Month: January 2014

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You know these kind of things always make me go “What?” when i see them because I don’t play mmos to be restricted to full covering and boring plate armor.I rarely play guys because of that and I enjoy having non practical armor in game. That’s another thing I never get the need for practicality in something where non of the weapons are practicable, the damage isn’t realistic and non of the actions that characters can take are even close to those in real life.

First of all, should I assume that by “these kind of things” you mean this site? Uh, okay?

I feel like you missed the whole point of this blog.
You personally prefer bikini armor and find it more interesting than full-covering, realistic one? More power to you! Then again, it’s not about you and your personal preferences.

It’s about pervasive trends of how media depicts women almost exclusively in objectifying ways and offers no alternative to this objectification. Even if said media is supposedly interactive and customizable (video games, especially RPGs of all kinds).
BABD blog is devoted to the fact of how those trends are especially obvious when combat-based female characters are depicted.

I’m not advocating for covering every female warrior from head to toe (if you haven’t noticed), but for some logic and consistency.

You see, there is such thing as Willing Suspension of Disbelief, the untold agreement between the author and the audience that helps to experience immersion in the fiction.
The audience intuitively agrees to overlook unrealistic/fantastic aspects of experienced fiction as long as they make sense in the narrative. It does not mean they uncritically assume everything out of ordinary to be normal.
If the author doesn’t create consistent rules for their world of fiction, the illusion of reality fails and the audience can not suspend their disbelief anymore.

So really, there’s no “It’s just fiction, so don’t expect gritty realism from it” card to play. Again I’m going to refer a reply I reblogged some time ago from simonjadis:

A naturalistic story tells a story that is completely plausible in our world. No wizards, no dragons, no secret vampires, no alien invasions. Telling a realistic story is telling a story that is logical and consistent and makes sense (even if the setting is in a fictional world or in a reality very different from our own).

This is usually the case with skimpy armor. The point of armor is to provide physical barrier, protection from bodily damage in combat.

For instance, a bikini made out of chainmal (or any other armor material) is just a weird (and possibly uncomfortable) bikini, not an armor. It serves the purpose of a bikini (cover nipples and crotch!), not of the amor (protect everything that can be slashed or stabbed!).
So in the setting where people wear armor for the same reason as in the real world, a knight in a metal bikini looks simply ridiculous, and, again, probably can not move without major discomfort.
As for the settings that justify skimpy battle outfit with magic/science/whatever that can create protective barrier… Yeah, makes sense AS LONG AS EVERYONE’S COSTUME IS LIKE THAT. If the same magic armor looks completely regular for guys, but takes form of underwear/bikini/whateverthehellthisis for women, then we face a double standard which can not be justified in-story.

There’s also the issue of skimpy armor supposedly symbolizing empowerment or badassery of a female character.
The thing is, there’s nothing inherently empowering (or sexual, but that’s another story) about partial nudity. There’s a bigger issue of cultural context behind it.
If you stop to think why most half-naked warrior women look like lady on the left, not like one on the right, you’ll understand how female nudity is used to be ogled; not to symbolize power, like male nudity.

Then again, some heroines may be characterized to feel empowered by being sexual (Emma Frost and Bayonetta are most frequently brought up as examples), but the message fails through if everyone around them is designed to look equally sexual, despite having different personality and views on that.
Just like those characters, you personally are completely free to read non-practical costumes in MMOs as attractive/empowering, but those who have different opinion should be given the choice between any level of practicality, especially since character customization is a big part of roleplaying game experience.

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Is nobody else going to push back against this horrible gifset?

Is nobody else going to push back against this horrible gifset?

My sincere apologies.

It didn’t occur to me that the Justice League War gifset I reblogged recently can be read as transphobic.

Being cis, I foolishly assumed that the scene dodges the bullet of being problematic because it doesn’t directly condemn the man for his secret crossdressing habit. Please read the linked post that comments how subtext of this Wonder Woman dialogue can be read from trans people perspective.

I won’t delete the gif post, both to leave it for the reference and because it’s also a statement on Wonder Woman’s costume (which belongs to this blog’s subject matter).

If any of you ever see me reblog something potentially problematic, please don’t refrain from calling me out!

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wouldyouliketoseemymask:

At first I thought they were going to make fun of him and I was about to get angry but then Wonder Woman was like “yeah, my outfit is pretty awesome.”

Also props to the writers for making that joke with version of Diana who wears outfit that makes sense and would stay on in real life (unlike traditional cleavage + metal bar that could slip off her boobs at any time).

It is a very powerful costume design!

edit: Fuller context of this scene and better look at Diana’s costume here.

edit 2: Apparently, this scene IS problematic and can be read as transphobic, after all.
PLEASE ALWAYS REFER TO THIS DETAILED EXPLANATION BEFORE YOU CONSIDER REBLOGGING THE POST.

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alchemyprime:

Okay, idea.
If I ever make an MMORPG that isn’t all retro and pixelated?
I will have a slider on your Inventory screens. And the slider will go from “Sexy” to “Practical” and every armor will be able to move along the slider for either gender.

So if you want to play the voluptuous female or runner-y man in skimpy armor that is less covering than He-Man’s classic look? You can.
And if you want to be fully covered and look like you won’t get skewered from stem to stern? You can.

And you can change your mind WHENEVER.

Give me like… ten years and $150,000. That should do it.

I would play the hell out of such game! Such a simple idea and makes such a big difference in comparison to the industry standards.

As a bonus, may I also suggest a gender slider that lets you play as anything on the spectrum between masculine and feminine?

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High heel nightmares

joliebonnette:

You know, I seriously wish that 3D clothing designers would stop making “fantasy” outfits with ridiculous high heeled boots. I can’t count the number of really cool female fantasy costumes I’ve NOT put on my 3D model wish list because of that. If they’d at least have a second, low-heeled boot with the set, I’d be more willing to shell out for it. But having to dig through my archives to find bits and pieces to make up for the lack in proper foot wear really annoys me. And what the hell is up with making female armor with her vitals and major artery bearing tender bits exposed? I always have to do some second skin textures or layer something under to keep female armored characters from looking just stupid. I’m sorry, I like to make female warrior characters who can kick your ass in their spiffy protective armor and don’t have to rely on the cheesy “titties set to stun” method you assume they must be using in so much fantasy art. :-p

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maybe if more women and poc played video games, they would be just as popular. it’s not wanting to see more if there are hardly any in the first place.

social-justice-wario:

Wario is not really sure what it is that you’re trying to say, but it sounds like you’re arguing “Women and people of color don’t play video games, why should there be more women and poc characters in gaming?”

45% of gamers are women. 

A Neilsen survey found African American people spend more time playing video games than whites do.

A Univision study found Hispanic people were more likely than non-Hispanic people to buy console video games, and were less affected by price point.

Not that it should even matter that much if women and people of color make up 1% or 99% of gamers. Representation needs to happen anyways, and it needs to be positive, or else we end up with horrible regressive stereotypes.

Regarding the upsettingly common “argument” that video games get a free pass for their sexist/racist designs, because allegedly not enough women/PoC play them.

Always good to have those statistics linked as a handy resource/reference.