Big boobed characters in video games

[Helm]

I can't tell for certain but I don't think this statue is in the know as to Guro. The artist that sculpted it might be, the Guro audience certainly will take it as such, but it seems to me a case of pretty much mainstream gamer misogyny! I don't think it's supposed to be sexy AS a dead body. The BOOBS are supposed to be sexy. The rest is supposed to be gruesome, like a cheap violence+sex mixture... horror filmesque.

But on the larger scope I am fascinated when really abstract kinks worm their way to the surface of mainstream culture, like with giant ladies in some films, or a girl squishing a banana with her tennis shoe in some tv show. It's interesting to know that something so incongruous to me is masturbation material for select parts of the audience.

[Arne]

It was a piece released into the mainstream for sure, perhaps with the hope that it would be seen as a little harmless fun, standing out against the background noise of other boobs just enough to make good publicity. But it was poorly received by most people/gamers (?), and was a "new thing" like you said , so by neither of those measures it was mainstream, was it?

Wait until Vore makes an entrance. That will be.... well, probably more confusing than anything else.

[Ymedron]

Arne: It's quite alright I suppose - though I think stating your intentions clearly (getting interesting discussion going) when you do something that may easily be seen as misogyny or similar might help? It's a viewpoint that many people still honestly believe in, esp. on the internet, and its easy to forget an ambiguously positive/negative stance in favor of a seemingly more obviously positive/negative one. (I hope that made any kind of sense)

When I saw the torso on the article Helm linked (That's the first I actually even read of it, save the comments on another article hinting at it which I thought was a more obscure thing), I pretty much thought that the corpse was a recently mutilated female victim who had been left as a bait for zombies, rather than a zombie corpse.
There are two huge issues that no amount of justifying or fetishes is going to fix...

1. They are trying to use necrophilia as a selling point.
Just like bestiality, necrophilia to my knowledge is still illegal, and I have a feeling it's going to be illegal for a long while. A corpse cannot give consent, and having sex with one will most likely count as defilement of the person's memory. (It's also the ultimate objectification)
2. It doesn't have a head. The bait is an object in the most obvious and startling way possible. Can you imagine how horrifying this is in real life? If this had been discovered in real life, it'd be an outrage. Just like one of the devs said, people would want the perpetrator's head on a stake. Note also, that there is only a female corpse available. This fictional crime is exclusive to females.

Just like there are some things that are too horrible to be depicted in mainstream games (pedophilia and main character raping people comes to mind), I think this is a crime that's too horrible for you to "support." Notice that you are given this corpse as a display piece. You aren't fighting this murderer in the game, he (I have a feeling it's a he) is one of the survivors.

And yes I can hear the shouts of "It's just a game!"
But even though games don't perpetuate violence, fiction is a lot more persuasive than fact. You put down your defenses when reading a book or watching a movie, and Im pretty sure games are no different. You are more receptive to the messages that this item sends you, and none of them are positive. (The most obvious of which being "Dead people are sexy.")

[Helm]

Dead whores deserve it for being whores, somehow, is what I get from Dead Island devs more than anything. A very common theme in Regan-era american horror movies as well, where the only person to survive the serial killer would be the virtuous virgin.

[Psiweapon]

Wheeeeew.

Good quagmire you've managed to set up here, earthlings. 

I've read through the entire thread and most of the links. The parodies of absurd female posing are highly amusing, and enlightening too.

Can I get a little on-topic? Or at least try? I think I'll fail miserably.

First and foremost: I consider the over-abundance and over-flaunting of biological airbags stupid. The contortionist poses are also pretty stupid, and most of them don't even look sexy to me. The occasional well-endowed woman is alright (just as in real life) but making all female characters an army of cookie-cutter automotive safety devices is just plain monotonous, shallow and boring (that is, objectionable from an artistic standpoint without even getting into the sexual objectification component...)


An egregious example of stupid airbag designs:
Taki from the Soul Calibur franchise: http://www.videogamegirlsdb.com/Images/Soul_Calibur/Taki/Taki_SC_Legends_01.jpg
Form-fitting overalls? Ok, fine, alright. Independent envelopes for each of the boobs?! What the f*ck?! And how the hell does the suit go INTO HER BELLY BUTTON?! I must assume such an outfit comes with a little vaccuum device to fit it "properly" 

Drive safely. Drive with Taki. 

Some mixed examples from manga:

Kiasca from Berserk, by Kentaro Miura: http://yuki-chat.org/shimmie/_images/d4f78ff9ae45c2b9860c4b14a4f7af54/2001%20-%20armor%20berserk%20casca%20monochrome.jpg

Kiasca is a very capable badass girl with some scars (none in the face, though). She's the most dangerous mercenary in her troupe besides the protagonist and said troupe's leader. Little to no emphasis is usually placed on her boobs, or other typically feminine qualities, except in some sporadic scenes. Unfortunately, the character is ultimately objectified when she becomes mad and aphasic after a harrowing experience where oceans of blood were shed. In her defense, I have to say that all other characters involved in the event that turned her into an "object" qualify for at least one element of this list, either prior to or as a result of that event:
a) killed
b) maimed
c) demons

Gally/Alita from Gunnm (aka Battle Angel Alita) http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m889l0Zy4r1qbewsko1_1280.jpg

I think this character is a particularly interesting example as it shows both objectification and actification of the same female character at different points and levels of the story.
Objectification:
1) She's a complete cyborg. That fits a literal interpretation of the word "objectification", and a close metaphor for the kind of objectification we're talking about here.
2) From the design (this one IS big-boobed, qualifying for "boobs of steel" too, both literally and as the trope) it's clear that it's designed as an "object of desire".
3) she is subject to several very clear objectification attempts by other characters in the plot:
-The first story arc revolves about a cyber-doc rebuilding her from a derelict cyborg torso+head. She starts the story as, literally, an object: a piece of scrap. Then said cyberdoc reactivates "her", and tries to make her into some sort of daughter/wife husbandry hobby project. HE FAILS MISERABLY. Throughout the plot there are a myriad other attempts to objectify her, both by antagonists and "good guys". Some of them fail heroically, some of them succeed horribly, but she is always strong enough to break through the objectification, sooner or later, in one way or another.
4) She is actified to a high degree as she is the main driving force in the story, and what she does is much more important than what or how she is.

I'd go into a detailed analysis of the objectification attempts on the main character in this comic, but the post is already long enough.

Whoops, we were supposed to be talking about vidya gaems rite?

[Seiseki]

OK, this is just retarded..
He's trying to sound legitimate but uses derogatory words and just pure misogynist logic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGuDoAhte94

Brings up some interesting thoughts though..
In this thread we've talked about games being directed at men through sexuality and portrayal of women.
But is there other ways of directing games towards men? Violent games for example. Speaking broadly, I think men are much more fascinated and amused by violence than women.
The question is if it's only a cultural thing, and if so, should the cultural difference of men and women be taken into account when directing games towards both genders?
Because that seems misogynist in it's own way..

[Helm]

That video is unbearable for me to watch.

Gamers?

Sure, I guess

If you consider bitching a game.


....


Which I don't.

That's where I should have turned it off. I endured until his first point about casual gamers being female and that was enough for me. I don't know how you can stomach this tripe.


On a more positive note, this has started!

http://youtu.be/X6p5AZp7r_Q

[Ymedron]

But is there other ways of directing games towards men? Violent games for example. Speaking broadly, I think men are much more fascinated and amused by violence than women.
The question is if it's only a cultural thing, and if so, should the cultural difference of men and women be taken into account when directing games towards both genders?
Because that seems misogynist in it's own way..

Didn't want to watch that misogynist video, seen enough of those. (Happy that the woman vs trope thing has started.)
The feministfrequency actually has more videos that are pretty helpful with realizing how these things actually are... I think the reason why men are interested in violence is partly because men are portrayed as being interested and resorting to violence. It's "normal" for a boy to be interested in guns and wargames.
Im not sure whether we -need- to direct anything toward either gender. Why can't a sim be for both boys and girls? What about a wargame like Battlefield or whatever is inappropriate for a female gamer? In the past advertisement has made an entire anatomical detail "unsightly" that before was considered ok. That's armpit hair.

I read this big article some time back about there being more progress with gender roles in the 70s, but in the 80s a backlash of anti-feminism turned that right back.
Here it is: http://www.udel.edu/comm245/readings/GenderedMedia.pdf


(Lastly: There was a post educating people about the fact that boobplates are scientifically and historically unsound. I spent some time arguing with a person that bashing on this post stupid, and that we need to educate content providers so we don't perpetuate sexism. He said that mistreatment of women is all down to upbringing and has nothing to do with media.

REALLY? Fuck you. Some parents fucking raise their children by popping them in front of the TV. 8l It's not like humans live in a barrel their childhoods and their parents just talk into the barrel. "Girls can't lead, they are too emotional!" "Boys can't be home-dads, they are too emotionless!" GRUMBLE.)

EDIT: Tried to make it more understandable as a sentence.

[Helm]

Even if it's all down to upbringing, part of upbringing is socialization thu peers and school and other activities that aren't closely monitored by parents all the time (and if they were that would create a whole host of other problems). And peer groups especially are much more infuential for shaping gender roles than what parents tell their children directly. If we want a better world we must make it better on all fronts.

[Seiseki]

It's kinda weird how much energy and thought goes into this anti-feminism movement.
I didn't even know it was a thing..

I'm starting to see it everywhere, when attention is given to underprivileged groups, all of a sudden the privileged group feel threatened and powerless..
The scales haven't shifted, it's just becoming slightly more balanced, but for some people that seems like the end of the world..

And the culture argument is terrible..
"But it's in our culture!!" Well your culture is just terrible then..