9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 “Amazing.”[br]“My god, look at that.” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 “Good night nurse!” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 “Ooh! That’s definitely stimulating my economy.” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In the late 90s, developer Rare wanted to replicate 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the success of their landmark 1997 shooter GoldenEye, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but didn’t want to make another James Bond game. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Instead, they began work on a science fiction spy thriller 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 called Perfect Dark. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 For the game’s star, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they wanted to create a striking new type of special agent 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who wouldn’t just live in James Bond’s shadow, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so they drew inspiration from figures 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 ranging from Joan of Arc to The X-Files’ Dana Scully. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Her name was Joanna Dark. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A few years earlier, Eidos Interactive’s Lara Croft 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 had rapidly become one of the most famous 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and recognizable game characters of all time, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so it was reasonable to think that an action game 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with a female protagonist could be a smash hit. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Alas, Joanna Dark never reached quite the levels 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of fame occupied by Lara Croft, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but Perfect Dark was still a big success. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Let’s take a look at a commercial for the game:[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Welcome to 2023. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Big businesses now merge with alien nations. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 An ancient war is being fought under the sea. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The president is about to be cloned 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And it’s your job to try and save the world. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So you’ve got an important decision to make: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What are you going to wear to work? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 From the team you brought you GoldenEye for N64, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 meet special agent Joanna Dark in Perfect Dark, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where you’ll find out that the only person man enough 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to handle a job like this 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is a woman.”[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Can you imagine an ad exactly like this, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 only with Marcus Fenix or Master Chief, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 getting out of bed naked, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 taking a sexy slow-motion shower, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 putting on his sexy underwear, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the narrator saying 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that he has an important decision to make: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 what is he going to wear to work? [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Welcome to 2016. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There’s a war out there...somewhere. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You’re not sure where, exactly. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Anyway, the important thing is, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you’re Special Agent Jake Grimshadow. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It’s your job to save the world. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The only question is: What are you going to wear? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 …. WAIT... WHAT?? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A commercial like that would never happen, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 nor should it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But Joanna is treated differently 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 than her male counterparts. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Even though Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and, as a result, you rarely see her in the game itself, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 by focusing on her getting dressed, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this ad encouraged players to think of Joanna’s appeal 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 as being rooted in her sexual desirability 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 rather than her skill as a special agent. [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A character’s clothing is one of the first things we notice. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It’s an important part of our first impression 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of who that character is, and as such, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it’s a way for designers 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to immediately communicate to players 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 what is most important and noteworthy about them. [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Female heroes in video games might be special agents 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or soldiers or treasure hunters by trade. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They often find themselves in dangerous, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 physically demanding situations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 fighting off bad guys and saving the world. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They are typically performing activities that call for 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 practical or protective clothing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But when we look at the types of outfits 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that female characters are made to wear, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we can see that they are often 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 both sexualized and completely absurd. [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Ivy from the Soulcalibur games is a bold warrior 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who finds herself in battles 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where sharp, deadly weapons are being used 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and protective armor would be a must, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but the clothing she wears--or lack thereof- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 -is not exactly intended to keep her safe.[br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Cammy from the Street Fighter series 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is a British special forces operative 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 whose thong leotard does a better job 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of calling attention to her butt 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 than of offering any kind of protection. [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Jessica Sherawat from Resident Evil: Revelations 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and regularly faces deadly infected mutants in combat, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but her outfits appear to be designed for... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 yeah, I don’t even know. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And this is just a small fraction of the vast number 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of female characters who are forced into 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 impractical and objectifying clothing while in dangerous situations. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 “You’ll learn respect!” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 “You’re a fool to come back here.” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 “All right, let’s begin! 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 “And instead of donning a shirt plate, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you dash into battle, shirt open, navel and… 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 whatnot exposed!” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Because clothing can shape our first impressions of a character 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and has a tremendous influence 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 on our sense of who they are 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 every time they are on screen, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sexualized outfits can contribute to what’s called 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the hyper-sexualization of female characters.