In today's Speak-Up on Kotaku commenter CuttySark wonders why portraying women and men video games as physically or mentally superior is such a bad thing.
I was reading an article the other day about women and how they are represented in games and media, with standards unattainable by the average woman/girl (i.e. Physical appearance, intelligence, etc.). So I started thinking of all male influences and imagery that were marketed to me through my life (including video games). What I discovered was many of these figures were far and above anything I could attain physically, social, mentally, or even supernaturally. Examples: G.I. Joe, He-man, Conan, WWE, WWF, James Bond, Superheroes, Professional Athletes, Jedi (force users), Kratos (God of War), Barrett (FF7), Marcus (Gears of War), Raiden (MGS), Robocop, Master Chief (Halo), the list goes on.
Then I thought, SO WHAT? Do I care I'm not ripped like the Battletoads, or able to slow down time like Neo? No. Do women look down on me because I can't jump off a building and land without a scratch like master chief? No.
Obviously the character design for a female or male character should be story driven but what's wrong with huge boobs and ninja skills? Does that automatically make me a misogynist?
I want to clarify that I'm not sexist nor do I want to offend female (or male) readers but, why can't women in games be portrayed with the same flamboyance and fantastical flair as males in games? Why is that bad?
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