Frankly, I have no idea about significance of V-shape in regards of realistic plate armor (all I learned about armor design was through running this blog). Seems like your question is more suited for an armorer, like Ryan ‘Jabberwock’ who wrote this article.
Would this actually work in real life as real armor? Probably not?But I’m not sure that’s the most important thing to focus on, unless you’re making a gritty, realistic, historically-accurate work. For fantasy? COOLNESS is what counts. I’m all for seeing non-sexualized, diverse ladytypes with functional armor, as long as the coolness factor doesn’t get lost!
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).
And that’s one of the basic things BABD aims for: promoting female warriors who dress in believable and protective manner, not necessarily realistic/naturalistic.
We criticize bikini armors, boobplates etc. not specifically because they’re historically inaccurate (which they are, but so are dragons and orcs). We criticize them because they’re inconsistent with how most fictional settings work.
This Throwback Thursday, a reminder that, contrary to popular opinion, BABD does NOT ask for “realism” in fantasy entertainment, but for consistency.
And, while we still claim there might be legit reasons to design ridiculous skimpy armors, we have yet to see a non-erotic, non-satire explanation that makes sense in the context of the story and doesn’t include double standard.
While the arenas of Rome would certainly have been the place where you would have seen impractical armor and boobplates if they were to ever exist… however there is no evidence to suggest that ridiculous female armor was ever worn by an gladiatrix.*
Gladiator armor was made “impractical” in the sense that it didn’t protect their vital areas – but it didn’t impede their ability to fight or recover from a fight like a boobplate would. They after all, there to provide a great show (their lives literally depended on it) and boobplates and similar armor would have just reduced the chances for blood (and boobs!)
“Contestants” (to use that term as loosely as possible) in the Roman arenas came in two varieties: People who were being punished in a theatrical manner and people who were basically professional athletes (even if they may be slaves).
* Do not do an image search for “gladiatrix”, you will not find anything remotely helpful, but you will find a lot of stuff that is down right disturbing.
Re-identification of Viking corpses has revealed that half of their warriors were female.
“Researchers at the University of Western Australia decided to revamp the way they studied Viking remains. Previously, researchers had misidentified skeletons as male simply because they were buried with their swords and shields. (Female remains were identified by their oval brooches, and not much else.) By studying osteological signs of gender within the bones themselves, researchers discovered that approximately half of the remains were actually female warriors, given a proper burial with their weapons.”
Women have always fought. We have always been there, ‘contributing to history’. Our own, modern sexism contributes to the erasure of it.
(Bolding mine)
Sadly notcompletely accurate. They couldn’t confirm that half of them were warriors (it was a small sample size) – but it did confirm that the methods that had previously been used to determine the sex of the corpses were incorrect.
Specifically that even though it is well known that Vikings had great warrior women in their ranks, archaeologists frequently assume their remains belonged to a man unless they’re have only traditionally "female” items on them. This is because “history” as we know it is interpretation of evidence, and sometime the interpreters are both sexist and lacking in imagination.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that women in history didn’t fight and never, ever let anyone tell you that fiction shouldn’t include badass warrior women.
On the topic of people defending bikini armor by saying that they’re distracting,
Does anyone really think about boobs when they’re in a place where their balls could be chopped off? Just asking, since I’m female and all.
I highly doubt it, but let’s ask the cishet male mod. So, wincenworks?
~Ozzie
As a man who is attracted to women (which I think is the larger part of the issue), I would say the answer is: No.
I can say that with great certainty because I have:
Attended numerous Dr Sketchy’s and similar art events where sexy models pose in very sexy outfits, and artists (many of them men) concentrate and draw them in short periods of time – somehow overcoming the distraction
Been to at least one high speed car race where there were numerous cases of women flashing their breasts to the crowd and the racers – and not a single accident or near miss as a result
Seen acrobats and aerial performer groups in titillating outfits perform stunts without getting distracted and injuring themselves
Talked to multiple bouncers who have assured me that even when there is a performer doing a full blown strip show, it’s not that hard to keep your attention on your job
Helped out a women’s self defence course (I was the fencing dummy) which covered a lot of techniques and tricks – not one of which involved using sexual traits for distraction.
It turns out, amazingly, that straight men as a group are capable of focus and basic self control when necessary! Shocking I know!
Since there are apparently men who want to contradict this claim, making this argument with all seriousness – I’ve included five points to highlight just how stupid this claim is – beneath the cut.
-wincenworks
1. You never see straight male gamers complaining about the sexy female opponents in fighting games
Now, given AoC is a game with a lot of Player vs Player action, and one with plenty of female enemies is questionable attire – one would think that the predominantly male player base would have celebrated when Funcom reduced bust sizes. Nope, they rioted and demanded the big boobs come back!
I have never seen any noteworthy review, play guide or walkthrough warn that a particular opponent would be difficult due to THE DREADED DISTRACTION FACTOR. I have never seen anyone indicate that a female character is too powerful due to the distraction factor – even in games like Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive or Tekken where players need intense focus so they can make decisions instantly while fighting jiggling beauties in improbable costumes. Not one.
2. If distraction bonus actually applied, sexy armor mods would be self sabotage
Not only do audiences not complain about “distraction factor” getting in their way – they actively sabotage themselves. Visit NexusMods, search for “armor”: Even without enabling “adult content”, I guarantee you that you will come across multiple mods that are pitched entirely on their sex appeal.
Why oh why would any player sabotage themselves like this? If the sight of a perfect butt is so overwhelming it leads to a fatal mistakes, why would anyone set themselves up to be thwarted over and over?
3. Zero historical precedent
I hear the cries already, “But those are just video games – it’s different in real life!”. However, if history is to be believed – there is clearly no basis behind this.
Spartans were quite accepting of homosexuality and the fiercest warriors in Ancient Greece – apparently their soldiers were never distracted by one another. Amazons were feared due to stories that they sacrificed a breast in order to shoot their bows better, not stories of hypnotic cleavage.
4. Nobody is that good looking
How would you even know if the people you’re fighting are going to be into you? Despite the constant pressure by modern society to force heterosexuality and a singular beauty standard – there are many people who’s tastes differ radically.
There are people who are primarily attracted by a particular build or physical trait. There are people who are not attracted to popular aesthetics at all.. There are people who are not attracted to women. There are people who are not really swayed by physical appearances and there are people who not attracted to anyone.
Even if you have a body that is attractive to 90% of your opponents, that still means one in ten opponents is going to be completely unhindered and have a massive advantage since your tactics hinge on this “distraction factor”.
5. Fights are messy and it only takes one mistake
Okay, you’re fighting away in a group against another group, hypno-boobs swaying seductively at all who approach from the front – someone stabs you from the side: Game over.
The guy who’s just not into you (see above) attacks from the front, blocking the view for another of his buddies: Game over.
It’s dark and so they can’t see your hypno-boobs: Game over.
Incoming burning oil, a magic fireball, incoming projectiles, rabid wolves and all manner of fantasy monsters are completely indifferent to hypno-boobs.
In summary: “It’d defend them by distracting the enemy…” is perhaps the worst possible defence anyone can bring to the table, ever. There is only one appropriate response to someone making this as a serious claim:
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Just saying “weh weh this isn’t actually an issue, let the designers do what they want” is actually ignoring the cultural context in which this bikini armour exists. It is a classic example of women as a [sexual] commodity to be sold, and gives the o.k to treating women like said commodity. That sexy armour is the default is concerning in itself. Is it not possible to be sexually attracted to a girl in armour designed for fighting rather than sex??? The bikini armour problem exists in a culture which is obsessed with sexualising women at every turn. Male warriors get to be “rugged”, “dark”, “complex”, an “anti-hero”, while female warriors get to be “sexy”, and on the rare occasion they do have the aforementioned characteristics, they are added as a secondary characteristic to that sexiness, or as an afterthought.
“It’s not an issue, blah blah.” No, it is an issue, it contributes to an overall culture. “Why do we have to debate this?” sounds a lot like “I don’t want to think about the attitudes and beliefs in which art functions, and ways in which certain art may be damaging.”
“Historically, women didn’t fight/wear armour.” Congratulations, you’ve completely missed the point. We are talking about fantasy genres here, worlds where slaying dragons, leading campaigns of hundreds of soldiers, traipsing through a haunted forest are normal occurrences and yet we can’t treat women like people rather than toys. Plus, “historically”, you have people like Joan of Arc, and outside of Western history there are lots of cultures in which women fought battles.
