I dedicate this reblog to anyone who thinks that we object to women showing some skin by principle… No, wedon’t. Just as we do not think covering everything up is a universal solution to the problem sexist costume designs.
The way a character is framed (visually and story-wise) makes a world of difference between just having a questionable costume and being outright objectified.
And as much as bikinis, bathing suits, cheerleader outfits etc. remain a silly wardrobe choice for an on-duty warrior/crimefighter, above here we have small sample of evidence that pants or full-body suits can actually lookworse.
Putting a female hero in pants does not mean she is somehow protected from an artist positioning her primarily for the male gaze. For example, Marvel Comics recently began a new ongoing called Fearless Defenders which stars Valkyrie and Misty Knight. Both of these characters wear pants and, yet, I lost count by about page five of how many times Misty’s ass took center stage in any given panel. Basically, where there’s a male gaze will, there’s a male gaze way — pants or no pants, tights or bared legs.
I dedicate this reblog to anyone who thinks that we object to women showing some skin by principle… No, wedon’t. Just as we do not think covering everything up is a universal solution to the problem sexist costume designs.
The way a character is framed (visually and story-wise) makes a world of difference between just having a questionable costume and being outright objectified.
And as much as bikinis, bathing suits, cheerleader outfits etc. remain a silly wardrobe choice for an on-duty warrior/crimefighter, above here we have small sample of evidence that pants or full-body suits can actually lookworse.
Putting a female hero in pants does not mean she is somehow protected from an artist positioning her primarily for the male gaze. For example, Marvel Comics recently began a new ongoing called Fearless Defenders which stars Valkyrie and Misty Knight. Both of these characters wear pants and, yet, I lost count by about page five of how many times Misty’s ass took center stage in any given panel. Basically, where there’s a male gaze will, there’s a male gaze way — pants or no pants, tights or bared legs.
This also applies if your “commentary” piece requires the audience to participate in hours of extra content and then engage in a elaborate mental gymnastics in order to find the commentary. eg Metal Gear Solid or Dragon’s Dogma.
No amount of elaborate post event justification is going to undo the objectification.
It’s not that I mind seeing breasts everywhere; after all, I have two of my own that I quite like. But it’s disheartening that breasts are often considered more interesting than the people they’re attached to – as if we’re an afterthought compared to our body parts.
Exactly my thoughts whenever I see just another design focused on cleavage window or boobplate, while serving no practical function or informing us nothing about who wears it.
It’s funny that when a video game or video has an attractive female that guys gush over, it’s oppression but if there’s a video game or video with an attractive male that girls gush over, it’s just fan-girling. For example- Guys gushing over Bayonetta= Oppression!! MEN ARE SO DISGUSTING! AUGH! They only want BOOBs n crap! Girls gushing over a freaking cartoon skeleton man in a single video and making an entire fan-base because his hair overnight = Just having fun. I propose that both of those situations are just people having fun.
Ok, but ONE of those types of fun involves sexual objectification that makes many women uncomfortable.
The other involves a skeleton with cool hair who is not being sexually objectified.
There’s a difference.
Also skeletons are not frequently objectified and devalued in the real world. Skeletons are not the victims of violent crimes, sexual or otherwise, due to the dehumanization of that objectification.
While objectification by itself is a problem, its informed by its real world existence; no media exists in a vacuum, and the real world treatment of women is largely what makes objectification through media such a touchy subject.
Agreed. When skeletons with cool hair are routinely subjected to institutional discrimination, maybe we’ll care more about “girls gushing over them” on the internet.
Meanwhile, the sexual objectification of women has been tied to real world issues facing real actual women.
“Tumblr hipocrisy”? OP, you keep using that word, I don’t think it means what you think it means.
Bolding mine.
~Ozzie
After I read this I went desperately searching for this awesome skeleton with cool hair that women were apparently gushing over. I looked and looked. I asked friends… nobody seems to know about Skelonetta.
Now I have to live the rest of my life knowing that somewhere out there there’s video of a skeleton that has hair so cool that’s it’s apparently comparable to the super spectacle that is Bayonetta… and I may never see it.
Thanks OP.
– wincenworks
Edit: So I’ve been told by many of our beloved followers and one of my loveable geek friends that they know who the Skeleton with cool hair is. Brace yourselves for the pandering-on-par-with-Bayonetta:
I swear this is a real title from the early 90s. Metal and Lace: The Battle of the Robo Babes
Possibly the creepiest thing to be shown in any fighting video game.
It’s 2053. You’re about to touch down on a remote island known for its beautiful women and its blood sport – RoboFighting.
Totally not Chun Li with robot rabbit ears. Honest.
All however are eager to wager their lives for the chance to battle Robo Babes. The odors of burnt flesh and charred metal fill the air with a thick toxic stench.
I feel it’s really confusing message to make your fighting robots able to transform into sexy babes. Imagine how many people get confused and order them the wrong reasons.
You have shelled out a lot of cash to get here. For what? Sleek bodies and bare skin? No, you’ve come here to test your skill against the best warriors the island has to offer:
Graphics wise this is pretty much par for the genre and the era… though I’m kind of amazed they didn’t try to fill the background with bikini babes.
I really can’t help but feel this was some act of not so subtle rebellion by the development team…
