Goons have started
a new thread to discuss important stuff.
Mass effect features an entire race dedicated to being prostitutes and strippers, has more ass shots than a softcore porn, and the only alien women are attractive in at least one stereotypical way. Also, a girl genetically engineered to be "hot".
Mass effect's women are ALL sexualized, there's constant fucking ass shots, and the asari ARE a race of strippers and prostitutes.
However, you should not judge sex workers or shame women for how they choose to dress. Except right at this moment, when it's convinient.
"Hi! My people are confined to ships, and I need to wear this mask that completely covers my face. It's ok though, because I still manage to have fantastic tits and ass!"
(Picture of Tali)
So sexist. Even a five year old can tell you that if a female wears a mask and lives on a space ship, she can't have a good body. That's just elementary logic right there.
No one goes through life looking to get offended you fucking moron. Do you think it's like fun or something to be treated terribly by society?
I can better see how Alyx could have been a better character. While she is a positively-portrayed woman who is not embarrassingly over-sexualized, the story never takes a deep enough look at how her life and experiences are shaped by factors such as her gender. Granted, the game doesn't look that closely at ANYONE, but it would definitely be good if it did. I hope Valve tries to expand characters, including Alyx, to that depth in the future. I think Valve is definitely capable of doing it well.
Gordon: Things sure are bad, Alyx. Our world has been ravaged and taken over by alien invaders, and right now there are four Combine dropships approaching. We need to leave.
Alyx: Wait. First, I must tell you how the heteronormative, socially constructed patriarchal gender narrative has influenced my life. It all started when I was three and my father bought me a doll in order to put me in my place as a woman and prepare me for a lifetime of domestic servitude.
Gordon: We really don't have time for this. We're leaving right now.
Alyx: Fuck your white male privilege! Nobody tells
this bitch princess what to do!
It seems to me that the defining characteristics of a positive portrayal of women in gaming (according to this thread) boil down to a few key points.
1. She wears conservative, loose-fitting clothing
2. She is never helped by a man, ever
3. She at no point has any romantic feelings
4. She never displays any vulnerability or weakness
Does that about sum it up?
Actually yes! The Boss is probably the single best female character in videogames. She has her own ideals, doesn't do anything for a dude (even the protagonist, who instead does everything for her), and she's basically a huge badass.
To be the ideal woman you must be a hardcore misandrist and never help men in any way whatsoever, even if you're a military officer (
somehow) and almost everyone working with and under you is a man. The military's creepy obsession with teamwork is very problematic, so it's a real breath of fresh air that The Boss completely flaunts those obsolete patriarchal structures of oppression.
Alyx has some real problems, because every word out of Alyx' mouth is fawning about how amazing gordon is. Shit gets old. It's the same obnoxious crap Liara/Tali/and various other Bioware characters do. "oh player, you're so great" Creepy. Stoppit. Particularly bad in HL because Gordon never talks. She has basically fallen in love with him by the end, when he has never said anything. Given Valves talk about silent characters basically placing the player into the characters shoes, theres something a little off about it. She's not falling for Gordon, she has fallen for you, manchild with a bag of wotsits.
Like I said before, what really makes feminists angry is the idea of an icky beta male behind the controller. Feminists hate them so much that they don't even want a video game character to tell these "manchildren" they're awesome (or rather, their avatar is). Men who women don't find sexy and dominant -- that is to say, men who serve no purpose in the world whatsoever -- should not even be allowed to imagine that they're something more than cockroaches.
It's a massively male dominated industry, and though we do realize that, we're kind of at a loss about what to do about it.
This is a tricky problem, and to solve it I went to ask our village idiot for input. When I got to his makeshift shack under the bridge, he was covered in pudding and trying to wear pants on his head. So I asked him: how do you increase female participation in the game industry? He told me this: "More women should get into game development and start their own companies. It's never been easier, just look at Minecraft or Angry Birds for example. On the other hand, why should anything be done about this? Women will either develop games or they won't. It's their decision."
Hah hah, as expected of an idiot! To be serious, the best solution is to pressure, shame, and coerce white heterosexual male developers to promote feminist agendas. Oh, and they better not make more of those games where the women are helpless and need to be saved by white heterosexual men. That shit's just offensive and plainly unrealistic.
thanks to their announcement and I found HIM
