridiculous.
So, did Rikku and Yuna really choose to dress like that? I can?t say. All I know is there is a gap between how these girls behave and what they wear, and it is never explained or addressed in the game.
This sort of ambiguity of character and clothing has been at the heart many game controversies: Bayonetta and her hair dress, Samus?s Zero Suit, Ivy from Soul Calibur, in fact most Japanese games with female characters. They are all strong characters (for the most part, regarding Samus? character change in Other M), but is the eye candy they provide really for the benefit of their character? Or is that just our way of legitimizing cheap oogling? (show picture of Miranda?s butt shot in ME2).
I?m not trying to say that can?t be viable explanation. I would have no problem with a female character who is so flamboyant and proud of her figure she doesn?t mind strutting about in a bikini when other clothes might be more appropriate for what she?s doing. But if that?s the case, it needs to be evident in her character. She needs to speak for herself and make it absolutely clear that?s how she feels. If the question has to be asked, then the creators have not done their job in properly characterizing her.
And if we as a community are having to legitimize these outfits with the same, vague explanation again and again for radically different characters, I think it becomes pretty clear a ?strong character? isn?t the only reason for these ladies? scantily clad polygons.
This poor explanation also comes with some negative subtext--that in order for a woman to be strong and confident, she has to dress like a stripper. That correlation is absolutely false, and that is never how you should approach making a strong character. Alyx Vance is strong and brave, and she didn?t need booty shorts and a mile of cleavage to show that. Just as Marcus Fenix didn?t have to dress like Fabio.
Now, I?m not about to let this video be nothing but a gripe fest. So here is my two cents as to how to approach these problems. When you?re trying to appeal to a female audience, if you don?t have any females on hand to help, try to put yourself in their shoes. Because that?s essentially the problem here: men thinking of women from a man?s perspective. Be very aware of everything you do with the character, and why. The why is especially important, you always need to be aware of the logic behind every choice your character makes. It is very easy to slip into stereotypes when you lose track of your character?s intentions. For example:
Here are some male characters posing for their covers. Strong, indicative of his character. Show a female striking a pose for a cover. Sexual, provocative, rather than being some sort of fighting pose or a pose of power, she is putting her body and features on display. This is what I mean: showing women in ways stereotypical men want to see them, rather than as individual characters.
Just try to do some equivalence checks between the general the characters are putting off. Does this character look more like a thief, or does she look more like a stripper? Are her features and clothing appropriate for her character? Try comparing to a male character posed and dressed similarly.
Once again, have a rhyme for your reason. If your leading lady is dressed a certain way, make sure there?s a reason why. If it?s the apocalypse she chooses to wear daisy dukes rather than cargo or athletic pants, then have a reason for it. And if there isn?t a reason for it, change it. Have what they wear reflect the the character, the situation, and how the character is dealing with that situation.
And the same goes with the poses they strike. Here is some art from a great tumblr [http://womenfighters.tumblr.com/] I found, called Women Fighters in Reasonable Armor. These pictures all show women who are not only dressed reasonably for adventure, but have a fire in their eyes. You can really tell there?s something to them. They?re strong, they?re fierce, they?re confident. They?re showing real emotions, indications of real characters beneath. They look and act like warriors, not strippers who?ve been given swords in the place of poles.
As another disclaimer, I understand men and women carry themselves differently and don?t always strike the same poses. Trust me, I have tried to not let my butt move back and forth when I walk, but I can?t. It?s just a fact of biology. There is nothing wrong with that, for either gender. But there is a line between how women move and how guys like to see women move (clip from the Click trailer?), and it?s pretty evident when that line has been crossed. Again, feminine and sexual are not the same thing. You can?t tell me Team Ninja made jiggle physics just to more accurately portray how women look when they move.
Now we?re getting close to the end, so just bear with me a little longer. As I said before, I?m not saying games geared toward males don?t have a right to be made. What I am saying is games which are intended to be unisex tend to lean a lot toward the male end of the spectrum, and there are real things we can do to fix that.
And there are already some developers who are doing it right. I mentioned Alyx Vance before. Valve does a very good job with their characters, both male and female. On top of that, they prove that making a game that appeals to both genders does not require a perfectly even split of X and Y chromosomes. Look at Team Fortress 2. The entire cast is male, but while I play the game, that fact never even occurs to me. The characters and the world are bright and hilarious, and adding females into the mix ?for the sake of diversity? wouldn?t improve anything. I think it would only ruin the dynamic the current set of characters have. The game is light and basically nonsexual. The only time they talk about women is when making snide insults at each other. It feels almost like a Saturday morning cartoon...but with blood and swearing.
I know Valve is perfectly capable of mixing male and female characters in a cast, as they've proven in Left 4 Dead. But what they have with TF2 just works, and even though it?s an all male cast it still reads as unisex. Pixar is also very good at telling ?guy stories? without making women feel excluded or like the story wasn?t intended for them.
But you know, even Pixar isn?t perfect. If you have a DVD of Toy Story 2, listen to the director?s commentary for the scene where Jessie rescues Woody from the airplane. When that scene was written, the situation was actually reversed. It was Jessie that was trapped, and it was Woody who came to her rescue. When they wrote the scene, they didn?t think much of it. It was the climactic and heroic end they were looking for to wrap up the escape.
But when Joan Cusack came in to read Jessie?s lines for the scene, she became very frustrated with it. She said it was just so typical, the man coming to the woman?s rescue on horseback. Up to that point, she had admired how Jessie wasn?t the typical damsel in distress female that comes out of most western-themed situations. And after she brought it up, the writers realized it too. They made Jessie out to be such a strong character, but when it was time for her to show her stuff, it was Woody who got all the credit. He?d had several scenes in the movie where he got to show what he was capable of, plus the entire previous film. The writers knew they couldn?t steal this opportunity from Jessie. So, they reversed the situation. The scene remained just as dramatic, and it gave Jessie and her fans the moment of awesomeness they deserved.
So while games and movies that are unisex seem effortless, there is actually quite a bit of thought that must go into how you structure the characters and the story to make everybody feel equally represented. If you raise a question, you have to answer it. If you make two characters equally capable, you have to show it. You can?t just barrel through something using one perspective and expect it to come out perfectly fine. And even if you actively try to make things unisex, you should always get a second opinion and never dismiss criticism when you hear it.
