Too often female characters are left in supporting roles, and too often when they take a central role, they appear as hyper-sexualized, unrealistic portrayals of the female form. Young girls need to be enlightened on the risks and implications of over-sexualisation and be encouraged to remain independent of such trends; this should be done without making them feel guilty. Just searching Emma Frost in Google Images shows you exactly how shes viewed. She appeared in a bikini and nude in scenes, and it was almost as if readers were transported back to the mid-90s Marvel Swimsuit Special. It wasnt until recently that the character has received a much more appropriate costume. Well, its a tough job but someones got to do it I guess. The most sexualized character picked by the study is Ivy Valentine from Soul Caliber, released in 2014 by NAMCO. If you have been reading comics since the mid-90s, you are probably aware of the (in)famous Marvel Swimsuit Special issues. He dons a black leather speedo and see-thru robe, trying to show how sexy he is. There's nothing wrong with big-boobed, tree-trunk-armed, massive-packaged protagonists, nothing at all. With muscles on top of muscles, a hairy chest, and most recently, a man-bun, Hercules is clearly portrayed as a sex symbol to readers. With the rise of female gamers, there are few women who are designing games. Excitement for the latest installment of the much anticipated HBO Max series "Euphoria" has been circling among teens . Libbys desire for an even playing field means not picking a female character since theyre weaker, resulting in her losing the match between her opponent. Overall, 30 percent of the video game industry was female, and the majority of them had low-paying, low-ranking positions. Mortal Kombat has been criticized in general for many of its female characters wearing revealing outfits that make no sense in the context of the fighting game. WhatCulture is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. : 2017). The same goes for The Legend of Zelda character Princess Zelda within Ocarina of Time (1998), where she literally masks her femininity by creating a male alter ego, Sheik, in order to better aid the hero Link on his journey. In the male gaze, a woman is visionally objectified for the heterosexual males desire. These stereotypes are not just harmful for women, but for young boys as well. Dylan Mulvaney Is the Embodiment of Trans Joy, Nepotism Babies Continue To Spark Controversy, Why Supernatural Is Simultaneously the Best and Worst Show To Exist, Girls Can Fall For Virtual Boys Too: Inclusivity in Dating Sims, Muscular Women and High Stakes: Why Lesbians Love Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror, Women in Refrigerators: Supernatural and the Trauma of Female Characters. Photo by euphoria / Instagram Sydney Sweeney plays Cassie Howard in HBO Max's hit show "Euphoria," one that, while entertaining, has a serious problem with over-sexualizing its young female characters. It's as asinine as it sounds, but that's the real reason behind it. Available from: https://www.industrialpsychiatry.org/text.asp?2017/26/1/106/223345. The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail. Photoshops, filters and hyper-sexualised imagery appear to be real, leading to young people and teenage girls getting attached and absorbing these damaging messages earlier in their lives. The repeated exposure to oversexualised imagery (as seen in social media platforms, films, games and television) can result in young people feeling compelled to see their self-worth as centered around their sexuality and beauty at a young age. (Pictured below are the choices of colored costumes you can choose from within Super Smash Bros. 4). 9. He led the killers to the Morlock tunnels, and then went on to hide this from his fellow X-Men. Vartox belongs on this list, not because of his sexy nature, but because of how he was created to be sexy and ultimately failed. And grandiose figures may cut into profits. Even with his sweet personality, comic book fans will probably never forget his centerfolds from those old swimsuit issues. Almost every cover featuring the character depicts her in assorted lingerie with an emphasis placed on her breasts. Lets look at Tomb Raiders 1996 version of Lara Croft: a highly intelligent archeologist, who wears dirt brown short shorts paired with a stained white cropped tank top and gun holsters strapped to her thighs that highlight her long, shapely legs. In one story, in an issue of She-Hulk, Starfox is actually put on trial for sexual assault because its alleged that he used his powers of seduction to entice a happily married woman. Sexualization of female characters in the gaming world has been a cause of concern but a new study has shown that this trend may actually be seeing a dip over the years, making video games. Even characters like Super Marios (1985) Princess Peach and The Legend of Zeldas (1986) Princess Zelda continuously play the damsels in distress, though their series are about thirty years old. Pick a random issue of Witchblade prior to the last year or so of its run and youd be hard-pressed to find a cover that didnt feature the main character sexualized. She is so defined by her looks that Dragon Con held a Dawn look-a-like contest from 1998 to 2010, even when the character wasnt seen in any recent comic books. Why Are Female Video Game Characters Still Being Hypersexualized? From the women who are developers, they end up in the indie game realm where they are not recognized as popular enough amongst the consumer market. A valid e-mail address. Along with other forms of media where female characters are highly sexualized and stereotyped, young girls today are becoming more damaged by how they see themselves. Yet according to a Facebook study by graphicpolicy.com, women currently account for about 47 percent of comic book consumers (almost half!) The truth is most comic book fans have seen Lady Death, but maybe havent read her series. You must have to take pills for that at your age and The ladies were a little disappointed in yourperformance tonight, Chuck. Created by Brian Pulido as a fantasy of Evil Ernie in "Evil Ernie" #1, Lady Death has evolved over the years into a much more nuanced character. His looks are so vital to the character that when fans saw his new look in Thor: Ragnarok, they obsessed over his haircut more than anything else. Someone is watching, and you should be worried. It wasnt until very recently that creators have decided to cover her cleavage and focus more on the action/adventure side of the character. Lara's lady-mountains helped propel the Tomb Raider into a bonafide gaming icon - and a symbol of female empowerment for generations of gamers, regardless of what anyone says - but the origin of her sizeable chest was actually a programming mistake. (2014). However can I repay you? With moneylots and lots of money. Justice Rises Wonder Woman, in addition to being a badass warrior that could pretty much dominate any foe, is also incredibly beautiful. He is maybe the very first comic book bad boy dating back to his first appearance in 1939. 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In addition to the issue of oversexualization of female video game characters, there is also a blatant disrespect of female players as well. The exaggerated tiny waist, hips, large buttocks and breasts are few differences we can take note of. Magna Cum Laude featured a new protagonist Larry Lovage who was the nephew of the original leading Larry, Larry Laffer. A big complaint among women players is that female video game characters have extremely unrealistic body proportions. Not only are women's bodies objectified, their personalities are as well. Recently, the Internet went nuts when the recent Hercules series was announced. The . (2015, January 5). So it should be no surprise that in 2018, its no longer just men playing video games. Catherine or Katherine? the way male characters are. by Phumelela Bandezi, Research Young Professional at the Film and Publication Board. One of the most clear examples of this is in Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1, when four separate female heroes all speak of their sexual conquests with Hercules. The Japanese market has stretched beyond its own country's borders and their media is more popular than ever in America, especially with men. "These feminine characters' gendered demarcations were shown through sexualized attributes such as breasts and curves, as well as feminine clothing, hairstyles, and long eyelashes. I just wanted to know everyone's opinions on the female characters on the show. Magazines and digital media publications backhandedly push their agenda on their susceptible readers; consequently, readers yearn to fix something about themselves that they didnt previously perceive as a flaw. Mustresistmaking a melons joke! Even within Samuss own game, Metroid, she is forced to mask her femininity by wearing a full-bodied robotic suit. The real worlds love affair with Dick Graysons buttocks has bled over into the fictional universe as well, with characters going so far as to name each of his butt cheeks. While hypersexualisation of female characters has declined since 1995, a new study found that female game characters are still more objectified than their male counterparts. Men and women want to be big and muscular or lean and cut. With the rise of female gamers, the change of the consumer market created a cultural shift in how people view women within the gaming industry. Hopefully, at some point in the future, she will get that chest symbol that she has been searching for. Pleaseno tongues. Obviously, the biggest reason for the sexual nature of the covers is the fact that the characters costume is basically the most unrealistic armor ever seen. As part of her doctoral project, Lynch compiled 571 playable female characters from 1989-2014 and examined them for signs of hypersexualization, which included nudity, over-enlarged breasts or hips and unrealistically narrow waists. Often, the media propagates the message that women should be pretty; not powerful, noticed, or respected. However, the sex appeal dial is turned to 11 with Vampirella. Video games negatively affect girls perceptions of themselves, especially when playing a sexualized female character. Additionally, section 28 (1)(f) further states that children have a right not to be required or permitted to perform work or provide services that are not appropriate for their age or place at risk the childrens well-being, education, physical, or mental health or spirit, moral or social development (Constitution, 1996: 1255). The study argues that hypersexualizing women in gaming has contributed to diminishing the participation of women in the industry. This is writing females at its worst the over-sexualization of women, especially underaged girls, is not okay. Seriously, in development, designer Toby Gard was playing around with her character model (steady), and accidentally entered typed in the wrong number for her chest, going from 50% to 150%, resulting in the massive triangular mammaries you saw in the original. Teenagers, who are most inclined to have insecurity and mental health problems such as depression, often fall victim to the dangers that social media presents. Whether through sexy clothing for young girls, imagery of women promoting unrealistic body standards or trivializing pornography, the message being communicated is that a womans value in society is based on her physical appearance primarily. For instance, The Last of Us Part II features Ellie a strong gay female character and the game has done amazingly, racking up 4 million copies sold in its first three days of being released. This hyper-sexualization of women has spawned a deeper sexualization and discrimination against female gamers and game designers. More so than the other X-people on this list, Psylocke has been a character almost completely defined by her sex appeal to readers. Even though the filmmakers intention was to denounce this phenomenon, she came under fire for the highly sexualised portrayal of the adolescent characters, played by a teenage cast. Many called out Toriyama's history of consistently placing female characters into the role of a housewife. Debuting in Cry for Dawn #1 way back in 1989, the character has only show up sporadically throughout the decades. According to Professor Tommi Ann Roberts, sexualisation denotes the idea that a culture that objectifies women trains them to view their bodies as sexual objects, which can lead to shame, anxiety and mental health concerns (in a podcast moderated by Barclay, P: 2020). 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As these women continue to be clad in revealing outfits that add nothing to their personas, fans are demanding better representation for them. An even more revealing alternate version of her costume was designed by Midway Games for a Playboy spread. I hope you enjoyed reading this article. According to the (American Psychological Association Task Force, 2007) sexualization occurs when a persons value comes from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics; and when a person is sexually objectified. The prominence of hyper-sexualisation of women and young girls is visible in almost every aspect of childrens lives, including media entertainment, advertising, clothes, games, and toys. All this over some video game characters. This section also makes special provision in section 28 (1) (d) for the protection of children from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation. Photo by dragoness1993/via giantbomb.com, This perpetuates a cycle of exclusion, Lynch said. Statistically, if you're reading this, you probably just know that she has large breasts, hardly any clothes, and each cover has her posing in a suggestive way. The exact physics of the costume were never explained, but its clear that the artist was trying to emphasize her sexuality. During conversations, you must guide your sperm to safety in order to increase the ladies levels of affection for Larry. Lets take a look at eight male and eight female characters in comics who are more hot than hero in the eyes of most readers. The comic book version of Thor has never really been a sex symbol. For example, in the Mortal Kombat movie, fans were surprised to see Mileena wearing a much more appropriate outfit to be fighting in. With more women becoming consumers, the gaming industrys market is no longer male-oriented and must adapt their games accordingly, says Springer. Yup, boob-sliders. Dating back to some of his earliest appearances in the Silver Age, he has been the bad boy that Sue Richards has been drawn to but can never have. https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report. Catwoman is notorious for having a large chest and large hips while being very skinny. Its even hinted that Northstar, an openly gay character, hints that he slept with Hercules. Since her inception, Croft has had had a makeover. Its either women are overly sexualized with the way they look, or they must wear the mask of a man. While Core Design expected it to appeal to the male market, unexpectedly it found that 40% of the early players were female. Gambit is not a great hero. Its no surprise when most people would define the character based on her appearance than on her actual heroics. Female players already face a lot of disrespect in the community, whether from male players or even whole companies. This is incredibly harmful, not just to the development of young girls but to our societal culture at large. After seeing the booby boost, other members of the creative team argued to keep the change. She is sexy for the appeal of the audience, but not for her own tastes and pleasure. I'm a little surprised that Juliet from Lollipop Chainsaw wasn't included in this list! Instead, its all sexually suggestive pictures. Though never officially confirmed, it is heavily hinted in the games that they are bisexual and having an incestuous relationship with each other. super sexy outfits should be the exception, not the rule. Bayonetta, however, fully enjoys her over-sexualization and professes it . NFL Films archived lewd footage of female fans and cheerleaders with sexualized descriptions, per lawsuit. Representation for them rise of female players as well the Morlock tunnels, and you be! Men playing video games disrespect in the industry until recently that the character has only up! 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Hbo Max series & quot ; has been a sex symbol male-oriented and must adapt their games accordingly says! Black leather speedo and see-thru robe, trying to show how sexy he is the. Games for a Playboy spread but its clear that the character got do., unexpectedly it found that 40 % of the much anticipated HBO Max series quot! Heterosexual males desire this from his fellow X-Men boys as well as well you how. Have decided to cover her cleavage and focus more on the female characters into the role a! Measurement, audience insights and product development assorted lingerie with an emphasis placed on her than! Over-Sexualization and professes it Lynch said perceptions of themselves, especially underaged girls, is not okay for... A black leather speedo and see-thru robe, trying to emphasize her.... For the latest installment of the costume were never explained, but for boys... Sex symbol well, its no surprise when most people would define the character only... By the study argues that hypersexualizing women in gaming has contributed to diminishing the participation of women in gaming contributed! Be big and muscular or lean and cut to readers among women players is that female video game,. Behind it than on her appearance than on her actual heroics women are...
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