Men in gaming

stops_to_think · 2013-02-28T04:10:31+00:00

I've never quite got the whole "objectification" thing.

"Clearly dressed like that, you're only interested in their bodies"

Yes, yes I am. It's a video game, I'm not going to sit down with the character and get to know them, they are there for visual appeal, male or female. I don't want to look at an eyesore of a human being for hours on end, who gives a shit if they're scantily clad and over-sexualized? That's the point.

Now when the game has a lot of character development and the visual design begins to conflict with what I learn about the characters personality, or is otherwise incongruent with the world that they're placed in, it starts to break my immersion and we can all agree its a bad choice of character design.

TracyMorganFreeman · 2013-02-28T04:28:24+00:00

A better question is, "how often are you shooting/decapitating/interrogating women".

There's definitely an argument that men being cannon fodder/collateral damage/the fall man/etc is more harmful in enforcing disposability than objectifying someone sexually.

YetAnotherCommenter · 2013-02-28T09:02:07+00:00

To be completely fair, the characters are designed for different reasons.

Remember in both situations, the characters are being designed for a predominantly male audience. So the women are given idealized bodies for the purposes of aesthetic attractiveness whilst the men are given idealized bodies for the purposes of an empowerment fantasy.

Yes, both males and females are represented unrealistically in games. But the idealization serves different functions - the males are intended to be characters you aspire to be, the females are intended to be characters you aspire to shag.

So, whilst I think feminists are acting far too hysterical over "OMG WOMEN WHO ARE HOT I FEEL OFFENDED!!!", they do have a point that male and female characters are still designed to serve differing sets of priorities.

That said, I don't see anything wrong in and of itself with fanservicey characters in video games since making a character hot doesn't necessarily diminish their actual competence or agency or awesomeness. I have nothing wrong with characters looking hot as long as they are more than just eye-candy.

The idea that "objectification of women in gaming is oppressive" is based on the idea that men's ideas of women will be "socially constructed" by these video games (as well as comic books etc). You know, that men are going to learn more about women from Bayonetta than, for instance, their mothers, sisters, female friends, grandmothers, aunts, etc. Its a ridiculous notion that treats men as children who can't tell fantasy from reality.

Either that, or some female gamers think that if a game isn't designed specifically for their preferences then the game is automatically misogynist or something (which is an extremely entitled mentality; female gamers are a niche market, AAA console games need to appeal to the broadest set of markets possible in order to make money. That said, as the number of female gamers increases, the demographic will receive more attention... and after all, it already gets some attention in some AAA games).

Greyfeld · 2013-02-28T05:45:21+00:00

"But it's different for women!!"

Every. Single. Time.

There's no point in trying to prove that men are objectified as well, because even if you can get one of them to agree to that premise, they'll always undermine it with the assertion that it's worse when it happens to women.

Tyrien · 2013-02-28T12:17:08+00:00

How about games are fantasy worlds and not meant to depict real life in any way?

squirtlekin · 2013-02-28T04:37:19+00:00

The usual feminist response is to talk about how great those depictions of men are, which completely misses the point. It's very difficult to live up to that standard.

Although I don't really have a problem with "objectification" of male or female characters.

escobari · 2013-02-28T05:43:36+00:00

first of all women are not objectified in games or tv, they are glorified

Jimm607 · 2013-02-28T05:41:28+00:00

oh you didn't know? Attractive men in gaming is a mans self fantasy. Yes no matter the context. Just as attractive women in gaming is mens sexual fantasy. No exceptions to either rule... ever... yup...

DavidByron · 2013-02-28T04:02:57+00:00

Yes but none of that counts because... Patriarchy!!!

Thievishmetal69 · 2013-02-28T04:24:26+00:00

A greater thing to point out in art, or as is the case here gaming.

When you play a violent videogame the enemies you wade through slaughtering with out a second thought are rarely female.

Yxoque · 2013-02-28T09:08:49+00:00

There's a big difference, actually. The men in that picture aren't a woman's fantasy. They're a male power fantasy. They are designed so that men can look at them and go: "Yeah, I'd want to be that dude," whereas female characters are designed so that men can think "Yeah, I'd tap that."

superangelo64 · 2013-02-28T07:51:59+00:00

Ever played a final fantasy game? The dudes are complete fanservice. I never saw a problem with it, I didn't get jealous because the heroes were prettier than me, I just know people like seeing good looking heroes.

I still love the series.

tacobacalao · 2013-02-28T09:21:12+00:00

This is ridiculous that grown ups keep having this discussion. It's a core concept for art of any sort to exaggerate particular attributes of a character to emphasize their qualities. Good/positive traits are exaggerated for protagonists and bad/negative traits are highlighted for the antagonists. Same goes for secondary sexual characteristics.

On a related note - if the consumers of your product like dark chocolate you would be right to serve them an extra helping if you want their business. If it so happens that your audience likes/appreciates larger-than-life super hero characters then you give them exactly that.

c4pathway · 2013-02-28T06:35:34+00:00

All my bros are.

kungfukai · 2013-02-28T09:57:47+00:00

As a gamer, I'm really getting sick and tired of some women wanting special treatment or a special place in the gaming community just because...they're women.

Some women, not all, are like this.

If there isn't an argument about how "video games are making us violent" going on, there will be an argument about "sexism in videogames/gaming communities".

One big topic recently was how women get abused by men while playing online.

I don't see that as a big problem since us men abuse other men while online, trashtalking.

Videogames have a competitive nature about them, so there will be trashtalking.

Plus, if you don't like what other people are saying to you, there are many tools to mute/block communications with other players.

But a lot of female gamers never tend to use these tools and expect you to be nice to them.

FruitierGnome · 2013-02-28T06:53:53+00:00

No one looks as good as snake

2013-02-28T18:48:30+00:00

Me? But then again, I actually lift.

unowut · 2013-02-28T19:16:51+00:00

I don't think the real issue is objectified female characters existing is the issue so much as nothing else existing. Yea, you can line up a bunch of musclebound male video game characters but good luck lining up a bunch of female counterparts to Mario, Rufus, dr. Robotnik, etc.. And honestly, you cant call these "objectified" male characters objectified in the sense that they arent designed to appeal to females the way female characters are designed to appeal to men. I don't look at Ryu and Ken and honestly feel like my gender is being reduced to eye candy.

If we want to claim we arent an echo chamber, we have to admit that sometimes those mean femanists have a point.

_lets_a_go · 2013-02-28T05:33:56+00:00

You already know the stock feminist response to this, I'm sure.

Scoot_Puffington · 2013-02-28T07:56:36+00:00

I think having a musclebound, 6'3" tall male in nothing but white bicycle shorts clinging to a tight ass and ripped thighs with a salami-esque bulge that flopped a little every time he did a spinning kick or a jump would be the equivalent of how I feel when I think about objectification of women in games.

I am not a feminist. But this post makes me frown a little.

tim1357 · 2013-02-28T11:56:12+00:00

To be fair, these guys are more idealized than objectified.

blueoak9 · 2013-02-28T19:26:01+00:00

But that's diffffffferent!!!!!!!!

theonlyguyonreddit · 2013-02-28T03:50:57+00:00

And women expect it, mens metabolisms burn fat. Faster so some women expect us to be mega ripped with an 8 pack ect... and they wonder why our suicide rate is so preposterously high

Ganswon · 2013-02-28T04:39:35+00:00

I know a guy who looks very much like snake. Minus the arsenal.

bobsmith1111 · 2013-02-28T05:35:14+00:00

i played Saints Row: The Third

the game got incredibly boring and the A.I is retarded. But the game designers replaced a lot of the enemy with sexy lingerie women with nice boobs, wielding guns.. And thats the reason i kept playing.

i think more games should have more enemy women in games. it gets old and cliche only shooting guys.

Saerain · 2013-02-28T07:11:41+00:00

The line is usually that these depictions are for the benefit of men, in that they fulfill a ‘male power fantasy’ rather than being anything that women want to see.

I scoff at first because I can't relate to anyone who would want to look like most of those men, then I scoff again because I see the covers of the romance novels that women gobble up week by week and witness the same kinds of builds as these examples.

Well... sans Geralt and that thing to his left. Haven't seen romance characters that slim or that monstrous.

SenorSpicyBeans · 2013-02-28T07:33:05+00:00

And yet, you still managed to miss the most egregious perpetrators - Marcus Fenix & company from Gears of War.

MaK_Ultra · 2013-02-28T09:10:50+00:00

What I hate about being a guy in online gaming is the way I get treated. If I make my name obviously masculine, I keep getting hit on or called an attention he-whore.

tanalilt · 2013-02-28T12:34:55+00:00

I don't want to play a beefy guy or a girl with her tits hanging out. My main problem with video game design is how impractical everything can be. If it's practical - sure. They can look how they want them to look. (Snake is a bad example, I think - a soldier since birth should probably look like that, and he's not the worst offender in the series. That would probably be Vamp or Volgin.)

Just... in general. I tend to like things that are practical unless there's something that says that it doesn't have to be. If you have a ranged class in a game, for example, I don't mind if the armor is a bit unpractical, or even not armor. They're not in the line of fire.

Dawknight · 2013-02-28T14:25:22+00:00

Sex sells, as someone with a little background on marketting, the first thing you ask yourself before even starting production is "what is your target audience".

So if 90% of your target audience is lonely males, well i'm sorry but Big bouncing tits can get your a couple extra bucks.

Same would apply if gaming was female dominant, you would see half-naked unrealistic abs twilight characters everywhere.

the trends will shift eventually when we'll reach 50/50 gamers. Oh and don't start me on "it's already 50/50", casual iphone crap games do not make you a hardcore gamer.

thefriENTly_fighter · 2013-02-28T16:06:58+00:00

As a man who looks like that, quit bitchin and go to the gym.

Nynes · 2013-02-28T16:29:14+00:00

Female. Immersion player. RP'er. Love the attractive armor on my female toons.

Would it REALLY protect them? No. But we're talking about a 6 foot troll shadowpriest here, so reality is really a moot point when discussing the effectiveness of armor when Im a purple cloud of mist with a pet tentacle monster. PowerWord: Shield works whether Im naked or not.

massaikosis · 2013-02-28T16:38:30+00:00

But but... its different because... uh, men want to look like that or something.

sarcasm

spot on, OP

AnotherDrunkenBum · 2013-02-28T17:14:28+00:00

i'M TRYING TO RAISE 150,000$ So I can make a documentary about the negative portrayal of men in video games.

nc863id · 2013-02-28T18:09:18+00:00

Build-wise, Leon Kennedy isn't too far out there. Just sayin'.

gprime312 · 2013-02-28T18:34:55+00:00

To be fair, only the brute from borderlands is supernaturally large. The rest are pretty average body types.

Nomenimion · 2013-02-28T20:03:35+00:00

"Objectification" is bullshit. It's a false concept that we need to reject.

AmuseDeath · 2013-02-28T21:44:24+00:00

Holy crap, I better make a kickstarter, collect at least a million dollars and show the world the rampant sexism in video games!

Fuzzy-Hat · 2013-02-28T06:16:30+00:00

I know of one person that looks like any of those characters and that is Kurt Russell. Sadly I do not actually know him.

Happypants · 2013-02-28T06:24:27+00:00

I look a lot like a really hairy Geralt. Slightly pudgier because I've been stupid lazy this winter, but in about 3 months I'll be a dead ringer if I shave (minus the head... that part looks nothing like him, but I'm glad because he's pretty freaking ugly).

Of this image only Brick has a "WTF no one on Earth looks like that" body. Ken and Kratos are pushing it quite a bit, but still largely realistic. And honestly I know a lot of guys that look like a few of the people in this image. But, I do hang out with a group that really cares about taking care of themselves, so I'm probably an anomaly.

FireReadyAim · 2013-02-28T06:38:43+00:00

The traditional response to this, and it's not entirely without merit, is that men are not typically held to the standards of men in video games.

lookatowel · 2013-02-28T07:23:10+00:00

How is Duke Nukem not in that lineup?

Davethe3rd · 2013-02-28T07:36:49+00:00

Ken Masters is objectified? Solid Snake? Try again...

Rockyn · 2013-02-28T07:42:22+00:00

At times when I have been training more frequently, I occasionally look like this.

cody_au · 2013-02-28T08:07:32+00:00

The argument Anna and other human turds use back against this is, "That's irrelevant, because these are designed by men, in a male dominated industry, and illustrate male fantasies to be like this."

Right!

soulofWren · 2013-02-28T08:36:07+00:00

Not enough.

JamesRyder · 2013-02-28T09:27:31+00:00

Feminists are just a bunch of communists. Instead of complaining about how established companies in a free market are designing their game to get the most sales out of their consumers, they should make an all female game development company that makes games without these issues. If there is demand for it, then people will buy it.

The solution is not to try and censor the companies, as that is damaging to the freedom of our system, but to use the freedom of the system to your advantage. There is absolutely nothing stopping them making a company, they don't even need to manufacture CDs or anything any more with digital distribution.

Psellos · 2013-02-28T09:39:09+00:00

Maybe you should go to the gym or establish healthy eating habits.

2013-02-28T10:01:48+00:00

I know a lot of football players so...a lot.

blob209 · 2013-02-28T11:27:26+00:00

I know about 3.

scithion · 2013-02-28T11:32:14+00:00

The second and fourth have rendered me sexually excited. Who are they and where are they from?

jmjackson1 · 2013-02-28T12:14:05+00:00

Speak for your self....

shiro223 · 2013-02-28T12:29:12+00:00

Even if men did start looking like that, women would still think they are ugly. If I turned into Chris Redfield one day, most women would view me as a 5/10. Since women think this way, I'm beginning to think they are all actually gay. I'm into both genders but I can tell you that dealing with men is much better.

I_divided_by_0- · 2013-02-28T12:36:40+00:00

God I wish I did.

Futhermucker · 2013-02-28T13:07:35+00:00

It's a game for fucks sake, who the hell cares

2013-02-28T13:58:19+00:00

I think this is at the bottom of the list of important shit for gender equalizers to care about.

nazishark · 2013-02-28T13:59:24+00:00

kratos is a god, snake, chris and leon are all special ops. ken masters is a champion street fighter, of course they are going to be buff

Khaemwaset · 2013-02-28T14:06:34+00:00

Second dude on the right looks pretty average.

Big deal.

truthjusticeUSAway · 2013-02-28T14:36:15+00:00

I've always thought that while women do have a crazy standard of beauty to live up to, the standard of beauty for men is way harder to achieve. Women have makeup and hair and nails and shaving, yes, but they don't have the expectation of ripped abs and big biceps that men have. Ostensibly, the only thing that takes a lot of physical effort for women to achieve is the part where they have to be thin (and not even extremely thin, and unless you're already fat staying thin isn't that hard). Men need to be thin (at a lower body fat percentage than women) and be highly muscled sex machines, which takes literally hours of hard work in the gym every week

corycran · 2013-02-28T14:43:10+00:00

Abs baby, it's all about the abs.

2013-02-28T14:47:14+00:00

body dysmorphia for men in the media is a serious issue... this results in steroids abuse, eating disorders, and other bodily abuse

but no one cares because men can't be victims since they rule the world

Random_Avenger · 2013-02-28T14:58:09+00:00

I work out so I can wear costumes to look like comic book superheroes...

Doing it for health and stuff yeah as a side, but primarily for the spandex.

It did mess with my head though, I will admit that. I've had an eating disorder for a while because of it. Thankfully I'm over it now.

Wahlenator · 2013-02-28T15:28:05+00:00

I was always shocked at how fucking jacked Chris Redfield was.

helalo · 2013-02-28T15:32:53+00:00

a lot actually.

dont go down the same stupid fucking road feminism is taking. its just a game, theres no messages behind it to genders.

Coramoor_ · 2013-02-28T15:52:30+00:00

Leon Kennedy isn't ridiculous but I understand your point

2013-02-28T15:55:57+00:00

They gave Cortana a personality as well as a pair of tits, and look what happened; she's a goddamn pain in the ass.

Tebasaki · 2013-02-28T16:00:09+00:00

I did make a game with a fat guy as the main character, but it wasn't popular cause he ran out of breath too often and took too long on the shitter browsing Reddit.

2013-02-28T16:06:25+00:00

My step dad looks like solid snake.

Gadflyii · 2013-02-28T16:22:55+00:00

I think this illustation by Humon describes quite well why it isn't quite so.

As in, these unattainable game character male bodies are not sex fantasies for women - they are power fantasies for men. Women do not find these game heroes attractive or desirable - men do.

The female characters in games, on the other hand, aren't power fantasies aimed at women but sex fantasies aimed at men. And that's what the outcry, whining, shrieking, etc is all about.

2013-02-28T16:36:19+00:00

I wish there were gorgeous men in video games.

CircumcisionRules · 2013-02-28T16:48:36+00:00

Wow dude, where's the fucking trigger warning? Do you have any idea how much suffering us men go through when we are objectified like that? I'm so triggered right now oh my fucking god.

arch4non · 2013-02-28T17:04:54+00:00

Stupid sexy Snake and his buns of steel.

2013-02-28T17:11:53+00:00

Oh who gives a crap, why would i want the main character in a video game i'm playing to be very skinny or very fat or ugly or whatever the hell else that's considered non-shallow? That's just stupid.

gofastturnleft · 2013-02-28T17:19:15+00:00

Iggy Pop?

kenba2099 · 2013-02-28T17:20:25+00:00

I know someone who looks like Kratos, except he is not gray. But he is also a personal trainer, so it's not like his look doesn't match his profession.

2013-02-28T17:26:44+00:00

I wouldn't say that it's objectifying in the same way. Playing a videogame is all about escapism. Being what you can't be in real life. Doing what you can't do. As the main market for video games is male between teen age and late twenties, characters in videogames are designed to be the perfect character for the consumer to reflect their own ambitions. Consumers enjoy looking at their over exaggerated characters, but not for sexual reasons. They enjoy the look of the characters because they're badass and strong. Female characters in games ARE mostly sexualised because they're not aimed at girls. About 90% of women in video games are over sexualised in every possible way.

ElfmanLV · 2013-02-28T17:27:33+00:00

Is it bad that I know what their counter argument is already?

Yes, women and men are both objectified in gaming, but they are both in the vision of men. They only appeal to male, meaning the whole gaming system is patriarchal because women's view on body image is stifled.

...Fuck that man.

afrodantheman · 2013-02-28T17:35:45+00:00

Tell that to Mario..

revokatt · 2013-02-28T17:59:56+00:00

Well, shockingly, there exists large group differences in what we find attractive. This is why we have genres like "chick flicks". This is why there is a slew of successful women's erotica (written porn, hardcover books with no pictures) that feature dominant, sometimes violent men - including assault and rape fantasies. Non-visual porn is not as popular with men. And porn with dominant women is much less popular than vice versa.

While there is large overlap and video gaming is branching out, it's still a rather niche interest of primarily male authors. This in and of itself is not a problem. Very few men write or read bodice-ripper compared to women and very few women compared to men read Playgirl (like playboy with naked men - and half its readership is gay men).

We're simply stimulated by different things. This doesn't mean no woman likes to watch david beckham with his shirt off or that every man needs to see every female character undressed all the time, but we're not the same. Shocking, I know.

thesonicreducer · 2013-02-28T18:24:54+00:00

Cause a skinny guy beating the shit out of people is really believable

mrasarefaggots · 2013-03-01T00:21:28+00:00

Tons, but then again I'm not basement dwelling loser and have a gym membership.

Pecanpig · 2013-03-01T01:01:39+00:00

Not an issue either way.

And luckily, the general gaming community doesn't give a shit about political correctness, and seems to find it mildly annoying. (the absurd amount of female characters in Skyrim, based in a fantasy land, but also several thousand years ago)

Seanofthebread112 · 2013-03-01T01:22:22+00:00

Actually, I know a couple guys that look like Leon.

2013-03-01T02:35:09+00:00

Oh my god! I feel so insecure about these unachievable body types, someone censor it so my feelings aren't hurt!

I recognize Double Dragon, Resident Evil, and Metal Gear Solid.

The guy at the right end with blood coming out of his wrist looks like a bodybuilder on HGH and anabolic steroids. The blond guy with the pony tail is the most realistic.

lanana · 2013-03-01T04:34:51+00:00

Hey, who cares, I'll vote with my $$$ . If designers want to make games for a 100% male audience, go for it. I'll buy games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age which have awesome male and female characters and a large following of both genders, just because I think they are better games. I'm not going to get all offended at the lame scantily clad women in games, I just won't buy them if its a crappy game.

drinkthebleach · 2013-03-01T06:29:58+00:00

Seriously. The second I see a video game rep a skinny dude whos not built as fuck I can't put it down.

SockBramson · 2013-03-01T17:07:10+00:00

What about villains? How many games feature a female villain?

Battletoads? Banjo-Kazooie?

Are there any games that have a human male hero fighting a female villain?

I think one of the Zelda Four Swords games has this. Other than that I got nothing.

2013-03-01T21:00:07+00:00

Actually I know plenty of good-looking buff dudes...

adoorknob8 · 2013-03-03T11:28:46+00:00

This sheds some light into why there is a difference between women and men portrayal in gaming/geek culture: http://www.doctornerdlove.com/2012/01/nerds-and-male-privilege-part-2/3/

jestert26 · 2013-03-16T04:25:16+00:00

I know it's not the point, but I actually know quite a few guys who look like Geralt. He's pretty average looking to me.

CanonMKIII5D · 2013-02-28T08:24:29+00:00

When I see a successful franchise that features a beach volleyball game featuring exclusively male characters where you can buy skimpier and skimpier clothing for the characters, complete with photoshoot mode and next generation junk-bouncing physics technology, I will believe that males are sexually objectified in the same way in video games.

That's Dead or Alive, Xtreme 2.

When I see a game that was successful enough to warrant a next gen console sequel, with a sequel, that is an equivalent to an erotic fetish foxy boxing wrestling game but with all male characters, then I'll believe it males are sexually objectified in the same way.. (WWE Wrestling games don't count.)

That game is Rumble Roses XX.

wilfork4foood · 2013-02-28T12:14:16+00:00

I loved this MRA group but you all ate getting ridiculous.

soggies · 2013-02-28T14:06:07+00:00

Or this: http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/4/324840-street_fighter_blanka.jpg

I WANT MY RIGHTS, FEMINAZIS.

coinspelunk · 2013-02-28T17:30:04+00:00

I completely 100% agree that men are objectified in video games. It is ridiculous to think that women are the only ones that are sexualized in this genre. Having said that, I do see a lack of video games where the main character is a person that the average gamer girl can relate to. For example, in Zelda the main character is in no way sexualized. He is basically your average kid. Girls have no equivilant (that I know of. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Or in Mario, there is no girl on Mario's side trying to save the princess. And why aren't princes ever in danger? Why isn't there ever a prince to be the prize to be won at the end of the game?

I understand that the main characters who are put in these action situations need to have bodies that look like they could handle these situations. I am not going to believe that a 300 lb morbidly obese man is able to sprint everywhere and do back flips. I think Uncharted does a good job at having main characters that are fit but not overly sexualized.

sinisterdexter42 · 2013-03-01T00:39:05+00:00

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/4719-Gender-Games

pretty much what I was going to say.

tehmillhouse · 2013-02-28T10:48:31+00:00

Oh come on. You'd be hard-pressed to even find that many women protagonists in video games as there are guys shown on this image. Yes, society hurts men, too, but you bunch are like a bunch of white dudes complaining that they're expected to suck at dancing because of their skin color while living in colonial time South Africa.

ugotownd · 2013-02-28T06:20:08+00:00

Annnnnnd unsubscribing from this sub. I think we've delved just a little too far with this. There are much more important topics to discuss then forms of entertainment.

YetAnotherCommenter · 2013-02-28T07:35:03+00:00

I don't think you understand the point of the idea of sexual objectification. Well, I don't think, I know you don't. In the end, for "objectification" to be harmful, it has to show the object as subservient and weak, detached from they inherent human worth. This isn't that type of objectification, not by a long shot. There is merit in asking if men are portrayed as violent brutes, incapable of emotion, but that's not really relevant in this case, because these are powerful heros, not weak, subservient objects detached from their humanity. Feminism first brought up the problem of sexual objectification because of the huge problem of domestic violence. The way women were seen, as objects without agency was theorized as playing a huge part in why so many men thought it was okay to be violent against women, against their spouses, and so on.

So, these role models, shown as strong, and powerful, aren't having a negative effect on boys or men, unless you're going to consider the theory that these types of stereotypes make men violent and brutal, and I don't think anyone here is willing to look past their own biases when it comes to playing video games, and the disconnect of how our media, and what we take in, plays a role in our own ability to make decisions.

asdrojas · 2013-02-28T05:37:02+00:00

there are plenty ugly men in gaming but women are always good looking even thoose intended to be bad ass. I dont remember have seen a fat woman in a game.

stillwtnforbmrecords · 2013-02-28T09:34:03+00:00

Ok... I've seen this a couple dozen times already and I have to say, NO!

Men in videogames are muscular, attractive and badass not because of objectification, but because of fantasy. It's what the male player want to be like, not what they want to bang, that's what female characters are for. The fact is, women play 'core' games much less than men. So much less that they can be almost completely disregarded when it comes to a market. That's why women in videogames are all hot babes. Men like hot babes and if women feel offended, they are such a small share of buyers that it barely makes a difference. Men in videogames are not there to fulfil female sexual fantasies. They are there to fulfil the male player's fantasy of self-image. They want to be hunk, handsome badasses. It's the same way with movies.

Drop_ · 2013-02-28T05:39:40+00:00

This didn't impress me at all.

Are people not bothered by aping feminist tropes on with the gender reversed? The arguments they make are problematic for both the content and the way they make them.

I don't see why people here would try to copy tumblr feminism with the message tweaked slightly.

JukePenguin · 2013-02-28T06:41:34+00:00

This place is infested with pussies. I'm out.

rayn_phal · 2013-02-28T05:44:18+00:00

Actually a lot of this is a power fantasy of men. I'm not saying that male objectification doesn't exist mind you (abercrombie and fitch much?). Just that a large number of Male leads in video games are what men want to be, bad asses of one form or another. Where as most of the women in games aren't really what most women aspire to be.

Title	Men in gaming
Author	jwinf843
Upvotes	1090
Comments	420
Date	February 28, 2013 3:28 AM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/mensrights/comments/19dh5d/men-in-gaming/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/men-in-gaming.1607169 https://theredarchive.com/post/1607169

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