Kotaku
Sex, sexuality, and gender in gaming are hot button issues: even people who like to complain about the topics coming up can't resist weighing in. Gender history is one area I'm usually working on in some capacity or another, in addition to topics that are heavier on blood, guts, and political intrigue, so I always read discussions on sexuality and gender in one of my other pet subjects with interest. Beyond that, there is an expectation that - being one of those girl gamer types - I will write about gender issues, at least occasionally.
The recent kerfuffle over Leigh Alexander's article on mature versus juvenile sexuality in games reinforced some observations I've been making for the past few years, and highlighted a few more problems I have with the way the discussion tends to turn. Sometimes, I think it just highlights how immature the gaming community can be that we can't discuss the issue of cleavage without resorting to name-calling. Still, sex and visual culture has been on my mind recently thanks to my current research - and if being submersed in films and film culture will do anything, it will dredge up plenty of examples of good depictions of sex, bad depictions of sex, and everything in between. And to be honest, I think the gaming industry by and large has a lot to learn from the older medium of film: from the good, the bad, and the ugly.
While games aren't film, there are a lot of parallels in the ways stories are told and the fact that both are visual mediums. Certainly, there's plenty of bad sex and sexuality on screens across the world, but there's plenty of rich and wonderful depictions, too. Some people say we shouldn't look towards film, but until the medium leaps beyond our current way of telling stories via consoles and handhelds, I think we should be looking to the more established, more mature medium for inspiration (at least some of the time). It couldn't possibly hurt for the most part. It's delightful to ruminate on the emotive power of future video games with fancy technology that's way, way ahead of what the industry can currently produce - but despite the arguments against looking to film for tips on narrative design, games on the whole can barely manage to string together a creative, original, well-developed and well-written narrative.
One of Alexander's points in her Aberrant Gamer column was that it's often the subtle relationships that take on the most power - hand holding in ICO, watching the relationship of two adults through the eyes of a teenager in Final Fantasy XII. It's not the sex/sexual overtones/sexuality for the sake of titillation that so often seems to crop up in games, either with the physical acts or having pixilated tits on display. I'm of the humble opinion that it's easier to whip up a scantily clad character to insert some 'sex appeal' into a game (or movie) than it is to create that same sex appeal through, say, character development. How many films and games have thrown in the more overt sex/sex appeal as an afterthought - "Damn, we forgot the sexy bits, and people like sexy bits - let's throw in some mostly naked people." It feels like an afterthought, and that's a shame, because adding sexuality to the mix can heighten the emotional impact a story has on the viewer. A beloved-but-not-great film in my collection is The Peony Pavilion (not to be confused with the original) - after a subtle handling of the complicated friendship between two women, the not terribly convincing love scene between one of the female leads and her first man crush is not only unerotic, it's jarring, out of place, and only serves to yank the viewer out of what is otherwise a beautiful and rather dreamy film.
On the other side of the coin, one of the most erotic scenes I've ever seen (and I've watched a lot of film) is from Red Sorghum. Early in the film, Gong Li's little wedding procession is waylaid by a bandit, who pulls back the red curtain of her litter, reaches out, and squeezes her red slippered foot. She looks up at him and smiles. It's an erotic, if subtle, moment, far more so than watching various video game vixens or vapid starlets slither about on screen in few or no clothes. It's way more erotic than watching a 'sex scene' that seems tacked on as an afterthought. We're talking about squeezing a foot - even if you aren't terribly aware of the sexual power of the slippered foot in imperial China, it's hard not to see the sexuality that rolls off the screen. More than that, Gong Li's character shifts from a shy girl to being aware of the power of her own sexuality. All this with a foot squeeze and a look, the tilt of a chin, a smile. Video games are capable of this level of subtlety and nuance, but it's a capability that has, thus far, been more or less unexplored.
In short, boobs are the easy way out. Overt sexuality is an easy way out - instant titillation with the ensuing hordes of ogling fan boys and girls is a hell of a lot easier than trying to sell sexuality of a subtler stripe. Sex - and overt sex appeal - has its place, but the fact remains that it's more difficult to craft complex characters, the ones that ooze sex appeal without cartoonish proportions, than it is to put a pixelated body on display. They're less dangerous, too, people on display, easier to put in their place as a sexpot or vapid curvy creature - it's the Gong Lis of the world who are dangerous, the ones who are well aware of the power of what they aren't showing, the ones who can lure and tempt the unwitting man into god only knows what. The ones who know they have more going for them than overexposed cleavage are temptation to the extreme. The lovely courtesans of imperial China (the 'talented women,' not the streetwalkers) were renowned for their beauty, their myriad talents (usually in poetry, painting, or calligraphy), their charming company, their manners. Even wives developed friendships with these multi-talented vixens. There's no doubt that sexuality and beauty played a huge role in vaulting the talented girls to the top of the courtesan heap, but they are deeper than just their stunning figures; pretty figures and faces are a dime a dozen. The most talented had a throngs of adoring admirers (Ming dynasty fan boys and girls?) for several reasons, no matter how sharp their tongue. History, novels and films are all full of these complex, subtle women, vividly sexual beings without being shallow or cheap, but video games seem to lack in this regard.
Let's live dangerously here: any reason the good girl can't vamp around screen every now and again? Does the vamp have to be a man-eater all the time? Characters tend to be shuffled into one category or another, and there is a bit of a madonna/whore complex going on when it comes to women. Characterization of men, I must hasten to add, isn't much better, and just another example that what we really need is better writing, better narrative, better characterization. If the sad, consumptive opera singer of the aforementioned Peony Pavilion can be by turns depressed housewife, tender-hearted friend, and vixenish seductress - if complex characters can emerge out of what amounts to a very average production - why in the world can't equally complex characters emerge from powerhouse development teams at great studios with more frequency than we currently see?
One of my favorite modern films, Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love, features Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu Wai playacting a suspected affair between their cheating spouses. Maggie Cheung, while wearing an astonishing number of tight fitting qipao throughout the film, isn't cultivating sexuality via skin. She's not vamping and pouting her way through the plot; we never see a sex scene, or anything even approaching torrid, happen between the jilted, playacting spouses. And yet - the two are wonderful to watch on screen together. It's passion of a less unbridled sort, developed with looks and posture and body language, but it smolders throughout the movie - and it's sexy as hell to watch them on screen together. Tony Leung once said in an interview that despite playing opposite each other in a number of films, he and Cheung deliberately see each other infrequently to preserve mystery in their relationship. It's partly that mystery that's devastatingly sexy, and the reason I'll suffer through having to watch Zhang Ziyi attempt to act just to see Cheung and Leung work their on-screen magic.
I don't think we're ready for the Wong Kar-wai of video games - I'm certainly not ready for Wong Kar-wai on my console or handheld - but if he and other directors can manage to convey sexuality and well-developed relationships, to say nothing of creating desirable on-screen sirens, in two hours and without resorting to cheap titillation, surely whoever's in charge of the story board for a game that may well have much, much more time to develop and explore characters than your average big screen picture could do the same. Let's have the good girl show some skin and the bad girl cover up a little for a change, or at least admit that's an option. We, and the characters, deserve more richness and diversity in the characterization mix. When the good girl goes 'sexy,' you wind up with Yuna of Final Fantasy X-2. While I think there are some arguments to be made for the 'liberation of Yuna' and ensuing clothing loss and radical change of personality, couldn't they have sexed up the clothing and character without turning her into a giggling idiot for three quarters of the game? No wonder Paine looked like she was nursing a bad headache most of the time.
This really isn't about sex, nudity, breasts, or anything else; it's all in the handling. There's a 2001 documentary (of sorts) that follows the lives of a lesbian couple in Beijing. They're perfectly normal people and a loving couple, they just like to spend lots of time doing their daily in-house activities in the buff. We see them cooking dinner, cleaning, hanging out, showering, hopping in bed - and yet, despite their nudity and their engagement in activities that could easily become fodder for softcore porn, it doesn't feel cheap, it doesn't feel like a copout. Of course, there are plenty of 'artistic,' 'independent,' or 'underground' films that are just as guilty of using gratuitous sex or nudity to say nothing more than 'Hey! Our headliners look good naked! Watch our film!'. And on the flip side, plenty of big budget pictures have tackled sex and naked people with aplomb. This is all about the direction, the cutting, the crafting of the film. This stuff doesn't just happen - it takes talent and the desire to create something more.
With all the emphasis on realism in graphics, you'd hope that people would be equally concerned with realism in characterization (I suppose that particular divide is a conversation saved for another day). Still, considering what can be conveyed visually these days, it should be even easier to create narratives and characters that are compelling in a way that the written word sometimes isn't. And no temperamental prima donna actresses to worry about!
We have the talent in spades - now it's time for the desire to create rich characters and engaging narratives to follow. Jiggling breasts et al. are, at this point, a copout - an easy way to create sex appeal. From better writing, better characterization, more thoughtful creation will flow better depictions of sexuality and sex. And I daresay some of those maligned, subtler, more 'mature' aspects will add a certain element of sexiness that is, for the most part, currently lacking in games. I wouldn't want gaming to resemble an art house theatre and nothing but, but we're in no danger of that - I'm just looking for more options, just like I have when I flip through my DVD collections. I'm patiently waiting for the gaming vixen who knocks us dead in her first appearance, and not with her unrealistic proportions. She'll appear someday ... I hope.
Some games are meant to be nothing more than entertainment, just as many movies are. Even the great 'social dramas' of the silver screen were sold to the masses on sex appeal and escape. But I'm at a loss to see how more diversity and better crafting would hurt any of us in the long run. Jiggling pixels are never going to go away - but it's time to add more (a lot more) than that.
Notes on film screens, in order: The Actress/Centre Stage [阮玲玉] (1992); The Pillow Book (1996); In the Mood for Love [花樣年華] (2000); Peony Pavilion [遊園驚夢] (2001); Red Sorghum [紅高梁] (1987); Peony Pavilion; In the Mood for Love; still from The Goddess [神女] (1934) from The Actress.
Comments
I also loved In the Mood for Love. What a gorgeous film. But I have to admit that it would make a pretty boring video game.
Everyone can learn from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Fantastic film!
Freat feature. And don't even get me started on FF X-2.
Damn that's a long read. How dare you make me read on my day off from class =P
At any rate, there are a lot of interesting points in this. I was especially intrigued with the documentary of lesbian couples in Beijing because with the chinese government that would seem like a real hot topic yet they sound so normal.
@ach77: it wouldn't be boring if it's rated AO.
@Sparx: wow! you read all of THAT?? you're must be really bored...
Great post, and timely too, judging by the comments in the Mariah Carey story. I have nothing to add, you've touched all the bases here.
@cooler_dood: Some people... now get this... actually read... for fun! Amazing, isn't it?
Cleavage? I think you meant jubblies. *goes back to reading article*
great article, I think that as more and more adults grew up as gamers we will see more and more games that cater to the adult crowd. I was a teenager once, and the gaming market was once almost completely dominated by prepubescent males. We have since matured, the both of us, I do not look at women the same way I used to. I have a wife and can enjoy a love story when it is portrayed well. I cannot tell you how disappointed I feel when I see responses to an attractive female as "OMG BEWBS!!"
but no matter how far we advance we cannot forget our former selves, and our animal nature (that even comes out in me sometimes) or we will be destined to revert and become that which we have grown past.
I was personally very moved by the love story in FF VIII and i've never experienced anyhting like it since. So i think there are people out there who know how write a good realistic character the only problem is that most people hate those kind of games.
Oh there will be a time when those kind of games will be made more often but i don't think that time is now, just like with art house movies, they couldn't have existed 30-40 years ago
@Billkwando: *smacks forehead*
responses like that.
(j/k...I can sense the faint presence of sarcasm there)
Sex nad love in games would be great to explore.
It will never happen. At least not at this rate. The ultraconservative ESRB coupled with the platform holders sarificing the freedom of choice of gamers over mythical "consequences" that have never been shown to even EXIST makes it impossible. Make any substantive, mature statements about love and sex and you'll get yourself an AO rating and no console will run your game.
Gamers deserve to have their art limited and handicapped because of how easily they bent over for the ESRB. They didn't fight it at all, and now they'll reap what they've sown.
@cooler_dood: some.....people......like......to....actually....read..am i talking to quick for you?
Tsk, Maggie. Didn't you learn from GDC? We'd rather enhance our boob-shading technologies than tackle more complex things like storyline depth or putting real thought into characters.
@cooler_dood:
Maybe not word for word since I probably muddled through a lot of the foreign names but about 95% of it.
Besides, ShaggE is right in that some people do read for fun, but thats not why I read it. I was interested to read this because this is a pretty hot topic in games anymore and as a gamer it only makes sense to be in the loop.
@ShaggE: this site is about video games, not books and words. gamers don't read, that's why they play video games. if they didn't play games, then they'd be reading...for fun!
but since video games are way MORE fun than reading, they do that instead.
@Sparx: Ditto about the day off of class. xD
Good read, I tend to have the same opinions regarding the use of sex in games. Granted I love Dead or Alive but really for the fantastic combat system. Honest!...
I might have to check out some of these movies but isn't it kinda awkward that you only used Asian film. I know they are more open about their sexuality but there are good Western films that tackle the same issue of sexuality with some decency and not just turn it into smut.
A very interesting piece, but the debate about games learning from film is hardly new.
@Sparx: wow you must have an interesting life to think this is a "pretty hot topic".
lucky bastard.
by interesting, i mean lame.
@cooler_dood: I'm just going to assume heavy sarcasm in both of your comments. If so, good show, I fell for it. If not... gods help us all.
I agree with a lot of this, but I somehow knew FFX-2 was going to come up. I disagree about the presentation of Yuna. Her character is consistent with FFX - this is the girl who, knowingly packing for a pilgrimmage that would result in her suicide, thought first of gifts for the monks at all the temples she was visiting. This is the girl who, when meeting someone everyone else assumed was completely crazy, talked about every tale of his playing on a team for a civilization that was completely destroyed with utmost sincerity. This is the girl who, when presented a sphere with the knowledge of Seymour's treachery, kept the information to herself and took the entire task upon herself. This is the girl who played at a marriage to send Seymour, then escaped with the words "I can fly!" while drifting away on Valefor. And when contemplating her own inevitable death with this same man, escaped with him into a pure fantasy conversation.
Yuna never acts like a "giggling idiot", but her portrayl from FFX to FFX-2 is consistent in that she can be hopelessly naive and eager to help almost to a fault. It's her sheer force of will and her skill that allow these to get anywhere. Though the swimsuit bonus scene was tacked on, it was hardly the skin show it was made out to be. Quite honestly, I've heard worse things said about FFX-2's skin factor than Dead or Alive, which is ironic all things considered.
Anyway...I just pulled that game out because I'm so tired of it being bashed almost as a default.
@cooler_dood:
you do realize that by reading all the news and responses that follow you basically are (gasp) "reading for fun!"....right?
A good example of how childish gamers can be is ofcourse the article featuring Mariah Carey...
Duh, reading is, like, totally for lamerz. Oops, gotta go, I'm working the next shift at McDonald's.
@ShaggE: That's not half as hard to explain to people as explaining that you sometimes read the same book multiple times. Hell, half the time they just look at you like you said you like to fellate dead dogs...
Really good read!
i agree with your sentiments as well, a movie or video game that focuses on character development and then you see sexual scenes tend to be so much better to me than blind siding you with a sex scene that completly didnt fit in with the plot or relationship with the couple involved and served merely as eye candy to the viewers.
There was a game i completed that brought a tear to my eye, Eternal Sonata. that may have nothing to do with the topic at hand but the way the characters developed in the story i couldnt help but shed a tear at the end of the game.
I seem to be just repeating what your saying but i do wish more games and movies focused more on character development and sex scenes and clevage or showing extra skin as icing on the cake.
@cooler_dood:
this site is a forum, the whole point is read something on here and discuss about it.
if you don't like to read you shouldn't even come here.
ESRB is much more conservative compared to the movie industry. I have seen worse than the Mass Effect "sex scene" on prime time TV yet that is 18+ material when it comes to gaming.
Maybe as more people grow up around gaming and take leadership positions they will loose some of their stigma... Like 30 years from now 0.o;;
I apologize for being blunt, but I think your analysis suffers from a lack of objectivity. I could easily make the same statements about males on American television, sitcoms specifically (the words "stupid," "oafish" and "loser" come readily to mind) but the actual characterization of the sex is not the point of the argument, and can easily persuade one down a path rife with bitterness.
Sublety in any medium goes a lot further towards expressing a truth than overtness ever could, because of the way it relates to real life. No one in real life walks around like many video game heorines, so we feel a detatchment with those characters because we know they aren't real. The ICO handholding example works well because its something most of us have done, and we can relate to it. That being said, many people, myself included, use (insert media of choice here) as a means of escape. Sure, maybe I can appreciate the artistry behind certain games/film/books, but every now and then I WANT to watch Rose McGowan with an AKM for a leg (Planet Terror), or smash heads with Kratos. That's just escapism, and its normal human behavior. It must be noted that these "titillating" scenes, be they overt or subtle, are also a form of escapism for some.
You said it best yourself "This isn't about sex, nudity, breasts, or anything else:" it's instead about escapism and human behavior. If anything, we should be analyzing the effects of such low-brow entertainment on the people it graces, rather than vice-versa. You can learn more about an audience based on what it finds entertaining than you can find out about media based on what audience is viewing it.
The examples you describe can easily be shoehorned into other media; this is an example of the fact that such a dichotomy exists elsewhere and is not exclusive to video games. Your final point, that video games would be better if they had more of a variety (the high-brow and low-brow together) is certainly correct, and one I agree with. I do not, however, agree that all low-brow games are trash, in the same way that not all aforementioned sitcoms are trash (just most of them ;)).
All media, be it art or not, has its finer points and those we'd rather forget. Singling out video games as an example merely shows, IMHO, that we haven't "grown up" as analyists; we continue to ally outmodded concepts to a medium that has changed drastically over our lifetimes.
That being said, great article. I love these "food for thought" Kotaku articles. Keep 'em coming! There's nothing more stimulating than a good discussion, especially one that doesn't resort to name-calling. :)
Excellently written and thoughtful article, thanks! I'll have to check some of those films out.
They're perfectly normal people and a loving couple, they just like to spend lots of time doing their daily in-house activities in the buff. Doesn't everyone do this? What's the point of being in your own house/apartment if you can't bum around nekkid? : )
Holy shit, Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love on Kotaku?! Am I dreaming!?
For those of you who don't know about this amazing film starring one of my favorite actors (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), it's the second film in an informal trilogy. Start off on the first film "Days of Being Wild", then watch "In The Mood For Love" ... then finish it all off with "2046".
Another fantastic article Maggie!!!
@cooler_dood:
Why the fuck are you even posting in this article if you haven't even read the whole thing? That doesn't make any sense at all.
forget it, i'm tired of reading so i'm going to stop trying to convince you people that reading isn't fun, especially all of THAT.
Very good piece, Maggie. Although I don't think you're fully grasping the breast shading technological leaps we're making.
@smitty1123: Amen to that. I have a veritable library of books that I've accumulated over the years, and it seems like whenever somebody sees them, they almost inevitably ask "Did you actually read all of those??"
When I reply with "Multiple times", they seem to think I'm insane.
@dead_red_eyes: I loved 2046. Had no idea it was part of a trilogy
Maggie, thanks for the engaging read! I've always found Wong Kar-wai's films fascinating for those very reasons.
Additionally, while reading this article I remembered an older Chinese film called Spring in a Small Town that I found reminiscent of the sort of underlying sexuality that characterizes the relationships of the characters in several of the films you mentioned. Given that the film was made 60 years ago it's natural that it doesn't contain the more typically vulgar displays of sex that we've gradually grown accustomed to. However, the sexual tension between two of the main characters, Yuwen and Zhichen, is utterly incredible for its degree of emotional intensity.
Anyway, thanks for the article. It's a lot to think about, a lot to hope for, and a lot to work towards.
@MAGGIE GREENE I thought you only posted on weekends?
good article still though..
I too hope that the day will come in which the medium will progress to the point in which writers and studios actually work on creating sophisticated female characters instead of the current mentality: "lets just put in some boobs, yeah now we're done". I think final fantasy xii is an excellent game to bring up in this case, since it had no blatant protagonist/female lead love story.
I also find it interesting that i first spotted this article sitting right next to the new Suicide Girls banner ad. Not really implying much by it, it just gave me something to think about while reading the article.
Great article. Be on the look-out Damon Brown's book on sex and video games coming later this year...
[pornandpong.com]
[damonbrown.net]
@Cchrist: I agree with that, FFVIII I believe did a good job of handling the love story between Squall and Rinoa, of course the love story was probably the best plot in the game. I personally didn't understand much of what else was happening in the world.
Great article and read, I think this plays into the whole topic of getting emotions from video games as well. The only way this will be handled is through RPGs and adventure games, I don't see the ability to put that sort of mood into the other genres, of course I'm hoping someone proves me wrong.
Can't read it now, Maggie...will have to wait and proper read it at home. I liked the first couple paragraph.
What an inspiring article!
I have to agree whole heartedly with what has been said here... Far too frequently it seems that sexual themes within games are tacked on by someone who's fingers nowhere near the pulse of what people really want...
Of course sticking in jiggly boobs and implied sex scenes will draw controversy and media aplomb to the title, but that's entirely missing the point... It almost leads on to an all together different issue; The over commercialisation of games.
With games development now being more expensive than ever I can appreciate that developers are hesitant to include things which could harm sales, or waste resources (sexual themes could get a game banned after all), and the focus on making a profit is now higher on the agenda than it seemed a few years ago... This is an unfortunate situation as foreseeably the games of the future may all turn out being shallow Hollywood-style cash ins...
Hopefully developers can explore this aspect of character development further to see the true gaming vixen you mention in the article.
As I said, a very inspiring article... I'm off to write some scripts!
@I_Hate_This_Place:
Oh yeah. It's really an informal trilogy, but features the same characters. It's hard to explain really. You'd have to watch all 3 films to get the gist of what I'm saying. I love Wong Kar-wai, he's such a good writer/director. The first film that I ever saw by him was Chungking Express, which stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai and another favorite actor of mine, Takeshi Kaneshiro. You might remember him as Samanosuke from the game, Onimusha.
Great article, and I love to see longer posts. Ignore the detractors, there's some in every crowd. I'm surprised you were able to consider the problems with maturity of the subject of love and sex in games without addressing the severe censorship in gaming. Would something like The Pillow Book be allowed in a game even if it were not explicit? I really don't think so. The entire work is exceptionally sensual and would be rated AO simply because it rises above the level of a PG-13 action flick. That seems to be the standard for M rated games, so anything more mature would have to go AO.
Really the only solution would be, I think, for some games to come out that are SO important artistically that even the ultraconservative asses at the ESRB feel too ashamed to censor it. Unfortunately, the people that fund games aren't interested at all in challenging the ESRB or producing anything more meaningful than the action movie type games they certainly churn out.
It's funny how many of the responses here think that these more mature types of games are just inevitable. They think we can just roll along without any sort of turmoil or fighting required and the mature games will get made, the ESRB will descide to be more reasonable, etc. That's not just optimistic, it's naive. The ESRB has gotten more conservative and will only continue to get more so so long as they're not facing pitchforks, torches, and legal fights. Look at the film industry for history of this. If you think movies today are more graphic than in the past, you need to wake up and go watch some movies from the 70s. Movies used to be FAR more graphic, used to deal with MUCH more intense subject matter. Organizations in control only develop to have MORE control. It's their very nature. And we've doomed our own medium, gaming, by taking ESRB-led censorship lying down.
@cooler_dood: "it wouldn't be boring if it's rated AO." How is a game that gives you nothing but a "This content is not allowed to run on this machine." message interesting? Because tha't all you'll get on a Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony machine.