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.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Hyper-sexualization in the media occurs

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when a character is designed to be valued primarily

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for their sexual characteristics or behaviors.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In hypersexualized characters, these attributes

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are highlighted above all else

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and made the center of attention,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
while everything else about the character is made secondary. [br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Games and other media often work

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to frame this sexualization as a positive thing for women.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They blur the distinction between female sexualization

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and female power, and as a result,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sexualized female characters are sometimes celebrated

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for being perceived as “owning” their sexuality

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in a way that is empowering.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But it isn’t actually empowering

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because the sexuality these characters exude

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is manufactured for, and presented as existing for,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the presumed straight male player.[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Bayonetta is a quintessential example of such a character.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When the camera caresses her body

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as it does in the opening scene of Bayonetta 2,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
establishing the player’s relationship with the character,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
she is frozen in time,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the passive object of the male gaze.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The camera is putting her and Jeanne

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on display for the player,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
breaking them down into what the game

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is communicating is most important about them:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
their sexualized parts.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And when Bayonetta starts moving,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it’s the player who has the power

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to control her sexuality as a weapon throughout the game,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
both literally and figuratively.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
She has an assortment of special moves

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
called “torture attacks” which involve devices

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
meant to suggest BDSM and that look like something

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you might expect to see

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in an exaggerated stereotype of a sex dungeon.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But these sexualized moves

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
have nothing to do with sex:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they just obliterate her enemies.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And a number of her attacks literally leave her naked,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because, you see, she’s attacking the enemies

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with her hair and her hair is also her clothing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so when she’s using her hair to attack her enemies

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it can’t be covering her body and…

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In these ways, the game deliberately links

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Bayonetta’s sexuality to power,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
selling a version of sexual objectification

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that we’re all supposed to feel good about

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and find “empowering.”

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Every aspect of Bayonetta’s existence,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from the way the camera is magnetically drawn

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to her sexualized body parts

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to the pole dance reward for completing the game,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is expertly designed to be sexually affirming

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and satisfying for a presumed straight male audience.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
If it seems like I’m frequently repeating the fact

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that the player is presumed to be a straight male,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that’s because it’s vital to remember.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This presumption influences and shapes

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so many creative decisions that are made

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in the development of many games.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
“Let’s see, target market - mostly male,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
18-24 years old, interests - senseless violence,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
high tech weaponry, pain, humiliation…

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
hey! Maybe this’ll do the trick.”

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In fact, this connection between objectification

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and empowerment is extremely damaging.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It’s harmful to women because rather than

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
asserting that women have intrinsic value as people,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it communicates that the kind of power available

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to women comes from men finding them desirable.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And it’s damaging to men because it suggests

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that women who are liberated and empowered

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are also women whose sexuality is always available to men.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When we conflate the sexualization of women

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with power for women,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we internalize this harmful myth

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and begin to think sexualization is the only way

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to achieve gender equality.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But the truth is that sexualization doesn’t actually

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
bring us any closer to equality.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In her book Enlightened Sexism,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Susan J. Douglas sums up the issue.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
”Under the guise of escapism and pleasure,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we are getting images of imagined power that mask,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and even erase, how much still remains to be done

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for girls and women,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
images that make sexism seem fine, even fun,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and insist that feminism is now utterly pointless--

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
even bad for you.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
True power here has nothing to do with

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
economic independence or professional achievement:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it has to do with getting men to lust after you

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and other women to envy you.”