I gotta say, I'm impressed by the quality of the discussion. I'm way too used to guys becoming very hostile when feminism/sexism comes up in a conversation but that hasn't happened here. For the most part, even those people that disagree aren't hostile. This community is great!
So, where are we? I've seen several points made that I'd like to address. First, I just want to reiterate that it is not just the outfits on some of the women that bother me. It is the oversized fun parts on the majority of women and the silly outfits that bother me. To make matters even worse, these oversized parts are further emphasized with those stupid outfits that make a joke out of women.
Most women do not have breasts that size; when the entertainment industry constantly depicts the ideal woman as looking like this it creates an unrealistic expectations for normal women. And, many women try to conform to this expectation by throwing money into surgery and cosmetics and dieting to the point of unhealthiness. When these women can't beat nature and reach this ideal, they often suffer from low self-esteem. It's harmful and I'd like to see awareness raised and, guys, we need your support to do that. I know that ME is just one game but it is the game that we are discussing. After their treatment of sexual identity, I'd hoped that this game could be mature enough to promote a normal but attractive version of women.
The other problem with the hyper sexualization is that it makes it harder to take these women seriously. Look, I don't have any issue with sexualization when it makes senese in the context of the story. The problem I do have, is when BW goes out of its way to create stories that justify women being treated this way. When Edi and Legion were discussing her body and she explained that she was an infiltration unit, I thought, "Oh, there's BW's excuse to sexualize women just like Miranda and Jack." One women in the game with a good reason is enough; three main characters makes it obvious that BW is choosing to write these women with a built in excuse for being over sexualized. I see what you did there.
Several of you have made the point that many of the men are sexualized as well. While I somewhat agree, I have to point out that men are not sexualized to the same degree as women. Yes, men are given buff bodies. Women are given fit bodies as well. I don't have an issue with fit bodies as the way the women's fit bodies were portrayed was healthy. By that I mean, I didn't see super skinny women being portrayed as the ideal. I saw fit women with normal curves. Granted, the men's bodies were very buff and I think this can lead to an unhealthy ideal for men that can't achieve that type of body naturally. I would like to see more variety in fit body types.
But, most of the outfits on the men did not go out of the way to emphasize the men's bodies with the notable exception of Jacob and, I guess, Vega. Jacob's outfit made me laugh and I had a hard time taking him seriously with those thigh high boots and a catsuit.Hmmmm, I wonder if his outfit played a part in him being the least popular character. Vega's t-shirt while tight wasn't as egregious as the women's low-cut, wedgie inducing, ****** showing, high-heeled monstrosities. Sure, I would support a looser t-shirt as spray painted on t-shirt was silly but just didn't reach the level of ridiculousness as some of the women's outfits. Also, the forced camera angles that focuses on the men's sexuality were not as prevalent as the angles for women.
I'll say it again, the way several of the women are portrayed in the game makes it harder for them to be taken seriously. It takes me out of the game and forces me to think about their sexuality when I should be focusing on their stories.
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