Kow wrote:

I think the problem with the portrayal of women in games is exactly that they reflect society, or rather a male dominated society, which is what many feminists would wish to change. Any desire to change stereotypical depictions of women, or indeed men, reflects a desire to make changes in society.

This is the issue, and of course something that most men don't have an issue with because, well, why would they?

Tempy wrote:

Kow wrote:

I think the problem with the portrayal of women in games is exactly that they reflect society, or rather a male dominated society, which is what many feminists would wish to change. Any desire to change stereotypical depictions of women, or indeed men, reflects a desire to make changes in society.

This is the issue, and of course something that most men don't have an issue with because, well, why would they?

Having spent some of the morning reading what Angela Merkel and Christine LaGarde think I'm not sure it that holds as much water as it did.

Kow wrote:

Well, I don't know, making changes in our cultural output, from films and music to games, art etc, is making a change to society.

And there's the rub. The input to our cultural output is society.

Merkel is a conservative Christian democrat, not exactly a shining example of feminism, despite her success. Allowing women higher positions in male created and dominated systems would be rejected as progress by many feminists. Depends on the strand of feminism, mind you.

Kow wrote:

Merkel is a conservative Christian democrat, not exactly a shining example of feminism, despite her success. Allowing women higher positions in male created and dominated systems would be rejected as progress by many feminists. Depends on the strand of feminism, mind you.

Ruh-roh.

@mod Yeah, that's the point.

Not quite what I meant by 'allowed'.

Tempy wrote:

[T]wo books about 'How to Survive the worst' where the Boys book was full of things like Earthquakes and Zombie Plagues, and the Girls book was full of things like 'chipped nails' and 'shopping at the weekend'. I know, it is innocent kids stuff, and it is designed to make money, but it all reinforces some pretty crass ideals.

There was a big internet hoo-ha about that and the publisher have dropped them now.

What would be analogous then?

Mod74 wrote:

Isn't that the one when every time the Prince fails she has to save his ass? The Prince is also written as a bit of a dufus with Elika being the strong sensible one.

I'm not saying she's a bad character just that she wouldn't faint so much if it were a man. She does have all the fancy magic, kind of wonder why she needs the prince around at all. I guess because he happens to have a sword.

I'm looking at my collection:

Alan Wake - male hero (not really stereotype) female that needs saving
Bayonetta - female hero - female baddie - male that needs saving
BioShock - Male hero - male baddie
Bioshock 2 - male hero - female baddie(s)
Bloodstone - male hero - female baddie
Dead rising - male "hero" - male baddies
Dead rising 2 - male hero - male baddies
Deus Ex - male hero - male baddie
GoW2/2 - male hero - female hero - female baddie
GTAIV - male hero - male baddie
Halos - male hero - female hero - mostly male baddies
Kane and Lynch - male "heroes" - fuck knows
LA Noire - male "hero" - male baddies - simpering females/victims
Left 4 Deads - 3 male heroes - one female hero
Mass Effects - either
Mercenaries 2 - either hero - male baddie
Metro 2033 - male "hero"
Mirror's Edge - female hero - fuck knows
The Saboteur - male hero - terrible females
Splinter Cells - male hero
Skyrim - either
Tales of Vesperia - various
Blue Dragon - various
Borderlands - 3 male - 1 female
Fables - either
Prince of Persia - male hero - female hero companion
Star Ocean - male hero
Quantum of Solace - male hero - female companion - male baddie
Prototype - male hero
Crackdown 1 - male heroes
Crackdown 2 - either
Resident Evil 5 - male hero - female in co-op, male baddie
Red Alert 3 - ahem
Ninja Gaiden 2 - male hero
The Orange Box - various
Prey - male hero
Perfect Dark - female hero
Portal 2 - female hero - female baddie
Singularity - male hero


I'm leaving out the COD, BFs and MoHs here as I'm not sure it's realistic to have female soldiers on the front lines. I know they exist, but in numbers?

I think the biggest offender out of all of them is either Red Alert which was deliberately open in its campyness or LA Noire which would like to claim it's the most serious.

Oh er eh

adkm1979 wrote:

In other news, this is what it says on the packet of the pill I just bought.  "A single dose treatment for vaginal thrush.  It can also be used to treat your partner if he has thrush on his penis."  In other words, you dirty stinking whore, only women get yeast infections on their genitals, and while we could just say 'a single dose treatment for non-gender-specific thrush', we'd like to point out that when you infect a man, it is also your womanly duty to do the shopping, buying this pill while you're at it, and nurse him back to health. This may or may not have much to do with the thread, but an itchy bell-end makes you irritable. I may or may not have reached DS levels of disclosure with this post.

Quite relevant considering that men's health issues seem to have less prominence than female ones.
That a man being unhealthy is seen as a sign of weakness?
Only been in recent time that things like prostrate cancer and testicular cancer have had a wave of awareness publicity. 
Again, a weak male would not be seen as the ideal mate for procreation?

Mod74 wrote:

I'm leaving out the COD, BFs and MoHs here as I'm not sure it's realistic to have female soldiers on the front lines. I know they exist, but in numbers?

Seems the games on the list that paint themselves as coming from a more realistic world mostly feature male leads (often soldiers), and the more fantastical games have a more even mix. Makes sense to me.

Seems like GTA ought to have had a female lead at some point.

Dark Soldier wrote:

adkm1979 wrote:

I may or may not have reached DS levels of disclosure with this post.

I've never had vaginal thrush.

Ha ha!  If you'd like some, call me...

Ahaha, excellent.

Comics are fucking rife with this. DC's latest Catwoman cover is ridiculous.