Monday, December 8, 2014
Talking about games media
Talking about games media is surprisingly touchy. There's so much to talk about, so much controversy. "Why?" you might be asking, since not much people ravel in the world of games media much don't know about feminist backlash or the "misrepresentation" of women in video games. Of late, the topic hasn't changed at all. With the recent release of Bayonetta 2 much talk of women in video games has sprung up. To give a quick rundown of Bayonetta 2, you play as a demonic women who uses her hair as a weapon to kill and destroy angles. Her hair also covers most of her body since it is also used as her clothing. So when attacking or using certain moves that Bayonetta does part of her hair, or clothes, come off her body revealing parts of her skin. As the moves or attacks become powerful the more hair, or clothes, come off due to the fact that her hair is her weapon. This sparked a lot of talk. Why? Because people are stupid, that's why. The whole point of the character is for her to be sexual. She uses her sexuality as a weapon of mass destruction, killing hordes of enemies in one foul swoop. She is one of, if not the most, powerful female in gaming history! She, along with some flawless game mechanics, make for an amazing game and story. But don't play the game because it shows parts of the women's body like "bewbs" right? Wrong. Just because some breasts are shown doesn't mean the game is bad or that is objectifies women. The main character, Bayonetta, is a really powerful woman who shows the power of a woman's sexuality. As a avid gamer who loves all sorts of video games I highly suggest that everyone gets this game. Sadly it's a WIIU exclusive, but the game never would have been made if Nintendo didn't step in. Again I want to know your thoughts on this subject.
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I like your thoughts about the subjects but I don't think that women must be naked at certain parts for them to use their sexuality as a women.I have seen many video games were the women are still clothed enough that they may be used as sexual killers.I.E any Mortal Kombat game you look at now,or back then has women in outfits that are somewhat sexual but they can also rip men and women apart but still be clothed.Overall I am trying to say I agree with your point that people are to sensitive on the subject of sexual women in video games and in the world for that matter,but they still do not have to be naked in games (even if it is brief) for them to be sexualized killers.
ReplyDeleteWell for Bayonetta, her hair is her clothing and weaponry. It's true that they don't have to reveal parts of the body to be a sexual deviant that is a pure killer, but in the case of Bayonetta it's almost needed. For her or the character that is her it's only fitting what happens to her while attacking. As the game goes on you start to unravel who Bayonetta is, A hyper sexual demonic woman who uses her body and pure sexual deviance as a weapon and using this to progress her as the protagonist and as a incredibly powerful woman. She never goes fully naked but shows off her sexuality by slowly removing hair, or clothing, to become more powerful. She also consistently shows her sexuality threw what she says, she doesn't always have to expose her body to show her sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI want you to think about it this way.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all powerful females are hyper sexualized.
Think about it. Wonderwomen, skin tight bathing suit. Look at black widow in the avengers poster compared to the others. Look at the metal bikinis most fantasy females wear in comparison to the males' full armor. Mystique in XMen, she runs around naked. Poison Ivy's costume compared to the joker's and the way every female comic book character's boobs are drawn; at least a d-cup while they're still stick thin.
Look at a boy's action figure compared to a girl's doll. The men's character is armored and fully clothed while barbie's boobs are nearly busting out of her shirt.
Look at Laura Croft compared to any male video game hero.
Look at the women's starfleet uniform compared to the men's.
For me-- a female-- it's like a badass girl is just a joke. On the rare occasions they do have a strong, female protagonist, they always have "perfect" bodies and wear next to nothing! It's insulting and quite frankly humiliating.
I am a nerd who does like cosplays, but I never want to cosplay a female character. Why? I don't feel like showing every inch of shin. I don't want to look like a stripper and some play toy for guys. I'll never buy a halloween costume. Ever. Why? I don't want to look like a stripper. I don't mind if it's part of the character (ex. Irene Adler) but nine times out of ten it's not. It's to the point where a tough female wearing reasonable stuff (Chell from portal, female armor in Skyrim, Katniss's mocking jay outfit) gets me EXTREMELY excited, and I think it's sad. Male characters always look tough and strong. Female characters look like they were created simply for men to oogle at.
Just play Bayonetta 2. You'll understand. The Character is literally a sexual Demon who uses her sexuality as a weapon. A fricking weapon! Her sexuality is her character. If Bayonetta was a guy i'd still be talking about it. A character using something as touchy as sexuality as a weapon is fantastic! Bayonetta is a Badass girl because of her sexuality. Without it she'd be bland and un-interesting. Go on YouTube and watch a full playthrough of Bayonetta, you'll be surprised how badass she is.
DeleteI don't care about one character. That is part of her character. I care that almost all female characters are that way!
DeleteHere's some game you need to play, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2, any of the Final Fanstasy games, make a female character in Skyrim, Play as any Female Character in all the Street Fighter games, Injustice: Gods Among us,
DeleteFirstly, I really like that we're talking about this and that everyone seems pretty respectful. Secondly, I think it's good when people and characters can own their sexuality and not demonize it. It's a part of who we are as people and we should embrace it and not be ashamed. However, it seems like a lot of sexualization of female characters is not for the empowerment of women, but for the pleasure of players. I personally think it's bad that we hypersexualize actresses and kind of weird that we sexualize pixels in the form of a woman. I don't play video games, but I wrote a paper on this topic before and I'd love to hear any feedback.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I really like that we're talking about this and that everyone seems pretty respectful. Secondly, I think it's good when people and characters can own their sexuality and not demonize it. It's a part of who we are as people and we should embrace it and not be ashamed. However, it seems like a lot of sexualization of female characters is not for the empowerment of women, but for the pleasure of players. I personally think it's bad that we hypersexualize actresses and kind of weird that we sexualize pixels in the form of a woman. I don't play video games, but I wrote a paper on this topic before and I'd love to hear any feedback.
ReplyDelete