So here's the deal,

First, let me apologize for the alarmist title, but unlike most alarmist titles you've heard this week, this one is 100% true, 100% of the time. Yep, no ridiculous hyperbole here :)

Now I know what you're thinking, "cummon Max,there are plenty of strong, female characters in games!"

Oh, you mean like this fine example of what every little girl should aspire to?

Or that shining embodiment of the strong, put-together female?

The unfortunate reality is, most girls in games are there simply as eye candy. Big surprise right? Just like when you found out that that rusted Camaro was really a Transformer in that move... that movie with the giant metal... shape... changing... anyway, not important. No matter how much the devs try to mask that with their girls' roles as a powerful role model, it's never quite enough, at least with most examples.

I mean, take that well clothed maiden in the first link. To excuse the fact that she's the most well endowed, DOA Volleyball jiggle physics-ridden, "perfect" bodied video game character to grace a screen, the devs claimed that she was a strong womanly presence, that she was more than just a MASSIVE rack, and that she was a woman that girls could aspire to become.

Unfortunately though, to believe that cover-up, you'd have to stretch your suspension of disbelief till it's, say... as wide as Duke Nukem's 'roid addled wang. HA! thought I couldn't come up with another 'witty" analogy, didn't you? Well I sure proved you.



The sad truth is that Lara Croft is a cold killer, who solves all of her problems with either her big guns, or her big guns (teeheeheehee, aahhhhhhhhhh >_>) And she enjoys it.

Now I know what you're saying, "Max not all females in games are titanicly-breasted, trigger-happer, murdering vixen."

And to that I say, yes, you are more than correct. There are many reasonably proportioned women that stand for all the right things. Or there would be, if every game contained a kitchen that went with the art style.

But seriously, there are many examples of incredible female role models. Alex Vance, even Samas Aran to some extent. But the biggest problem of all lies in these excellent role models themselves.



Take Lightning for example, from FFXIII. And if you needed that game specification, please kindly turn in all your controllers now. She is an excellent role model for young women. She is independent, moral, fights for all the right reasons, and gives the girls who could idolize her something to fantasize about (sigh) The only problem is in her appearance. It's perfectly normal, if not a little on the thin and gorgeous side. She's not oversexualized, her outfit is as functional as a FF game will allow, and she shows a very reasonable amount of skin, just enough to keep us interested. And that's exactly the problem. Lightning's strength, the strength she uses to chop up monsters 4 times her size, is COMPLETELY disproportionate to the amount of muscle on her body.

Lightning is very attractive. She's thin, she's got a strong yet soft face, and there's not a sign of muscle on her body. And that's because muscular women are generally considered to be unatractive. And this stigma, at least to the more critical gamer, brings her almost complete lack of sexism to its knees (I just couldn't help myself, please don't hate me)

Obviously this problem does not extend to the well-put-together, not oversexualized, well dressed, reasonable standard of beauty characters that don't do any feats that require massive strength, but these rare individuals are few and far between.

So while there are undoubtedly realistic portrayals of women out there, the point is that we really have to dig deep and analyze them before we go off declaring them as the saviors of a woman's roles in video games, or trusting developers when they do so.

~ Om nom nom nom