Sure to enrage a certain set of male gamers for no rational reason whatsoever, here's Anita Sarkeesian's latest look at the sexist tropes in most mainstream videogames:
The core of her argument is interesting and should be pretty obvious to gamers after she raises it: Game developers consistently sexualize female player characters' and female NPCs' butts, while also taking massive pains to non-sexualize male player avatar asses -- to the point of covering them up in physically implausible ways. And in this way, consciously or unconsciously, straight male players are told that games are catering to them, while pushing almost all female gamers away.
That said, I somewhat disagree with Sarkeesian that the solution to this is to non-sexualize all avatar butts, as opposed to exploiting them equally --mainly because in MMOs and other multiplayer games, her on-point analysis runs up against some interesting variables that may change the dynamic.
Here's some thoughts and citations on that theme:
- Heterosexual male players often choose to play as female avatars, and the common (and largely true) assumption is that they do so in order to enjoy watching their avatar's butt as they walk around in the world.
- After heterosexual male players spend enough time playing as a female avatar, they start adopting stereotypically female gender behaviors. (Academic/researcher Nick Yee has written a paper on this point and the one above.)
- Through another study, we know that female avatars consistently experience sexism by other players -- whether or not the actual player is female in real life.
MMOs offer males a chance, in other words, to experience some level of sexism from a female point of view. Which might be a good way to help some males gain a level of empathy or at least understanding.
Beyond that, there's also the "Proteus effect", and some research that connecting with an attractive avatar can encourage its user to improve themselves:
The possibilities are — virtually — endless. Inhabit buffed-up versions of yourself to lose weight, cuter versions of yourself to gain confidence, or older versions to start putting money away for the future (that last one is being studied at Stanford now). "The most stunning part is how subtle the manipulations are and how difficult they are to detect," says Bailenson, "but how much it affects real life later on."
A hot avatar butt, in other words, seems to help encourage some users to exercise more. And we can all stand to work out our butts a bit more.
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Butt inequality, have we really come this far?
Posted by: Dartagan Shepherd | Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 01:19 PM
I think she makes a good point and they do sexualise certain avatars in certain games this is not always needed only in dramatic adult content and that usually isn't most of the cases that we see most of the time
Posted by: Gamer | Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 01:38 PM
"A hot avatar butt, in other words, seems to help encourage some users to exercise more. And we can all stand to work out our butts a bit more."
Kind of like yoga pants in real life...
That's a popular fashion that sexualizes the rear more than actual nudity would. But does it really motivate people to get fit...?
Posted by: Pussycat Catnap | Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 02:43 PM
Oh and spend some time in some SL fitmesh avatar fashion shops where people are buying Yoga pants for their avatars at silly paces...
- After all with fitmesh, you can get not just the yoga pants, but the butt wiggle as well.
I don't think the solution is to remove sexualization / sensuality from all avatars. I think the solution is to just apply it equally.
Look at how popular the Slink male avatar is with women in SL - because it fits an ideally attractive male body image.
By contrast the 'Mbody', which is a very realistic (albeit also at most A-cup) female body, is ultra obscure.
We all play lip service to not wanting too much sensuality, and then we go home and flip on our romance shows or xxx or whatever... - across both sexes.
Balance is the answer to 'exploitative sexualization'.
If you made it balanced, men would more likely see what KINDS of sexualization are offensive. And women would see that much of sexualization can have cross appeal and not be exploitation based.
Posted by: Pussycat Catnap | Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 02:51 PM
"Look at how popular the Slink male avatar is with women in SL - because it fits an ideally attractive male body image."
It's interesting you say that because my experience has been the opposite: the Slink male body is considered by many women to be too skinny and not buff enough, while the Abercrombie-model-like TMP male body is considered more attractive (and inarguably looks more like the stereotypical ideal male body).
As a male, I like the Slink body precisely because it's not so stereotypically attractive.
Posted by: Taylor | Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 05:28 PM
Wonderful blog post. Keep them coming.
Oh and could women please stop sexualising themselves in real life. Please avoid wearing any kind of pants that may influence how men might perceive you. It'll help you feel more secure. I mean you're always at risk that they might actually forget you're anything else than a pretty butt.
Besides, if women continue to sexualise themselves, someone might be tempted to run a kickstarter to make a film about the perverse effects it causes. Shouldn't be too complicated, and it might actually be more interesting than Sarkeesian's series.
The Sarkeesian adventure is mostly interesting in what it tells about herself and her own worries. And honestly, I'm always rather surprised at the way she embellishes her very simplistic views.
I'm sure there are people who have more profound views on the fundamental issues at hand here.
She does make for truly wonderful entertainment though. Maybe not exactly in the way she wants it to be.. but I applaud and enjoy nevertheless.
Posted by: John | Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 05:24 AM
Ian Faith: They're not gonna release the album... because they have decided that the cover is sexist.
Nigel Tufnel: Well, so what? What's wrong with bein' sexy? I mean there's no...
Ian Faith: Sex-IST!
David St. Hubbins: IST!
Posted by: Iggy | Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 11:40 AM
You can change your butt to however you like. Me, I like my butt and the ladies butts as they are.
If you don't want a sexualized butt either dial it down or wear a robot avatar
Posted by: Shockwave Yareach | Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 12:26 PM
So we have reached an era where we talk about butt equality lol! D.O.A games won't be the same without the obvious boobies and butt close-ups.
Posted by: Strider | Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 07:48 PM