The way the information was presented, no one will ever be able to tell if Schreier saw teh boobs, made his troll like statement, got negative feedback and THEN covered his ass by constructing his argument that he was acting in defense of women, or if he sincerely felt as if the boobs were sexist to begin with and that's what caused him to rant. Either way, it's caused ripples throughout all forums and gaming sites that could have far reaching implications. At the very least, it sparked a lot of intelligent (and not so intelligent) discussions, so for me, it's a win, win. I get to play the game and air my opinions, as well as seeing how other people feel about art, sexism, character design, etc, in games.
What I guess I am trying to say is: There is no winning or losing these arguments. There's no good or bad either. There's so many topics being thrown around in reaction to this, it's ALL interesting.
I'm going to construct this in order of logical premises. I want to know which premise you have an issue with. If none, then you agree this is a problem.
1. Unhealthy portrayals of women exist pervasively in videogames (and media as a whole)
2. Perpetuation of unhealthy portrayals of women is a bad thing
3. The sorceress character is a perpetuation of unhealthy portrayals
4. Ergo, the sorceress character is a bad thing
How is the Sorceress an unhealthy portrayal and who is she unhealthy for?
Women designed for men. This means unrealistic body types (this is not simply stylistic) and lack of practical relevance outside of sex appeal. By contrast, yes, I agree the archer in this game is much better.
Here's an example of something incredibly common that shows the difference in portrayal of men and women:
Sex is what makes her bad as a character? You would rather her be plain, docile and powerless than sexy? Why hasn't anyone spoken up in defense of Peach?
The way the information was presented, no one will ever be able to tell if Schreier saw teh boobs, made his troll like statement, got negative feedback and THEN covered his ass by constructing his argument that he was acting in defense of women, or if he sincerely felt as if the boobs were sexist to begin with and that's what caused him to rant. Either way, it's caused ripples throughout all forums and gaming sites that could have far reaching implications. At the very least, it sparked a lot of intelligent (and not so intelligent) discussions, so for me, it's a win, win. I get to play the game and air my opinions, as well as seeing how other people feel about art, sexism, character design, etc, in games.
What I guess I am trying to say is: There is no winning or losing these arguments. There's no good or bad either. There's so many topics being thrown around in reaction to this, it's ALL interesting.
1. Unhealthy portrayals of women exist pervasively in videogames (and media as a whole)
2. Perpetuation of unhealthy portrayals of women is a bad thing
3. The sorceress character is a perpetuation of unhealthy portrayals
4. Ergo, the sorceress character is a bad thing
What happens if you exchange the word 'Sexy' with 'Unhealthy' ?
Go back and look at ALL Sorceresses in ALL Fantasy Literature, Movies, TV Shows, etc...
This isn't a Gaming Issue, and it's called FANTASY for a reason.
If the players can't tell the difference, THAT'S the real problem!
And the only reason it's a problem is that it is pervasive. Who the hell's saying that it's only this game and nothing else?
You didn't ask a question!
How is the Sorceress an unhealthy portrayal and who is she unhealthy for?
Women designed for men. This means unrealistic body types (this is not simply stylistic) and lack of practical relevance outside of sex appeal. By contrast, yes, I agree the archer in this game is much better.
Here's an example of something incredibly common that shows the difference in portrayal of men and women:
Are you rescuing the Sorceress? Is she helpless? Is she not a Heroine of the game? Yes, she has big boobs, but she can kick serious ass too.
I think I am more offended by Princess Peach as a character than the Sorceress...
Sex is what makes her bad as a character? You would rather her be plain, docile and powerless than sexy? Why hasn't anyone spoken up in defense of Peach?