02-16-2012, 06:46 AM
I'm going to call you out on using a very narrow, incredibly gender-biased set of criteria for making these comparisons, Jarka. The sexualization involves a lot more than just what they wear. Honestly, garb doesn't bother me at all as long as there's a consistent visual aesthetic. Not really the point, but I'll get to that.
Cass didn't make your list and she is, far and away, the most sexualized character in the game (followed fairly closely by MF and Eve). She's naked except for a bra (if you want to call it that) and belt. All of her animations are designed to be done in as seductive a manner as possible (her auto-attack is a snake coiling off a casually out-stretched arm). Her voice actress also fits the profile, so to speak. This was actually a case of Riot being very smart about their sexualization. My point, though, is that she doesn't make the cut because... she doesn't have legs?
Sexualization is about more than just the design of their clothes. Soraka is on there for all of her skins and she is, possibly, the least sexual goddess ever. Yeah, she's rocking some side-boob, but... that seems like a very petty "complaint." The obvious response to that is "well that's just because sexualization has become so common-place" and, to an extent, I agree. I would argue, though, that she's a case of creating a consistent aesthetic and not a case of just trying to flaunt skin.
This quickly turns into a very chicken-or-the-egg argument. Would the females have so much cleavage if it wasn't "expected" of video games? Maybe, maybe not. Should it be ok that that's not a question most people would think to ask? Probably not, but that's a societal standard that extends so far beyond video games that blaming one game of doing it is... borderline ridiculous.
The gender comment is because the oversexualization of males is less blatant, but no less important. Jarvan the fourth is a great example. He has a six pack through his armor and no one bats an eyelash. Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous. People would rather complain that there are too many boobs. Sure. I get that, but not even acknowledging that it goes beyond women is... insulting. (No, Jarka is absolutely not the only person that has even done this and I am not talking about her, specifically.) Look at Jarvan's "commando" skin. His biceps are roughly the size of his waist. It's insane.
Of course there's the obvious Pantheon example, but that's already come up. Graves isn't on your list, but I'd argue he's in that category of sexualized males. Pumped up egos running around pumping their guns and not afraiding of anything. Twisted Fate is in the same boat for me. He's like a male version of Cass.
My point is that sexualization extends far beyond artistic representation. Does that mean the art teams doesn't just pander sometimes? I think we all know the answer to that. Does that mean, though, that every character showing their midriff is just a sex symbol? I really don't think so. I have to apologize about calling Soraka the least sexy character ever; I just scrolled up and saw the cut-out of Karma. She... yeah... is showing her stomach, but it's not at all sexual. I think you're just looking for a way to show how over-sexualizaed females are instead of looking at how over-sexualizaed video games are. I guess that's fine, but... *shrug*
If, at some point, you actually mentioned that all you were looking at was the art, then I missed it. It looked like an argument for sex backed by the art, as opposed to just talking about the sex itself.
Cass didn't make your list and she is, far and away, the most sexualized character in the game (followed fairly closely by MF and Eve). She's naked except for a bra (if you want to call it that) and belt. All of her animations are designed to be done in as seductive a manner as possible (her auto-attack is a snake coiling off a casually out-stretched arm). Her voice actress also fits the profile, so to speak. This was actually a case of Riot being very smart about their sexualization. My point, though, is that she doesn't make the cut because... she doesn't have legs?
Sexualization is about more than just the design of their clothes. Soraka is on there for all of her skins and she is, possibly, the least sexual goddess ever. Yeah, she's rocking some side-boob, but... that seems like a very petty "complaint." The obvious response to that is "well that's just because sexualization has become so common-place" and, to an extent, I agree. I would argue, though, that she's a case of creating a consistent aesthetic and not a case of just trying to flaunt skin.
This quickly turns into a very chicken-or-the-egg argument. Would the females have so much cleavage if it wasn't "expected" of video games? Maybe, maybe not. Should it be ok that that's not a question most people would think to ask? Probably not, but that's a societal standard that extends so far beyond video games that blaming one game of doing it is... borderline ridiculous.
The gender comment is because the oversexualization of males is less blatant, but no less important. Jarvan the fourth is a great example. He has a six pack through his armor and no one bats an eyelash. Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous. People would rather complain that there are too many boobs. Sure. I get that, but not even acknowledging that it goes beyond women is... insulting. (No, Jarka is absolutely not the only person that has even done this and I am not talking about her, specifically.) Look at Jarvan's "commando" skin. His biceps are roughly the size of his waist. It's insane.
Of course there's the obvious Pantheon example, but that's already come up. Graves isn't on your list, but I'd argue he's in that category of sexualized males. Pumped up egos running around pumping their guns and not afraiding of anything. Twisted Fate is in the same boat for me. He's like a male version of Cass.
My point is that sexualization extends far beyond artistic representation. Does that mean the art teams doesn't just pander sometimes? I think we all know the answer to that. Does that mean, though, that every character showing their midriff is just a sex symbol? I really don't think so. I have to apologize about calling Soraka the least sexy character ever; I just scrolled up and saw the cut-out of Karma. She... yeah... is showing her stomach, but it's not at all sexual. I think you're just looking for a way to show how over-sexualizaed females are instead of looking at how over-sexualizaed video games are. I guess that's fine, but... *shrug*
If, at some point, you actually mentioned that all you were looking at was the art, then I missed it. It looked like an argument for sex backed by the art, as opposed to just talking about the sex itself.
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