So You Want to Be a Video Game Character

So, I figured it’s been a few weeks, let’s revisit this topic.  The first post in the Why Gamers Need Feminism series was sort of a broad overview.  It sparked a lot of conversation over in The Guild Hall, and I wanted to take some time to drill down on a theme that came up a few times, namely, objectification and power fantasies.

Frequently in the discussion the idea of “sexy” characters came up.  Whether or not it was sexist for a female character to be sexually attractive and/or wear revealing clothing.  How much was “too much.”  If it was acceptable for companies to make female characters’ outfits more revealing to drive sales or appeal to the fanbase.  Now, obviously there’s the argument made for that last one that games are made to make money, and if they don’t make money the companies go under.  But, I think something worth thinking about is whether it’s acceptable to make more money by pandering to sexism, or if it’s a morally better choice to not pander to the sexism as long as you’re already making enough money.

Discuss this post in The Guild Hall!

Did you know you could get this in your inbox along with a free eBook by joining the BaGC Newsletter?  Sign up now!

What the hell, Dan?  Politics?  On Be a Game Character?

Yup.  We’re going a bit political today.  Not in the sense that we’re going to be discussing presidential races, but in the sense that for some reason “women should be treated like human beings” is a controversial issue among some circles.  Yeah I don’t know why it’s an issue either, but let’s have a chat about it, shall we?

For those wondering how this relates to the BaGC vision of making you more awesome, look at it this way:  Everyone deserves to be awesome, and to feel awesome.  Women, men, gay, straight, trans, queer, skinny, fat, black, white, (insert demographic here.)  Everyone.  This is a solid belief of mine.  If you don’t feel this way, then maybe this post can help open your eyes.