Tag: double standards

Posted on

Predictably, the mere mention of Space Marines in relation to sexism angered many people who rushed in to tell us how because there are Sisters of Battle (aka Battlesisters, aka Adepta Sororitas) there is no possibility of sexism in Warhammer 40K certainly no reason anyone would want a female Space Marine in anything.

image

So naturally I remembered that certain subset of the Sisters of Battle, the Sisters Repentia, are overdue for a bingo!  And for those worried about how armor wouldn’t match the fluff behind them, don’t worry – neither does the bondage gear.

Also, if you’re concerned that this is one isolated nitpick… don’t worry there is a vast plethora of issues that can be raised to highlight how the Sisters of Battle are not treated equally with Space Marines (and there’d still be good arguments for female space marines even if they did).

– wincenworks

Posted on

So, last time we shared a poster from the upcoming Warcraft movie – there was a concern among people that we were being unfair because the sexy-orc lady was a half-orc so the comparison wasn’t necessary fair.

Glossing over that the poster itself made no effort to convey this, or the politics of , we now have a poster of a full blooded orc woman, Draka.  For reference, this is Draka:

So it seems they decided facially she was perfect, but somehow her outfit wasn’t quite ridiculous enough and needed some more random gaps of skin, less pauldron and what looks like a dog collar.

And well, as for the humans… it seems pretty clear that in the World of Warcraft, the men go to war and the women… wear fancy dresses?

– wincenworks

Posted on

Left is the original French cover, right is the English localization.

We’ve talked before about how the only people who really understand localization decisions are the people who make them, but this one does make me genuinely curious if someone told them “If you have a sexy lady on the cover, you need a dude with no shirt or else they’ll say its sexist”.

I know it wasn’t they realized the outfit was ridiculous, because six months later they released this cover.

 – wincenworks

Posted on

ayellowbirds:

pixiebutterandjelly:

Why is it always the woman wgo “wears the form fitting armor because she is more dexterous”

And the guy is in a huge hulkling piece of armor.

Give me woman in rediculous ornamental armor with with a hammer whos smashy bit is is bigger than her head.

And give me a lightly armored male rogue who is flexible always manages to dodge at the last moment….

Actually screw the guy. Make them both women. And they are a couple.

give me a polyamorous group of women in huge bulky armor. Polyarmorous.

Give me a whole knightly order of awesome paladins who are all girlfriends with each other and wear armor that, like real-life armor did, basically makes them into walking tanks.

– wincenworks

(edit: Slightly corrected image)

Posted on

ayellowbirds:

pixiebutterandjelly:

Why is it always the woman wgo “wears the form fitting armor because she is more dexterous”

And the guy is in a huge hulkling piece of armor.

Give me woman in rediculous ornamental armor with with a hammer whos smashy bit is is bigger than her head.

And give me a lightly armored male rogue who is flexible always manages to dodge at the last moment….

Actually screw the guy. Make them both women. And they are a couple.

give me a polyamorous group of women in huge bulky armor. Polyarmorous.

Give me a whole knightly order of awesome paladins who are all girlfriends with each other and wear armor that, like real-life armor did, basically makes them into walking tanks.

– wincenworks

(edit: Slightly corrected image)

Posted on

6 Ridiculous Excuses Game Designers Gave For Sexist Costumes

6 Ridiculous Excuses Game Designers Gave For Sexist Costumes

Video games feature more scantily-clad women than a ladies’ gym changing room, and worse excuses than a cameraman hiding there in the corner.

A similar piece to another Cracked list we shared before. If lists some of the characters we featured before on the blog, like Quiet, Cortana or Ivy.

~Ozzie

There is one important criticism I want to address with this article, specifically the handling of spot #1.  Bayonetta.  That is, even if you find an example where you think it’s better or avoids the hazards of the others – do not take it upon yourself to give it an official “not sexist” stamp.  Seriously.

image

While it’s true that Bayonetta is a rarity in that she gets a role and attitude normally reserved for male characters, there’s still plenty of problems with her character concept and the principles behind the design.  That and it’s not a coincidence that it was the female character who was to be defined by being “sexy” instead of “cool”.  

Their confession that they wanted her to be sexy doesn’t make their explanation that somehow she doesn’t wear clothes because she can make clothes out of hair except when she’s launching her most powerful attacks (ie the time when you really don’t want to be exposed).

There’s always a temptation to believe that things we enjoy and that seem to be flawless and that because we know a thing means that we can declare it to be “not problematic” because we know something others don’t – but that’s really just another line of bullshit.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that Dante’s “cool” factor comes from him being the son of the greatest hero in history, and so badass he can take down monsters of unimaginable power.  Hence the confidence boost and the willingness to focus on style over efficiency.

With Bayonetta the only reason for her being defined by sexiness… is they wanted to cram more “sex appeal” (targeting cishet men as always) into it while also wanted to be taken seriously as a Devil May Cry type action game because as long as we say it’s sexy, it can’t be sexist right? Glossing over her exposure is not one of the things that makes moves like this awesome:

Whether you like the game or not, that’s all kinds of bullshit and the games don’t deserve a free pass because because the creator admits the blatantly obvious (while still adding layers of bullshit so as to claim “creativity”).

– wincenworks