Let’s talk about Quiet, and attempt to answer the question:
Can you slut-shame a fictional character?
And in case anyone reading our blog still doubts whether or not Quiet (or any other woman in fiction) can be slut-shamed for her choice of attire or behavior, here’s Sursum Ursa’s concise video explanation.
Spoilers: the answer is no.
~Ozzie
As a side note, since we’re on the topic of Quiet and sexualzing characters, I feel this is an appropriate point to touch on something related:
If your argument is the men are sexualized too, but you have to comb through all the individual games to try to get together enough material to try (unsucessfully I might add) to match how much Quiet is sexualized in ONE game – you’re not going to be very convincing.
There is a massive difference between depicting a character who is many different things throughout their arc (tough, vulnerable, protected, naked, etc) and happens to be sexy at some points and creating a character who is primarily and overwhelmingly sexy all throughout their arc and happens to get to be some other things during it.
One is creating a character who’s like a person so the audience can relate to them, the other is creating a sex object and calling them a character.
It’s kind of important.
– wincenworks
more about character agency on BABD
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
The Knight of the Silver Dragon – Tasha Anderson – June 25, 2015
I think I’m in love…
And now, for something positive…
~Ozzie
*sigh*
(from Feudalism II online Flash game)
Female characters displayed, from left to right:
- Selena, Princess of the Great Trade Republic (next to the Lord)
- Elizabeth, Priest of Order of Holy Cross (next to the Bishop)
- Olga, the major Druid of Forest Lands (next to the Chieftan)
- Niora, Mistress of the East Empire (next to the Shogun)
- Inga, Major Shaman of the Black Horde (next to the Khan)
- Diana, Secret Assassin of the South Desert (next to the Ruler)
So apparently in this bizarre world populated exclusively with different types of white people and where you are either trying to conquer the world for yourself or your male counterpart.
To top it all off, the gameplay is a budget/flash version of Mount & Blade: Warband – a game with excellent gender representation.
– wincenworks
Ultimately, most things that are offensive are also lazy and unoriginal; because you can’t reach that point of view by looking at the world honestly…You reach that point of view by taking short cuts and by just sort of repeating what someone else told you.
Joseph Fink
Writer from Welcome To Night Vale discussing writing on Citizen Radio 865 (via podquotes)
From now on, this is our universal answer to the supposed “creativity” of skin-revealing armor.
~Ozzie
(via bikiniarmorbattledamage)
Bringing this back as a reminder point not just to the people who insist that something which has the exact same result as before is creative and new, but also for the people who keep insisting that “it was always like this, you can’t complain”.
– wincenworks