I am a woman (despite the gender-free spelling of my name). I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter and will likely be a mother-in-law before too long. Sexist stereotypes for both genders do matter (even in games) and can cause as much damage as racist portrayals. Sexism directly affects us all
Mark Marrow’s statement that “having females in revealing clothing is...merely an art form, and a way of showing the beauty of the human body” is so one-sided. How many games show guys in skin-tight ballet-like leotards so the beauty of the male human body is in your face? He goes on to debate “how females are dressed in a way to be considered objects for viewing pleasure”. Our society currently encourages young women to do just that. Men have come to expect it and it’s common to see lots of cleavage on many campuses, from WSU down to local middle schools. Are we perpetuating this “for your viewing pleasure” mind set both on computer monitors and classroom monitors?
Morrow’s use of the vulgar, degrading terms “tits” and “arse” for females and the envious yet elevating term “amazing six-packs” for males illustrates the heart of the sexist problem. He claims Lara Croft is “never portrayed as a sexual object” and “should be seen as a role model”.
Look at this photo. What type of role model do you see? Not for properly dressed and equipped technical rock climbing, not for brains, or smart choices. Is this a role model you’d want for your girlfriend, wife, sister or daughter? This looks like a fantasy for a one-night stand, portraying an anorexic, ill-informed female flaunting her totally unachievable body.
I liked Neville Nicholson’s description of “the façade of blatant sex appeal to the bubbling cesspool of mediocrity beneath” the sexism in video games. Then he offered his higher view of women: “use your feminine wiles to “encourage” your partner to put the controller down for the night”. He decries the online agenda for the same sexism in the flesh. He ends with “You go, girls”, but I’m hearing, “lay down, girls”. How would men react if women said to them, “You go, boy”?
I agree with Tristan Kalogeropoulos’ sentiment that video games in general need to “grow up”, but shook my head at Phil Larsen’s incredible claim that “everyone is offended by everything”. He gives that lame excuse to shirk attempts for improvement. His discussion of “digital boobs” never extends to the male slang equivalents, of course, because those things aren’t glorified in video game settings. Neither gender should be reduced to anatomical parting-out. Tristan Kalogeropoulos- PALGN writer
partially agree with Mark’s point in that the focus on aesthetics within videogames does not amount to sexism. Simply because a person, or in this case avatar, within an artistic setting is portrayed with a certain body type it does not make their representation sexist. It’s when this is the sole defining characteristic of them that this is a problem, having them in the game for the simple purpose of them being ogled at.
Video games may have undergone an immense evolution in terms of their technical ability to visually convey a story, however for the most part the complexity of their narratives are firmly rooted in fairytale like character development. Princes rescuing Princesses is still the dominant complexity of our gaming stories. This needs to change.
This Blog is created in an effort to allow a safe environment were questions, pertaining to the digital divide and its affect, may be asked and responses may be made.
I am a woman (despite the gender-free spelling of my name). I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter and will likely be a mother-in-law before too long. Sexist stereotypes for both genders do matter (even in games) and can cause as much damage as racist portrayals. Sexism directly affects us all
ReplyDeleteMark Marrow’s statement that “having females in revealing clothing is...merely an art form, and a way of showing the beauty of the human body” is so one-sided. How many games show guys in skin-tight ballet-like leotards so the beauty of the male human body is in your face? He goes on to debate “how females are dressed in a way to be considered objects for viewing pleasure”. Our society currently encourages young women to do just that. Men have come to expect it and it’s common to see lots of cleavage on many campuses, from WSU down to local middle schools. Are we perpetuating this “for your viewing pleasure” mind set both on computer monitors and classroom monitors?
Morrow’s use of the vulgar, degrading terms “tits” and “arse” for females and the envious yet elevating term “amazing six-packs” for males illustrates the heart of the sexist problem. He claims Lara Croft is “never portrayed as a sexual object” and “should be seen as a role model”.
Look at this photo. What type of role model do you see? Not for properly dressed and equipped technical rock climbing, not for brains, or smart choices. Is this a role model you’d want for your girlfriend, wife, sister or daughter? This looks like a fantasy for a one-night stand, portraying an anorexic, ill-informed female flaunting her totally unachievable body.
I liked Neville Nicholson’s description of “the façade of blatant sex appeal to the bubbling cesspool of mediocrity beneath” the sexism in video games. Then he offered his higher view of women: “use your feminine wiles to “encourage” your partner to put the controller down for the night”. He decries the online agenda for the same sexism in the flesh. He ends with “You go, girls”, but I’m hearing, “lay down, girls”. How would men react if women said to them, “You go, boy”?
I agree with Tristan Kalogeropoulos’ sentiment that video games in general need to “grow up”, but shook my head at Phil Larsen’s incredible claim that “everyone is offended by everything”.
He gives that lame excuse to shirk attempts for improvement. His discussion of “digital boobs” never extends to the male slang equivalents, of course, because those things aren’t glorified in video game settings. Neither gender should be reduced to anatomical parting-out.
Tristan Kalogeropoulos- PALGN writer
partially agree with Mark’s point in that the focus on aesthetics within videogames does not amount to sexism. Simply because a person, or in this case avatar, within an artistic setting is portrayed with a certain body type it does not make their representation sexist. It’s when this is the sole defining characteristic of them that this is a problem, having them in the game for the simple purpose of them being ogled at.
Video games may have undergone an immense evolution in terms of their technical ability to visually convey a story, however for the most part the complexity of their narratives are firmly rooted in fairytale like character development. Princes rescuing Princesses is still the dominant complexity of our gaming stories. This needs to change.