The Sexualization of Men in Gaming
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I don't like big muscly men they scare the crap out of me.
My favourite male computer game character is Joker from Mass Effect...the way he flies that spaceship /swoon xD
Less Duke Nukem size men would be great and more Alan Wake and Nathan Drake sized men would be alot better. It doesn't really give young lads a good message considering you can actually mess up your bone structure if you work out you muscles so much at a young age. :<
My favourite male computer game character is Joker from Mass Effect...the way he flies that spaceship /swoon xD
Less Duke Nukem size men would be great and more Alan Wake and Nathan Drake sized men would be alot better. It doesn't really give young lads a good message considering you can actually mess up your bone structure if you work out you muscles so much at a young age. :<
i get more annoied at lazy design
and yes sexualisation is lazy design
seroid junkies
designated tits
token black guy
angsty teenager
the smug guy
the asshole
all of them annoy me
they're stupidly boring
prehapse this is why i look on at final fantasey 13-2 in discust
whereas i jump in glee at a reboot of 7
because 7 had enough going on to distract from the shitty characters
and yes sexualisation is lazy design
seroid junkies
designated tits
token black guy
angsty teenager
the smug guy
the asshole
all of them annoy me
they're stupidly boring
prehapse this is why i look on at final fantasey 13-2 in discust
whereas i jump in glee at a reboot of 7
because 7 had enough going on to distract from the shitty characters
Personally, I found that second image utterly disgusting. I feel like a number of people would agree with me on that front, too.Kahunaburger said:This:
isn't really sexualization of a male character. It's a physically strong character depicted in a way that shows that. Any sex appeal the character may have is incidental.
This:
is more what a sexualized male character looks like. If Fenris annoys you as a male, can you see why his counterparts might annoy you if you were female?
As a guy, I feel exactly the same way, minus the...swoon...xXxJessicaxXx said:
Once in a while, a character like Kratos is interesting if they actually go all the way with what they're aiming for, and they're not trying to make the "perfect male". Otherwise, muscles seem excessive.
I agree - I feel the same basic way about over-sexualized female characters too haha.Z3ldaX said:Personally, I found that second image utterly disgusting. I feel like a number of people would agree with me on that front, too.Kahunaburger said:This:
isn't really sexualization of a male character. It's a physically strong character depicted in a way that shows that. Any sex appeal the character may have is incidental.
This:
is more what a sexualized male character looks like. If Fenris annoys you as a male, can you see why his counterparts might annoy you if you were female?
Yup agreed there, I tend to favor the more filled out women. And I had an actual point but but I can't really figure out how to convey it, so I digress and simply agree with you, as I'm sure my point would have been similar to yours with a slight tweak.Farseer Lolotea said:
I was actually agreeing with you on that.ExileNZ said:
Fair enough.
It leaves me cold (and I think he looks like a d-bag, and his body paint is stupid), but I see nothing squick-worthy about it.Z3ldaX said:
I mean, it's not like he's pelvic-thrusting in the viewer's face. (Compare to images of female characters "presenting," which are more common than one might think.)
That the media presents a skewed image both of what women "should" look like and what men "should" find attractive, perhaps?Rayne870 said:
I think Susan has the right of it here. While it's not COMPLETELY out of the realm of possibility that every man in Gears of War resembles a refrigerator made out of beef because of the demands of fighting against the Locust for decades, some of the women in games are both undermuscled and underdressed for anything outside of an S&M-themed bachlorette party. (People's Exhibit A: Ivy, from the more recent Soul Caliber games. How she even breathes in that outfit, let alone fights, is beyond my ken.)Susan Arendt said:
On the other side of the coin....
I think it's hypersexualization in a roundabout way- guys like Kratos are what (typical) men think women are most sexually attracted to. I think this is a part of the reason why a lot of male gamers put down the "bishonen" type characters prevalent in JRPGs, as it grates heavily against what they think a hero (read: "attractive-to-women stud") should look like. Personally, I hate both extremes; the ideal would be more along the lines of Nathan Drake or Leon Kennedy- physically fit, as would be suitable for someone who regularly faces dangerous situations, but not built like a brick outhouse.Woodsey said:
Let alone the fact that copulation between a Turian and a Human should result in anaphylactic shock for at least one of the participants. Then again, they handwaved that away for Tali, too, so I hear....Kahunaburger said:
[small]One of these days I need to finish ME1. One of these days.[/small]
Seeing as how I don't see a problem with sexuality in the first place, 'sexualization' of either gender is not a bad thing at all. No,not even in Ashley's case.
I also recognize some of these claims in the comments to be the result of tunnel vision (usually focused on some part of a woman), be it in lack of variety of body types or lack of non-sexualized women.
For example: The cast of Bloody Roar alone provides a wide array of male and female body types and even some non-traditionally attractive traits on those both. Take Mitsuko
and pretty boy Hans.
Come to think of it, most of the variety can be found in fighting games or RPGs with tons of characters like Tobal and Suikoden, where Mary
and Ronnie Bell
are from, well, at least that seems to be the case for the characters to playable and be relegated to NPC roles of benevolent matriarchs or evil queens.
Anything else can wait for a thread dedicated to liberal or conservative character costuming choices.
Now, if the character is little more than eye candy with no 'nutritional value', then, regardless of gender, they should be excised to make room for more of the good stuff. I'd happily take another costume (maybe the one that that character would have worn to be used on a more substantial character)or a weapon over more of them.
I also recognize some of these claims in the comments to be the result of tunnel vision (usually focused on some part of a woman), be it in lack of variety of body types or lack of non-sexualized women.
For example: The cast of Bloody Roar alone provides a wide array of male and female body types and even some non-traditionally attractive traits on those both. Take Mitsuko
and pretty boy Hans.
Come to think of it, most of the variety can be found in fighting games or RPGs with tons of characters like Tobal and Suikoden, where Mary
Anything else can wait for a thread dedicated to liberal or conservative character costuming choices.
Now, if the character is little more than eye candy with no 'nutritional value', then, regardless of gender, they should be excised to make room for more of the good stuff. I'd happily take another costume (maybe the one that that character would have worn to be used on a more substantial character)or a weapon over more of them.