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“Amazing.”
“My god, look at that.”

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“Good night nurse!”

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“Ooh! That’s definitely stimulating my economy.”

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In the late 90s, developer Rare wanted to replicate

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the success of their landmark 1997 shooter GoldenEye,

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but didn’t want to make another James Bond game.

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Instead, they began work on a science fiction spy thriller

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called Perfect Dark.

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For the game’s star,

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they wanted to create a striking new type of special agent

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who wouldn’t just live in James Bond’s shadow,

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so they drew inspiration from figures

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ranging from Joan of Arc to The X-Files’ Dana Scully.

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Her name was Joanna Dark.

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A few years earlier, Eidos Interactive’s Lara Croft

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had rapidly become one of the most famous

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and recognizable game characters of all time,

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so it was reasonable to think that an action game

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with a female protagonist could be a smash hit.

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Alas, Joanna Dark never reached quite the levels

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of fame occupied by Lara Croft,

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but Perfect Dark was still a big success.

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Let’s take a look at a commercial for the game:


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"Welcome to 2023.

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Big businesses now merge with alien nations.

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An ancient war is being fought under the sea.

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The president is about to be cloned

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And it’s your job to try and save the world.

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So you’ve got an important decision to make:

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What are you going to wear to work?

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From the team you brought you GoldenEye for N64,

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meet special agent Joanna Dark in Perfect Dark,

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where you’ll find out that the only person man enough

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to handle a job like this

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is a woman.”


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Can you imagine an ad exactly like this,

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only with Marcus Fenix or Master Chief,

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getting out of bed naked,

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taking a sexy slow-motion shower,

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putting on his sexy underwear,

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and the narrator saying

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that he has an important decision to make:

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what is he going to wear to work? 


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"Welcome to 2016.

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There’s a war out there...somewhere.

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You’re not sure where, exactly.

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Anyway, the important thing is,

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you’re Special Agent Jake Grimshadow.

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It’s your job to save the world.

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The only question is: What are you going to wear?

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…. WAIT... WHAT??

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A commercial like that would never happen,

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nor should it.

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But Joanna is treated differently

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than her male counterparts.

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Even though Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter

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and, as a result, you rarely see her in the game itself,

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by focusing on her getting dressed,

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this ad encouraged players to think of Joanna’s appeal

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as being rooted in her sexual desirability

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rather than her skill as a special agent. 


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A character’s clothing is one of the first things we notice.

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It’s an important part of our first impression

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of who that character is, and as such,

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it’s a way for designers

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to immediately communicate to players

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what is most important and noteworthy about them. 


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Female heroes in video games might be special agents

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or soldiers or treasure hunters by trade.

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They often find themselves in dangerous,

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physically demanding situations,

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fighting off bad guys and saving the world.

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They are typically performing activities that call for

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practical or protective clothing.

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But when we look at the types of outfits

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that female characters are made to wear,

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we can see that they are often

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both sexualized and completely absurd. 


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Ivy from the Soulcalibur games is a bold warrior

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who finds herself in battles

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where sharp, deadly weapons are being used

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and protective armor would be a must,

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but the clothing she wears--or lack thereof-

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-is not exactly intended to keep her safe.


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Cammy from the Street Fighter series

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is a British special forces operative

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whose thong leotard does a better job

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of calling attention to her butt

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than of offering any kind of protection. 


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Jessica Sherawat from Resident Evil: Revelations

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is a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance

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and regularly faces deadly infected mutants in combat,

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but her outfits appear to be designed for...

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yeah, I don’t even know.

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And this is just a small fraction of the vast number

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of female characters who are forced into

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impractical and objectifying clothing while in dangerous situations.

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“You’ll learn respect!”

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“You’re a fool to come back here.”

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“All right, let’s begin!

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“And instead of donning a shirt plate,

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you dash into battle, shirt open, navel and…

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whatnot exposed!”

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Because clothing can shape our first impressions of a character

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and has a tremendous influence

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on our sense of who they are

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every time they are on screen,

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sexualized outfits can contribute to what’s called

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the hyper-sexualization of female characters.