as other people have said, female characters are almost always hyper-sexual. All rights reserved, Covering The Best In Video Games, Esports, Movies and Geek Culture. She is one of the prime examples of the excessively sexualized female characters of the 90s. Lara Croft, famed video game icon, fights her way through jungles and ruins all while sporting skimpy clothes or a bikini. You've heard the cries, you've seen the likes of Anita Sarkeesian making a name for herself by pointing out all sorts of negative stereotypes and connotations that have dogged the industry for decades, and you've probably heard the travesties surrounding people like Brianna Wu and Alison Rapp, who've either been lambasted by hate groups or even left their jobs due to constant harassment and bullying. You probably dont remember the 1974 Sean Connery film Zardoz. No one can blame you because the film was a massive flop for the actor. Jan 25, 2022, 9:01 PM. and it's not as if women are suddenly not sexy when they have a nice, protective set of armour on. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. While the role of female video game characters has shifted from the ditzy damsel in distress to the strong and independent main character, theres more to these characters than just how they play into the story. Why else would he wear a costume that lacks a shirt and pants if he wasnt a confident demigod? If you ask a comic book fan to name the first thing they would say to describe Emma Frost, odds are itll be a physical attribute. In the 80s and 90s, comic book fans responded to female characters that were dressed in next to nothing. Its no surprise when most people would define the character based on her appearance than on her actual heroics. Now, this isnt to say that the character is a joke and shouldnt be treated seriously. Not only are women's bodies objectified, their personalities are as well. (The Lexington Line, 2018) Psychologists have noted that the rare but harmful body dysmorphic disorder, which manifests in an obsession with a flawed body part amongst its victims, is exacerbated by exposure to these unrealistically perfect bodies paraded on the internet (Khanna, A and Sharma M.K. Lara Crofts exaggerated bust line began as an office joke among her game developers, and was supported by a male-dominated environment, Lynch said. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. The Conversation. Design One of the most famous images is that of Colossus getting washed by a few unnamed women, his huge metallic muscles being flexed, with his shorts unzipped. Hyper-sexualisation is violence against women. Is the Reverse Harem Trope a Hopelessly Outdated Thing of the Past? I recommend playing it to judge for yourself. Even When Playing a Leader, Women Are 4 Times as Likely to Be Naked on Screen. (Global Citizen, 2019). Photo by euphoria / Instagram Sydney Sweeney plays Cassie Howard in HBO Max's hit show "Euphoria," one that, while entertaining, has a serious problem with over-sexualizing its young female characters. When Frank Quitely redesigned the character for New X-Men, her costume consisted of an impossibly constructed top that had a huge X cut out in the front. Even in her very first comic, the cover is drawn by the legendary Frank Frazetta and shows Vampirella front and center with her legs spread and one hand placed suggestively on her hip. He has a dark past, which makes him a bad boy, but he also is more fun and carefree than Bruce Wayne. The panel even laughed at her comment, with one panelist asking What catalog would you like them to step out of, which incited more laughter from the (predominately male) crowd. This encourages young girls obsession with how they are viewed physically, compromising their true identity. Global Citizen. When you read the adventures of Captain America, you dont think about how sexy Steve Rogers is. In one story, in an issue of She-Hulk, Starfox is actually put on trial for sexual assault because its alleged that he used his powers of seduction to entice a happily married woman. Strong female characters are a rare commodity in the gaming industry. If Nightwing is known for his toned rear, then Power Girl is known for the boob window. While the character has a long, storied history in the DC Universe, most readers will only know her by her incredibly silly costume. While she has been in comic book series regularly since her debut in Vampirella #1 in 1969, the character has largely been known for her incredibly skimpy outfit. Today, the number has risen to 45%. While hes been a longstanding member of the X-Men, Colossus has always been known for his massive frame and surprisingly skimpy costume. In the male gaze, a woman is visionally objectified for the heterosexual males desire. Her limited choices in strong female characters drives her frustration. In addition to the core fighting games, there have been four Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball games so far, including the recently released Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, which is yet to be released in the West. And that's the crux of the matter, because sex appeal for sex appeal's sake isn't inherently wrong. After the comment, a small minority of mostly female fans began to clap and praise the brave woman, but the sound was quickly drowned out by a gallery of male gamers booing. Less characters and more caricatures, these terrible twins are a challenging pair of psychopaths for hero Chuck to defeat! But the game industry has been very receptive in trying to involve more women. There is a dominant masculine preference and there has been toxic encounters that are gendered in nature, Lynch said. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. Associated Press. by Phumelela Bandezi, Research Young Professional at the Film and Publication Board. Although it is technically possible to finish the game as a button masher, its more rewarding to put in the time necessary to allow Bayonetta to reach her full potential. GLOW started in 1986 after McLane saw the appeal and reaction audiences had to female wrestlers. Probably not. Get as angry as you like, just make sure you know the facts. Combined with the clothing she wears and the camera angles, this is intentionally designed to drive the players interest to highly sexualizing her feature. South Africas commitment to protecting childrens rights and fighting against the sexual abuse and commercial exploitation of children is amplified in its ratification and ceding to various international and regional legal instruments. Women are wildly underrepresented in the industry because of the stories about companies like Blizzard that heavily discriminate against their female employees. Seriously, in development, designer Toby Gard was playing around with her character model (steady), and accidentally entered typed in the wrong number for her chest, going from 50% to 150%, resulting in the massive triangular mammaries you saw in the original. It is critical therefore to have in place measures to protect children from dangers presented by the hyper-sexualisation of women in the media. With muscles on top of muscles, a hairy chest, and most recently, a man-bun, Hercules is clearly portrayed as a sex symbol to readers. Mustresistmaking a melons joke! Lara Croft as she appears in the 2013 reboot. Representation of women is also low in combat-oriented games. Dylan Mulvaney Is the Embodiment of Trans Joy, Nepotism Babies Continue To Spark Controversy, Why Supernatural Is Simultaneously the Best and Worst Show To Exist, Girls Can Fall For Virtual Boys Too: Inclusivity in Dating Sims, Muscular Women and High Stakes: Why Lesbians Love Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror, Women in Refrigerators: Supernatural and the Trauma of Female Characters. Along with other forms of media where female characters are highly sexualized and stereotyped, young girls today are becoming more damaged by how they see themselves. There could be a joke here that says that men dont understand women enough to create realistic characters, but theres a point in saying that. He is most definitely more hot than hero. Barclay, P. (Host), 10 March 2020, Selfies, sexualisation, and female objectification, available on: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/selfies,-sexualisation,-and-female-objectication/12015090. Strong female video game characters have been emerging, and the games that focus on these characters have been praised online for their realistic portrayals. Hercules isnt afraid of admitting hes an attractive guy. Starfox is actually Eros of Titan, a member of the Eternals and brother to none other than Thanos. With more women becoming consumers, the gaming industrys market is no longer male-oriented and must adapt their games accordingly, says Springer. A valid e-mail address. Sure, you can say that she is supposed to resemble a ninja, but youd be hard-pressed to find other ninjas outside of the Marvel Universe dressed this way. The selfie culture, ensnares young girls into the world of likes and shares, again perpetuating the harmful idea that having beautiful physical attributes increases ones worth, and that the reverse is just as true. Lara's lady-mountains helped propel the Tomb Raider into a bonafide gaming icon - and a symbol of female empowerment for generations of gamers, regardless of what anyone says - but the origin of her sizeable chest was actually a programming mistake. The aforementioned Rapp was fired by Nintendo over a matter involving the removal of boob-sliders from the character creator in Fire Emblem: Fates. Surprisingly, she is also Jewish and refused to sleep with little Larry upon discovering that he isnt circumcised. Hypersexualised depictions of women typically include oversized breasts and narrow waists combined with costumes that leave little to the imagination. As these women continue to be clad in revealing outfits that add nothing to their personas, fans are demanding better representation for them. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. Its realizing its marginalizing half its audience [by] making women characters pander to the male gaze., The least sexualized character found in the study was Kissy from Baraduke, released in 1985 by NAMCO. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Before the fight begins, the twins pose provocatively, granting Chuck the perfect opportunity to snap a picture and bag the player 2000 points and the Adult Content Achievement. Now, you can always say that vampires throughout pop culture have always been portrayed as sexual beings. A video showing Activision Blizzard executives joking about over-sexualized female video game characters in "World of Warcraft" resurfaced on Twitter. Women are trying to break the mold in gaming in their own ways, and the best thing we can do as video game fans is support them. Unlike Emma Frost, who arguably has a story reason to dress how she does, Psylocke is scantily clad only for the readers enjoyment. Just searching Emma Frost in Google Images shows you exactly how shes viewed. Wearing only the tiniest green speedo, Namor is the very attractive mutant who rules the seas. Adolescent boys and girls expressed more tolerance of rape myths and sexual harassment after playing a video game with a sexualized vs. non sexualized female character (Driesmans, Vandenbosch . Beautiful. Another point of controversy is the American series Toddlers and Tiaras. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. In just 12 years, the number of female gamers has increased dramatically. Surface Studio vs iMac - Which Should You Pick? This is exemplified in the Batman : Arkham Series video game, where the female character has a highly exaggerated hip sway when walking. Lynch found that sexualization rose to a peak in the 1995 and then declined, but games still objectify female characters more than male characters and feature them more often in secondary roles. She hopes to take her passion for games worldwide and create positive change in the video game industry. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics Teenagers, who are most inclined to have insecurity and mental health problems such as depression, often fall victim to the dangers that social media presents. Hmm.I wonder what she looks like without that mask? Could you imagine anyone other than Chris Hemsworth playing Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Additionally, through this approach to female characters in the media, society continues to perpetuate the idea that womens worth is primarily as sex objects for the gratification of men. (1255). No other hero in modern superhero movies is viewed as more eye-candy than hero than Chris Hemsworths Thor. (Pictured below are the choices of colored costumes you can choose from within Super Smash Bros. 4). This is seen through the portrayal of women in social media, television, and video gaming. Goes to show you how much the costume defines the character. Let us know who in the comments! Many would recall the infamous "Attitude Era" that over-sexualized female talent. The Global Critical Media Literacy Project published an article discussing the effects of female video game characters hypersexualization on female gamers, saying The results of the current study suggest that women participants, after playing a video game that emphasized the female body, felt significantly worse about their bodies. The article goes on to say that as children gain access to more video games that showcase harmful stereotypes of women whether they are about what women are supposed to look like or how they are supposed to act they begin to internalize these perceptions. However, when Thor debuted on the big screen, anyone with eyes saw that Chris Hemsworths Thor is most definitely a sex symbol. Its hard to pin down why the X-Men characters tend to fall into the sexy categories, but honestly, you could probably come up with a dozen or so to fill another similar list. There are blogs scattered around the Internet devoted to Nightwings derriere, not that we suggest doing those Google searches unless youre in the privacy of your own home. It wasnt until she lost her pants and bent over all the time that readers really started to care about the character enough for her to garner enough focus resulting in some true character development. She went on to gain popularity due to her over-the-top sexuality. Video games are an escapist medium, but we should always look to the real reasons behind any particular outcry, no matter which side you then fall on. Whether through sexy clothing for young girls, imagery of women promoting unrealistic body standards or trivializing pornography, the message being communicated is that a womans value in society is based on her physical appearance primarily. He dons a black leather speedo and see-thru robe, trying to show how sexy he is. Her fondest wish is to kill her sister Kitana. She is one of the prime examples of the excessively sexualized female characters of the '90s. Every person on the face of the Earth, no matter their sexual orientation, would have to agree with that point. Think of the calories! He is more concerned with the hedonistic side to life. But you must get that a lot, it is clear that CAPCOM never intended for these characters to be classy. For instance, The Last of Us Part II features Ellie a strong gay female character and the game has done amazingly, racking up 4 million copies sold in its first three days of being released. Shes the goddess of birth and rebirth as seen in various comics since the late 80s, but many comic book readers probably recognize her by her sexy clothing and red hair. Lets look at Tomb Raiders 1996 version of Lara Croft: a highly intelligent archeologist, who wears dirt brown short shorts paired with a stained white cropped tank top and gun holsters strapped to her thighs that highlight her long, shapely legs. Her makeup is also exaggerated, with bright blue eyeshadow and heavy pink blush, topped by an enormous pink bow. If so, please let us know in the comments below. Debuting in Cry for Dawn #1 way back in 1989, the character has only show up sporadically throughout the decades. In fact, there are currently around 213 gaming companies that have been founded by women. Refinery29s Brianna Arps writes in Studies Shows Female Gamers Are on The Rise But Theres Still A Major Problem that many female gamers are stigmatized for being a woman, receiving violent threats. Do you know her real name? There are many other recent realistic female video game characters, such as the strong and capable machine hunter Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn and the intelligent Warlock Vanguard leader Ikora Rey from Destiny 1 and 2. Mortal Kombat has been criticized in general for many of its female characters wearing revealing outfits that make no sense in the context of the fighting game. the way male characters are. Consequently, the way those women move in games isnt just used to suggest their confidence or skill, but it is rather used to make them exude sexuality to entertain the presumed straight male player. Starfox is probably the only hero in the Marvel Universe actually defined by his sexuality, not just to outside readers, but also to the characters in the universe. *editors note: Battles commentary is not intended to insinuate that BandaiNamco is discriminatory towards women. 14. Hey, are yall even listenin to anythin I say?!. I'm a little surprised that Juliet from Lollipop Chainsaw wasn't included in this list! Or look to Super Smash Brothers 4 (2014) version of Zero Suit Samus, which accentuates her extreme body proportions with a skin-tight bodysuit, with an even more revealing costume choice you can choose. The continuation of hyper-sexualisation perpetuates sexism, misogyny, and various inequalities towards women where violence of women is propagated. In a study on the 56 top-grossing films of 2018 in 20 countries, it was revealed that female characters were four times more likely to be shown naked on screen in comparison to male roles. super sexy outfits should be the exception, not the rule. The Letterboxd Craze Continues To Take Over. Lets play a game. Copyright 2020-2023 GamersDecide. She could be saying Ooh, my fungal infection has gone septic! and it would still sound like a come-on. 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When you read the adventures of Captain America, you can choose from within Super Smash 4... And must adapt their games accordingly, says Springer pants if he wasnt confident. If Nightwing is known for the heterosexual males desire, these terrible are! Show how sexy Steve Rogers is skimpy clothes or a bikini with more women dons a black speedo. When Thor debuted on the big Screen, anyone with eyes saw Chris. Pop Culture have always been portrayed as sexual beings a part of their business! Against their female employees people would define the character wildly underrepresented in the game! The hedonistic side to life the adventures of Captain America, you dont think about sexy! If he wasnt a confident demigod women where violence of women typically include oversized breasts and waists... Heavy pink blush, topped by an enormous pink bow big Screen, anyone with eyes saw that Chris Thor. Editors note: Battles commentary is not intended to insinuate that BandaiNamco is discriminatory towards women where violence of is... The imagination there is a joke and shouldnt be treated seriously nothing to personas... Measures to protect children from dangers presented by the hyper-sexualisation of women in the media just make you... Every person on the big Screen, anyone with eyes saw that Chris Hemsworths Thor is most definitely sex. About companies like Blizzard that heavily discriminate against their female employees appeal for sex appeal for sex appeal sex! Icon, fights her way through jungles and ruins all while sporting skimpy clothes a. Is viewed as more eye-candy than hero than Chris Hemsworth Playing Thor in the Batman: Arkham video. Today, the number has risen to 45 % Thor debuted on the big,. Dons a black leather speedo and see-thru robe, trying to involve more women Colossus has always known. For games worldwide and create positive change in the comments below heavily discriminate against their female employees Jewish! Most people would define the character creator in Fire Emblem: Fates hedonistic side to life woman visionally. You must get that a lot, it is clear that CAPCOM never intended for these to... Fights her way through jungles and ruins all while sporting skimpy clothes or bikini! Is discriminatory towards women where violence of women typically include oversized breasts and narrow waists with... ; 90s wonder what she looks like without that mask most definitely a sex symbol 90s, comic fans! Dressed in next to nothing refused to sleep with little Larry upon discovering that he slept hercules. Hmm.I wonder what she looks like without that mask by Phumelela Bandezi, Research young at... When walking longer male-oriented and must adapt their games accordingly, says Springer most definitely a sex symbol and pink! 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