“Repair Her Armor was created to show that female armor (specifically) are being sexualized on daily basis, instead of being portrayed as actual characters; they are treated as objects to gaze at – with pretty much nothing more to them. As a joke, someone created Repair His Armor and it was funny because they do not have the same issue when it comes to character design.” You are doing exactly what you are saying happens when female characters are sexualized. You see only how they look.
Hello, anon! Please tell me that you’re kidding me. If that’s what you got from reading the text, I’m afraid you got it all wrong.
As a woman who has played games since my childhood years, been watching loads of movies and cartoons, reading a bunch of comics – I always looked up to the female characters because of how great they were. I loved Storm (1990’s Xmen cartoon) because of her complete and utter badassery, I loved Hermione (Harry Potter) because of her sassiness and wisdom and I loved reading about the girls in the W.I.T.C.H comics.
Notice how they all got great designs.
As I grew older, I went to the internet – I found fanart of them. However, it was not fanart of how I had grown to learn the characters. No, I saw them undressed, posing as pin-ups, with massive boobs and faces like blow-up dolls. While I found this bizarre and odd — I still thought – hey, I still know what great characters they really are. That is, until I noticed that games, comics, shows, movies, and everything in between, was exactly the same — minus the personality and reasoning. It seems like the older I got, the more I noticed that I, as a female, was not welcome in the media world. Literally.
And for no good reason, either. For example, Wartune that is famous for their “male gamers only”-ad, the game actually look like this.
All they thought of was how much boobs and ass can we show – and therefore sell – while completely ignoring the character’s personality – reasoning – and setting? Why was this? Why did I feel so uncomfortable looking at this? I had grown up to learn that you can dress however you want and that you should never judge anyone based on that. Fine, really, I don’t. But I don’t see the characters dressing like this. I see the character designers MAKING them like this so they can have something to FAP to. They’re literally selling women’s bodies because they think showing their skin will sell – which is complete and utter bullshit. A cheap way to sell media — completely ignoring the rest of the population – the girls and women. Why did we not matter what WE thought about it? I don’t mind a sexy character — as long as it’s not the only option. I don’t mind a half-naked character — as long as it fits the setting. I don’t mind any of that — as long as it makes sense, as long as it’s good. RHA is to prove that you can be fully dressed and/or fit the setting a lot better instead of being disrespectful and view women as objects.
I’m one of those who like Jack from Mass Effect. While I find that top ridiculous (no really, how does it stay on? Make her go completely topless or give her a sports bra, for heaven’s sake). I feel like Jack is done well because it fits her. It fits her personality, her backstory, her setting – and she isn’t posed or modelled for you to fap to her. What came into my mind when seeing her was; “Huh, why is she dressed like that?” instead of “Ugh, really, not again….” cause let’s face it, the last game (especially) did a lot of odd things — like giving robots cameltoes. Yeah.
Jack, unlike so many other women in media, is posed off as someone we want to get to learn; someone we’d like to be. That is great. Ino from Guilty Gear is sexual, but it fits her.
She’s sexy, badass, and does what the heck she wants – it’s just great. She has a thought-through design.
Take note that this is my opinion. When I play a MMORPG I want to be treated as a badass character as well. Or, at least give me an option to choose. A few games has actually started with this – such as the Final Fantasy mmorpg – when they make a girl run around in a bikini armor – well, expect the men to do that as well. Blade & Soul (sort of) lets you choose whatever you want to wear – so you’re not forced to wear an ass-showing outfit if you don’t want to (if now they only could let the men have a few more “sexy” outfits to choose between as well)… and a few others. Media is slowly making progress.
Let’s take Gloria, for example. What purpose did she really have besides showing that she’s sexy? WHY did they have to do a slow-motion scene when she fights to show that she’s wearing no panties? (Spoiler: The “fight scene” where she spreads her legs and moan was completely unnecessary. Later on we figure out that she’s a spy that later turns out to be Trisha. That’s all it is. She was ONLY there in that scene so a horny straight guy could think; “HAWT!”. While we girls just sat there and felt… uncomfortable.)
DMC is not alone on this. New games are still doing it. Too. Damn. Often.
So no. I don’t “only see how they look” — I just take notice on how they’re being represented. And as for now, they’re not being represented fairly at all. The day we finally more female characters treated with respect and care I will be happy. The day I see them being represented more than just a sexy babe with skin showing everywhere, I’ll be happy. The day I can see a female character show skin without being sexualized, I’ll be happy. I’m not trying to ban “sexy”. I’m not slut shaming. I’m not saying the characters should stop dressing like that — the characters did not choose it! I want them to stop sexualizing female bodies and stop trying to sell it. Give us proper designs, not a sexy bikini that we have seen before. It’s boring. I literally see see the same designs recycled all over again – just because they need to show as much skin as possible. So not only is it disrespectful – but it’s BORING.
Want to show their skin? DO it. But don’t do it because you want to sell them. Don’t do it because their only purpose is to be sexy. Don’t do it because she’s the only female in the entire game/show/comic/whatever. Don’t do it ONLY because she’s the female lead – as rare as it is. They should be MORE than JUST sexy. Why bother making them run around in sexy lingerie when you can simply just make them naked? Not like Scarlet Blade. Not like a sex toy. Like a woman. Like a character. And treat it with EQUALITY. Have a man run around naked too! If you really want to make sexy outfits – make sexy outfits for men too.
Also, really. Isn’t it stupid when you see this?
Instead of this?
Doesn’t first one say “Hi! Stab me here!”? Unless are equally silly, I will not buy it.
– Tica
misa2472 asked:Imagine there’s a problem with your favorite game: all female characters are wearing skimpy armor. But you like this game because of its interesting features and its unique gameplay. People are hating on it because of its looks. Does it make you a supporter of sexism by just playing it? It is right to judge a game because of its appearance and how it’s advertised without even playing it once? What would you say to those people?No, playing the game would not make you a supporter of sexism. As long as you recognize the problems with the game, and are willing to discuss those problems (read: not shutting out all criticism because it is your favorite thing and how dare anyone say anything negative ever about a thing you love [read: me in high school]), then you’re just enjoying something problematic. Which is a-okay! The SyFy channel has built an entire following based on just that.But, really, here’s an article (note: contains profanity) about how to be a fan of problematic things that could be interesting to anyone who might worry about having sexist guilty pleasures (Doctor Who, anyone?).As for how to approach people who criticize the way something is presented/advertised without ever playing the thing, well, they have the right to do so. Just as you have the right to have a discussion with them about how, while problematic, it still has strengths and maybe they should give it a try. They may take you up on the offer, they may not. People have different tolerance levels.-Staci
Provocative Armour
Because nothing says “cut me down the middle” quite like an exposed V-section going down a person’s torso. /serious
All joking aside, unless you’re one-third golem, or your skin is actually comprised of space titanium, I don’t give a shit how “beautiful” or “sexy” you are. You’ve left yourself wide open to all kinds of frontal (or back) attacks targeting that glistening, supple flesh. This means that while you attract more attention from the rabid fans craving medieval/alien “boobage”, you’re also a huge liability and I’ll have to keep worrying about a very potential casualty when I face archers.. gunners… swordsmen.. fuck, pretty much anything.
Gods, at least carry a personal shielding device or something, just so we know you can take a couple hits before splitting like a freshly hewn log.
That said, if your outfit UNDER the armour looks sexy, I’m not gonna really argue. We’ll only see it when you’re undressing – which I’m sure will be constantly, right? – and that isn’t normally something somebody does in a hostile situation.
Unless you’re Samus Aran, of course.
Words of wisdom.
Some parts bolded by yours truly.
In Response to Boob-plate
I recommend reading this article before the one below.
Above: Xena will kill you with her glare alone.
I’ve been asked to explain why I disagree with Jay the Barbarian. I really enjoyed the general article, but here’s what made me hesitate to fully bestow my breast-plated blessings.
Jay says,
“Ironically, boobplate has been a relative non-issue in live performance, looking at the rash of armored women over the last few decades.”So… Rashes are usually measured in days, not decades. I want to point out that the four women he shows are wonderful well-armoured exceptions to the trend, along with personal favourites Kristen Stewart as Snow White and Cate Blanchett again as Maid Marian.
Let it be said- girls may thoroughly kick arse, but four is not a high number of warrior women, nor is six, or even forty (if we could find them), if you measure them against the thousands of fictional medieval films of the last few decades (and that’s just live action feature films, not even mentioning animated, independent, or web series).
Above:Long live Colleen Atwood and Janty Yates, the wonderful costume designers for (respectively) ‘Snow White and the Huntsmen’ and ‘Robin Hood’.
I understand Jay’s point, it’s relatively a larger group of reasonably-attired women on film than the female-fighter-in-media cliche suggests.
Yay for us having role models! I want to be clear that it’s still not *nearly* enough.The fact Jay calls it a “relative non issue” should show just how bad the situation really is for want of strong, capable, feminine, not-overly-sexualised female role models.
Then, there is his response to Mr Jabberwock the Armourer regarding the twin peaked, Madonna-esque, Double Domes of Wonder style of boob plate, and the ongoing argument about how it will crack a ribcage through poor design. Jay says,
"So she trips and falls, and lands boob-first. Obviously, the breast cups aren’t going to compress or absorb. This transfers the force to the sternum through the padding…. And to the entire rib cage, in the case of this piece, which results in spreading the force throughout the torso. You know, the exact same thing that an unarmored fall would do? Or even a fall in a non-boobed plate would do?”
I agree with Jay that Mr Jabberwock’s original statement (that he worries constantly about a poor lass tripping and cracking herself open by means of her gravitationally-bound steel encased bossumry) is insulting and reflects a truly medieval view of women.
What I contest is that there really is more danger of falling in boob plate than falling unarmored or in flatter plate, on account of having two overinflated steel spheres getting in the way. Breasts are meant to move around, not be permanently fixed in place like Han Solo in Jabba’s dungeon.
Boob plate is a hazard, not only to the wide-eyed opponent.
Above: The best kind of bra for fencing- the 800+ bustiere-long Cardrona Valley Bra Fence in Otago, New Zealand.
Any lady who has trained wearing the plastic version of the Double Domes of Wonder should be able to confirm the design isn’t suited to deflect thrusting weapons, which rules out usefulness for practicing historically-accurate fencing styles."Surprisingly, this is not that big a deal. One reason is that inside shots are rare and easy to defend. Most attacks against an armored opponent come from the outside, and often at an angle.”
I don’t know what Jay is talking about, but it’s not Western or Historical European Martial Arts. Possibly SCA heavy fighting, or medieval reenactment, or HEMA synthetic longsword competitions, or Battle of Nations, or something that doesn’t involve working from the bind?
A thrust to the torso is far from stupid: controlling the centre line opens the opponent up for manipulation and eventual defeat. I’d like to see a good thrust *not* tip someone off posture, and once you have them locked out with their attacks disabled, piercing through their armour is irrelevant. It sounds like Jay is not familiar with medieval martial arts armoured fighting techniques, but more Hulk-smash styles that have been so popularised in fictional media.
Above: Talhoffer’s 15th Century armoured duelists not only control the centre line, but they attack with the non-pointy end as well.
Apart from those statements I heartily applaud Jay’s views, and will be thinking of him the next time I need a woman’s armourer with a lot of sense and humour.
Best,
~S
(You can read Jay’s entertaining and well-reasoned article here: http://blog.jaythebarbarian.com/2013/04/chainmail-and-boobplate/)
This should be mandatory reading for all game developers. This woman has actually tested it, and knows that boob cups don’t work. Additionally, as someone trying to compete in Battle of the Nations (the HMB championship), I’ve found out that HMB fighters aren’t allowed to wear boob cups for the exact same reasons she lists here (on top of the mandatory requirement that all armor is based on historic documents).
On game mods
With their permission, I’m publishing the text here.
said:
Could be a bit less boobplate-y, but pretty cool design nonetheless.
I’d be prepared to give the boobplate a pass here for once, for two reasons:
1) it appears to be lacking the sternum-snapping ridge on the inside. The front of the armour looks fairly flat, and the sculpted breasts appear to be mainly on the side. They wouldn’t be as much of a liability.
2) the depth of the breastplate is such that they probably aren’t form-fitting at all, and they’re simply sculpted on rather than actually containing her breasts, similar to the stylised musculature on the front of Roman officers’ breastplates.
As I said in a previous reply to similar comment, I suspect that the ornamental golden figure may create a weak point anyway (but I’m neither a smith nor a welder, so don’t take my word for it).
Also, if we take a closer look, there’s a hole between her breast boobplate and collar, and that hole just happens to be roughly where her sternum starts.
And you apparently haven’t seen a well–done boob bump on an armor if you’re defending how this looks.
Because however better than such death wish or this absurd, it’s still a pretty standard sphere-based booblate. And even if purely ornamental, it’s a design flaw anyway. Hell, assuming there’s padding unbeneath, such shaped mold may be a bit uncomfortable to put on.
It’s a very awesome character and costume design (badass knight woman of color, squee!) and a huge leap in right direction, but let us acknowledge that it’s not exactly perfect or practical in every way possible, alright?
RHA: Replies to Comments OUTSIDE Tumblr – Part 1
(Warning; long post)
[1] hizamaruu said: “lol any person that complains about what a girl is wearing in an mmo are just butthurt insecure people because they dont look as good as the person they play >.> grow up so what if they look better than you or so what if youre attracted to it but stay in the closet about it cuz youre embarrased get over it and play your game or dont play it its that simple quit bitching publicly over something so little as armor on a fictional piece of polygons kthx”
Tica’s Reply:
This is so wrong on so many levels, my friend. Let’s break this down; you say that any person that complains about what women wear in mmos are “butthurt” and “insecure” because we don’t look “as good as them”, correct? First of, do you have any proof? Have anyone ever said “I don’t like this character because they look better than me”? And how is that logical, especially in mmos? Normally, when you customize your character, you create someone you want to be, find appealing and etcetera. When female characters are made, they are rarely ever made with a female audience in mind; they’re made to be eye-candy, a sex object, for heterosexual, horny men. We do not find that attractive. We find it offensive. We feel objectified because there was no other thought to her other than “make her sexy”; because psh, who needs an actual unique design, right? (answer: Everyone! Females are humans too! *gasp*) There’s literally nothing to be jealous over, because we DON’T want to be these characters. We feel uncomfortable being portrayed like that. And this is what saddens us. There is nothing we feel comfortable with; but of course, once we express our opinion about this, we come off as “bitching”, which is something you clearly need to think over.Also, when you tell us to get over it or don’t play it, you are basically saying that you like it and won’t listen to reason. I’m up for a conversation here, where we can discuss, not blatantly ignore what others have to say or think. You’re allowed to have an opinion, but do not try to stop anyone from telling theirs.[2] Anonymous said: “like heroes would wear bulletproof vests in action movies or something… same thing”
Tica’s Reply:
No, it is not the same thing. In the past it was seen as easier to draw their uniforms more form fitting. There’s also this thing about flexibility and the ability to hide the suit under the clothes; and this goes for both men and women. Besides, technically there are heroes with bulletproof vests, see the Batsuit, for example. Besides, no bulletproof vests =/= sexulization.
[3] Anonymous said: “A beautful woman does not need clothes or armors… haha”
Tica’s Reply:
Actually, they do, unless you’re willing to sacrifice logic, reason, story, setting and treating both genders as equal.
It probably would be a bit thought-provoking if I said “A beautiful man does not need clothes or armors”, wouldn’t it? Especially when you see men run around naked… all the time.
You can be beautiful, strong, sexy, and everything in between with clothes on and a proper armor. There are some amazing examples out there, and many of us are hoping to see more of that. Who doesn’t love to actually see a design that describes the character or setting? A design someone actually thought trough, instead of just slapping on a bikini. Character designers are limiting themselves by doing this; when there’s billion of different ways to create a character.
And yes, I am aware of that there are some people, female and male, that do enjoy having their character running around naked/half naked, maybe because they feel more powerful that way or they like the outfit as fetish-wear or sexual-roleplay, and that is alright. As long as it’s equal, and treated with care and respect.
[4] Mika said: “May I say this to you all,they said on mmo news that 80 or 85 % that play mmos game are mostly guys so you womans better not be taking us down about this CAUSE THEY ARE MORE OF US THEN YOU IN ALL MMO GAMES.”
Tica’s Reply:
Just, allow me to laugh at this for a moment.
A Positive Example
Richard submitted:
Sometimes a good example of a lady in armor helps to cleanse the palate. Here’s a young lady who recently won a longsword competition at an international jousting tournament. Notice how she wears loose pants for flexibility instead of a loincloth? And that she looks freaking awesome?
Full article with interview here.
Awesome swordslady is awesome! You can find her on tumblr, too.
edit: Apparently Escher Girls published the same thing at the same time I queued the post, you can check Ami’s version here.
