A Discussion of sexualised design of male/female characters

[Russian-chiropractic19]

Because cologne was invented in Cologne in 1709.

Back to topic:
I really dislike Tales of Berseria's heroine's design:

This is imho a not so smart example of sexualized design.

i actually really like it. of course its meant to be sexual, but it fits her character since she partially transforms into a beast which is usually associated with torn clothing from the transformation. admittingly a single arm transforming wouldn't do that to her clothes, but at the very least she has a theme beyond "skimpy" and a pretty badass coat.

 

[Mestizo]

It might be a little feminist for some people but the tumblr blog "Repair Her Armor" is pretty cool. They take sexualized armour and edit it to be more practical. Obviously with varied results.

Speaking of "practicality and realism" as a martial artist myself who has fought a good number of women, the more practical armor for a woman would put her at an even greater disadvantage than they are already at. The added weight of armor makes moves that were simple In a gee, MUCH HARDER to perform.

~90% of women will only beat a male fighter with greater technique and speed, both of which fees directly into each other and compensates for the lack of upper body strength. Without enough speed your technique leaves you open, and without proper technique speed can't do enough damage. Leg strength is the best chance a woman has at even matching half of a man strength in simple power.

If anything being sexy would work to a woman's advantage, as most would underestimate them and lower their guard, lending to a better chance of a quick strike to a vital point. I read somewhere that that was actually a method used by real life peasant assassins aka kunoichi.

 

[Russian-chiropractic19]

Speaking of "practicality and realism" as a martial artist myself who has fought a good number of women, the more practical armor for a woman would put her at an even greater disadvantage than they are already at. The added weight of armor makes moves that were simple In a gee, MUCH HARDER to perform.

have you ever worn a suit of armor? knights were trained in wrestling and their own version of judo and they could perform in full plate. armor being this super heavy clunky mess is a myth. the biggest disadvantage it would have would be if the helmet limited your view.

while yes catching opponents off guard is useful if you're going to fight against people who know you're a female and still have every intention to kill you then yes put on some armor.

 

[Argentus]

have you ever worn a suit of armor? knights were trained in wrestling and their own version of judo and they could perform in full plate. armor being this super heavy clunky mess is a myth. the biggest disadvantage it would have would be if the helmet limited your view.

View attachment 17616

while yes catching opponents off guard is useful if you're going to fight against people who know you're a female and still have every intention to kill you then yes put on some armor.

That still doesn't account the fact that men can move better in armor (generally speaking) due to the differences in physique between genders

 

[Russian-chiropractic19]

That still doesn't account the fact that men can move better in armor (generally speaking) due to the differences in physique between genders

the defense benefits you would gain would far outweigh the 1% speed decrease. besides fictional women are often just as strong as there male counterparts so there really is no reason why they couldn't wear it. not to mention since their bodies are often smaller less armor is used so its not going to be as heavy as male armor in the first place.

speaking of armor can i just say how much i love Fire Emblem's character designs?

so far none of it really seems to forced and a lot of them seem to stay dressed according to their character. skirts seem to be part of the military uniform for the girls, but its not like a lot of the guys are wearing armor below the belt either.

 

[Sammy-Fu]

the defense benefits you would gain would far outweigh the 1% speed decrease. besides fictional women are often just as strong as there male counterparts so there really is no reason why they couldn't wear it. not to mention since their bodies are often smaller less armor is used so its not going to be as heavy as male armor in the first place.

speaking of armor can i just say how much i love Fire Emblem's character designs?

View attachment 17617

so far none of it really seems to forced and a lot of them seem to stay dressed according to their character. skirts seem to be part of the military uniform for the girls, but its not like a lot of the guys are wearing armor below the belt either.

Well....Fire Emblem is a Nintendo property and they themselves can't go too far with designs because they are "A family game company". Although they do push that a couple of times in Fire emblem, i admit.

(They actually removed Tharja's trophy from Smash Bros for being too suggestive so there is that.....)but yeah, even Nintendo these days are have loosened up on sexualization quite a lot.

 

[Tyaren]

Lezz talk about Cindy and Gladiolus of FFXV:

Versus

Imho they are equally overly sexualized in their respective gender roles. This to a point that it sometimes seems almost comical. XD
Square Enix can't be completely serious when they even upload images likes this to their Twitter pages:

(Nope, this is not a fanart.)

 

[Project Bokuho]

Nice tan lines!

 

[Russian-chiropractic19]

japan loves that glow effect ive noticed.

 

[UpSideDownGRUNT]

I believe the Gyaru fetish is pretty big atm, which i think is japanese girls in heavy tan and blonde hair similar to your typical bimbo.

Only the japanese girls actually make it work

 

[BRG Choy]

Wtf is the matter with that guy on the right?

 

[Tyaren]

I believe the Gyaru fetish is pretty big atm, which i think is japanese girls in heavy tan and blonde hair similar to your typical bimbo.

Atm? I thought that was in the 90s? XD

Wtf is the matter with that guy on the right?

Lol, that's the player character, Noctis. I don't know why he is in this weird stance. I think he player is crouching or something like that.

 

[Chapstick]

Lezz talk about Cindy and Gladiolus of FFXV:

View attachment 17854

Versus

View attachment 17853

Imho they are equally overly sexualized in their respective gender roles. This to a point that it sometimes seems almost comical. XD
Square Enix can't be completely serious when they even upload images likes this to their Twitter pages:

(Nope, this is not a fanart.)

I really need to get a new phone or just restrict to using this site on my laptop.

I don't think they're equal at all.

Gladiolus:
-bare tattoo'd arms
-tempting glimpse of chest & torso, nipples not showing btw

Cid:
-titties pushed up to the high heavens
-bare mirdriff
-hot pants complete with ass tan lines
-cutesy/sexual mannerisms

 

[UpSideDownGRUNT]

Atm? I thought that was in the 90s? XD

Lol, that's the player character, Noctis. I don't know why he is in this weird stance. I think he player is crouching or something like that.

This is Gyaru, and there's still a few Gyaru gravure idolsgoing around Non is the one I know mostly though.

 

[Project Bokuho]

This is Gyaru, and there's still a few Gyaru gravure idolsgoing around Non is the one I know mostly though.

Nonsummerjack, enough said.

 

[UpSideDownGRUNT]

Nonsummerjack, enough said.

If she hasn't already, she needs to cosplay Cidney/Cindy haha.

Anime has gyaru girls as a focus too.
like one of the protagonists of Valkyrie Drive Mermaid.

And "other" animes lol.

 

[Project Bokuho]

If she hasn't already, she needs to cosplay Cidney/Cindy haha.

I would be the happiest kid in the world ♥♥♥♥

 

[Tyaren]

I really need to get a new phone or just restrict to using this site on my laptop.

I don't think they're equal at all.

Gladiolus:
-bare tattoo'd arms
-tempting glimpse of chest & torso, nipples not showing btw

Cid:
-titties pushed up to the high heavens
-bare mirdriff
-hot pants complete with ass tan lines
-cutesy/sexual mannerisms

Well, you can't really completely equate female sexualization with male sexualization. If a woman wears hotpants you can't just give the same hotpants to a guy to equally sexualize him. For this reason I wrote: "equally sexualized in their respective gender roles"
Here's a good example how sexualization does NOT work:

(He's wearing Qiet's exact same outfit.)

This is not how you would effectively sexualize a man for a female or gay male audience, is it? A large majority wouldn't find that attractive but pretty weird and ridiculous looking.
What Gladiolus may lack in overall nakedness or female sensuality he makes up for with something else within his gender role. Cindy openly displays her boobs, Gladio openly displays his muscular torso. When you mention Cindy's hotpants, Gladio's fetishy leather biker attire might be a good comparison. Cindy's tanlines could be compared to his tattoos or scars and her cute behaviour compares to his very manly behaviour...
Male sexualization is also most of the time a little more subtle than the female kind. Gladio's sexualization is however not subtle at all, lol. I think he's a walking, talking sex cliché very similar too Cindy.

 

[Russian-chiropractic19]

i personally found it weird and ridiculous looking for Quite and is probably one of the worst female design ive ever seen. ive seen japanese echi games with better and less objectifying designs let alone something thats meant for a Metal Gear game which while always embracing sexuality was never that fucking stupid about it. it pains me that people will start with TPP and think "oh this is what MGS is"

 

[Tyaren]

That reminds me of:

and...

XDDD