Post by zennyrpg on Jun 27, 2013 16:54:45 GMT -5
I think comics and games tend to share a lot of the same misrepresentations when it comes to women.
If you haven't already, you should check out Anita Sarkeesian's tropes vs women in games series at www.feministfrequency.com . She's in the middle of a three part episode deconstructing all the varieties and implications of the "damsel in distress."
What do you think of the portrayal of women (and men) in videogames? Have you played any games that were particularly misguided? Have you played any games that did a good job?
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For example, I just playing Mount and Blade: Warband.
Its a really good game and it also has an unusual take on sexism. As in, it blatantly warns you when creating a character that if you choose a female character you will have a harder time. It's set in a medieval world (not fantasy, no dragons) and you get to hunt bandits, swear allegiances to kings, fight in wars and ultimately (if you want) take over the entire map as king/queen. At first, I was a little insulted. I want to play as a chick, why does that have to be harder? Its a made-up world so the least they could do is make-up a world without sexism.
But I must say I'm really impressed by how they handled it. Lords will usually talk crap to you about being a chick when you first meet them. You have an option to talk back, which I never take because I'm trying to get ahead. People talk less crap to my chick character now that she's won a bunch of tournaments. One of the kings refused to give me a fief because I was a women... so I sided with his rival and am trying to overthrow him. All and all, I like how they don't ignore sexism (which often leads to implicit sexism) but rather put it all out there and let it be part of the game.
If you haven't already, you should check out Anita Sarkeesian's tropes vs women in games series at www.feministfrequency.com . She's in the middle of a three part episode deconstructing all the varieties and implications of the "damsel in distress."
What do you think of the portrayal of women (and men) in videogames? Have you played any games that were particularly misguided? Have you played any games that did a good job?
----
For example, I just playing Mount and Blade: Warband.
Its a really good game and it also has an unusual take on sexism. As in, it blatantly warns you when creating a character that if you choose a female character you will have a harder time. It's set in a medieval world (not fantasy, no dragons) and you get to hunt bandits, swear allegiances to kings, fight in wars and ultimately (if you want) take over the entire map as king/queen. At first, I was a little insulted. I want to play as a chick, why does that have to be harder? Its a made-up world so the least they could do is make-up a world without sexism.
But I must say I'm really impressed by how they handled it. Lords will usually talk crap to you about being a chick when you first meet them. You have an option to talk back, which I never take because I'm trying to get ahead. People talk less crap to my chick character now that she's won a bunch of tournaments. One of the kings refused to give me a fief because I was a women... so I sided with his rival and am trying to overthrow him. All and all, I like how they don't ignore sexism (which often leads to implicit sexism) but rather put it all out there and let it be part of the game.
