root of all evil said:
Let's see...
Women's magazines coated in sex don't mean sex sells but women who wear sexy clothing are alright unless it's by men, which it's wrong, unless they want to wear it, which means it's right. But they can't be too sexy because that's unrealistic and wrong unless they choose to wear it where it's right.
But Lara is alright because...No...you actually never even define that. I would have thought Kevlar would be suitable whilst in gunplay.
A guy spends a few hours in a dentist's waiting room and suddenly he's an expert on women's magazines. *eyeroll* Sorry, again, you really don't know what you're talking about. Women's magazines are not "coated in sex" no matter how many times you say it. Coated in ads, makeup, fashion, perfume samples, and yes, there is usually some article focused on relationships, but I wouldn't say sex necessarily, and often there's a doctor's column where women can write to discuss their *cough* intimate problems or menopause. Frequently there's articles about lost loved ones, family reconciliations and parenting. In more serious fashion mags, you'll get lots of how-to's for make up and hair, plus plugs for over-priced clothing. But then, I guess you paid about as much attention to the actual content in the magazines as you did when ---
root of all evil said:
you actually never even define that. I would have thought Kevlar would be suitable whilst in gunplay.
*sigh* I did explain it. I explained that I thought Lara at least looked like she was dressed for an adventure. And Tomb Raider is an
adventure game, not an action game. (Although I agree Kevlar would have been appropriate for the debacle that was TR: Legend. What a merc-a-palooza that game was.) I've voice my distaste for Lara's current state of undress at the Eidos boards. As the most powerful woman in gaming, she should (as Warren Moon said of his own career) "represent."
root of all evil said:
Unless the woman wants to wear them....is that right?
My god, it can be taught! Of course, women should be allowed to decide the image they want to project for themselves. I'm not sure why that's feminist though. Thinking for oneself, deciding for oneself. All evidence to the contrary, I'm sure that's not a quality exclusive to women.
cheez pavilion said:
Why do video game images bother you but marketing images don't? Why do you have a problem with a medium where there are "men dressing women for men's fantasies" but not with a medium that tells women they should "alter their appearance to be considered beautiful"? Why is telling a woman she needs to floss her ass before seeking revenge a bigger deal than telling a woman she can lose those 'last five pounds' if she only does x,y, or z?
There is actually is a difference. Marketing images are trying to sell me something. It's their job to convince me that I need their product. So there's always this little lie that goes with them, this "this could be you, give us your money." Riiight.
Human beings have always done strange things to themselves to be beautiful: make up goes back to biblical times, as do wigs. There was that period during the Italian Renaissance when high foreheads were fashionable, so women shaved their brows and hairlines. Corsets, silhouette altering devices like bum rolls, panniers and bustles appear and disappear. Wigs for men too, of course, stuffed codpieces and that 18th century period when high heels and shapely calves were all the rage. The ornately tied cravat.
When you look at it from a larger perspective, this obsession with looking good is really nothing new. It's a human condition. Beauty attracts mates, shows status, gives pleasure. So it's tough for me to get "up in arms" over something that started several thousand years ago. Of course, people say things about how damaging this all is, but I think that's overstated and another discussion.
However, game characters (and other media as well) are meant to be identified with in some way. In games, you *are* what the character is. The NPCs are also meant to engage you somehow--emotionally, if it's a good game; they just annoy you if it's bad. LOL So there's some representation going on. There's got to be something to identify with for that to happen. So yes, I find female characters dressed in ridiculous ways for male gamers thrills to be an issue.
Johnn Johnston said:
But I thought you said that you didn't need to be sexually dressed to be sexually appealling? Perhaps there are characters that are intended to be appealing without going over the top with the clothes that you have skimmed over.
But I also said that it seemed to me that male game characters were meant to be appealing to men. So, given that, in my admittedly limited observation, Dante's alternate costume is the first time I thought a male character was (un)dressed to be appealing to women (Dante wears no shirt for the alternate.) I didn't mean that as a complaint either. Just thought it would be interesting to point out that (as a woman) I felt acknowledged as an audience, that maybe somewhere some Capcom guy thought "Girls love Dante! Let's give them a treat." It's an alternate costume only, of course, so no one's forced to use it if they don't like it.
Apologies to Alex P. I clearly misread what you were trying to say.
Kudos to Blayze for the excellent subreference. It wasn't wasted on me.
Again, my issue is with extreme outfits. For all men complain they don't understand women, don't know what they want, etc., here's one who's quantified what annoys her. Heck, I even gave pictures to illustrate.
