Let me bring out one very fine, but very important point about the depiction of gender in video games today.
Simply put, the majority of females protrayed in video games today are not idealized, they are hyper-sexualized. The males are not.
Let's look at the differences.
Both male and female characters are depicted with exaggerated signals of youth and fertility/verility.
The females typically have:
1. inordinantly large breasts placed high on the body
2. exaggeratedly tiny waists
3. overly round, full buttocks.
The males typically have:
1. Overly large shoulders and arms
2. inordinantly tiny waists and hips.
However, the big difference occurs in the signals of sexual receptivity the characters display.
The females display all of the physical signals that say "I'm ready for sex." These include:
1. heavy lidded eyes
2. full red lips, often slightly parted
3. erect nipples.
Plus they are most often depicted in clothing that is meant to ENHANCE and draw attention to this sexual receptivity. Often they are even posed in positions that enhance this image of sexual readiness.
On the other hand, the male characters are NOT portrayed as sexually receptive. They DO NOT display any of the following:
1. heavy lidded eyes
2. red full lips, slightly parted
3. erect nipples
4. erect phallus
5. clothing that enhances sexual receptivity
6. postures that indicate sexual readiness
So, if we were to represent the male characters the same way we represent female characters, they would have heavy lidded eyes, red full lips, erect nipples, and an erection so large that walking would be problematic AND they'd be dressed in a chainmail thong to accentuate those features!!!
Any of you guys interested in playing that male avatar?
I didn't think so.
Any wonder now why women are, at the least, not interested in and, at the most, offended by female characters thus depicted?
Slashdot Mirror
Let me bring out one very fine, but very important point about the depiction of gender in video games today. Simply put, the majority of females protrayed in video games today are not idealized, they are hyper-sexualized. The males are not.
Let's look at the differences.
Both male and female characters are depicted with exaggerated signals of youth and fertility/verility. The females typically have:
1. inordinantly large breasts placed high on the body
2. exaggeratedly tiny waists
3. overly round, full buttocks.
The males typically have:
1. Overly large shoulders and arms
2. inordinantly tiny waists and hips.
However, the big difference occurs in the signals of sexual receptivity the characters display.
The females display all of the physical signals that say "I'm ready for sex." These include:
1. heavy lidded eyes
2. full red lips, often slightly parted
3. erect nipples.
Plus they are most often depicted in clothing that is meant to ENHANCE and draw attention to this sexual receptivity. Often they are even posed in positions that enhance this image of sexual readiness.
On the other hand, the male characters are NOT portrayed as sexually receptive. They DO NOT display any of the following:
1. heavy lidded eyes
2. red full lips, slightly parted
3. erect nipples
4. erect phallus
5. clothing that enhances sexual receptivity
6. postures that indicate sexual readiness
So, if we were to represent the male characters the same way we represent female characters, they would have heavy lidded eyes, red full lips, erect nipples, and an erection so large that walking would be problematic AND they'd be dressed in a chainmail thong to accentuate those features!!!
Any of you guys interested in playing that male avatar?
I didn't think so.
Any wonder now why women are, at the least, not interested in and, at the most, offended by female characters thus depicted?
I sure hope not.