WEBVTT 00:00:00.103 --> 00:00:03.256 “Amazing.” “My god, look at that.” 00:00:03.733 --> 00:00:05.744 “Good night nurse!” 00:00:05.431 --> 00:00:08.466 “Ooh! That’s definitely stimulating my economy.” 00:00:28.066 --> 00:00:30.815 In the late 90s, developer Rare wanted to replicate 00:00:30.815 --> 00:00:33.264 the success of their landmark 1997 shooter GoldenEye, 00:00:33.264 --> 00:00:36.305 but didn’t want to make another James Bond game. 00:00:36.305 --> 00:00:39.625 Instead they began work on a science fiction spy thriller 00:00:39.625 --> 00:00:40.970 called Perfect Dark. 00:00:40.970 --> 00:00:41.305 For the game’s star, 00:00:41.305 --> 00:00:43.772 they wanted to create a striking new type of special agent 00:00:43.772 --> 00:00:45.835 who wouldn’t just live in James Bond’s shadow, 00:00:45.835 --> 00:00:47.128 so they drew inspiration from figures 00:00:47.128 --> 00:00:50.054 ranging from Joan of Arc to The X-Files’ Dana Scully. 00:00:50.054 --> 00:00:52.334 Her name was Joanna Dark. 00:00:52.334 --> 00:00:55.172 A few years earlier, Eidos Interactive’s Lara Croft 00:00:55.172 --> 00:00:57.090 had rapidly become one of the most famous 00:00:57.090 --> 00:00:58.877 and recognizable game characters of all time, 00:00:58.877 --> 00:01:01.515 so it was reasonable to think that an action game 00:01:01.515 --> 00:01:03.313 with a female protagonist could be a smash hit. 00:01:03.313 --> 00:01:06.530 Alas, Joanna Dark never reached quite the levels 00:01:06.530 --> 00:01:08.285 of fame occupied by Lara Croft, 00:01:08.285 --> 00:01:10.533 but Perfect Dark was still a big success. 00:01:10.533 --> 00:01:12.586 Let’s take a look at a commercial for the game: 00:01:12.586 --> 00:01:15.821 "Welcome to 2023. 00:01:15.821 --> 00:01:21.118 Big businesses now merge with alien nations. 00:01:21.118 --> 00:01:27.631 An ancient war is being fought under the sea. 00:01:27.631 --> 00:01:32.049 The president is about to be cloned 00:01:32.049 --> 00:01:37.519 And it’s your job to try and save the world. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:42.011 So you’ve got an important decision to make: 00:01:42.011 --> 00:01:47.010 What are you going to wear to work? 00:01:47.010 --> 00:01:51.071 From the team you brought you GoldenEye for N64, 00:01:51.071 --> 00:01:55.780 meet special agent Joanna Dark in Perfect Dark, 00:01:55.780 --> 00:01:59.971 where you’ll find out that the only person man enough 00:01:59.971 --> 00:02:01.487 to handle a job like this 00:02:01.487 --> 00:02:05.056 is a woman.” 00:02:05.056 --> 00:02:08.516 Can you imagine an ad exactly like this, 00:02:08.516 --> 00:02:10.554 only with Marcus Fenix or Master Chief, 00:02:10.554 --> 00:02:12.142 getting out of bed naked, 00:02:12.142 --> 00:02:14.048 taking a sexy slow-motion shower, 00:02:14.048 --> 00:02:15.364 putting on his sexy underwear, 00:02:15.364 --> 00:02:16.391 and the narrator saying 00:02:16.391 --> 00:02:18.098 that he has an important decision to make: 00:02:18.098 --> 00:02:19.619 what is he going to wear to work? NOTE Paragraph 00:02:19.619 --> 00:02:22.775 "Welcome to 2016. 00:02:22.775 --> 00:02:26.807 There’s a war out there...somewhere. 00:02:26.807 --> 00:02:29.117 You’re not sure where, exactly. 00:02:29.117 --> 00:02:31.081 Anyway, the important thing is, 00:02:31.081 --> 00:02:33.662 you’re Special Agent Jake Grimshadow. 00:02:33.662 --> 00:02:37.089 It’s your job to save the world. 00:02:37.364 --> 00:02:41.697 The only question is: What are you going to wear? 00:02:41.697 --> 00:02:43.690 …. WAIT... WHAT?? 00:02:43.690 --> 00:02:47.015 A commercial like that would never happen, 00:02:47.015 --> 00:02:48.219 nor should it. 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:49.846 But Joanna is treated differently 00:02:49.846 --> 00:02:51.127 than her male counterparts. 00:02:51.127 --> 00:02:53.592 Even though Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter 00:02:53.592 --> 00:02:56.498 and, as a result, you rarely see her in the game itself, 00:02:56.498 --> 00:02:58.597 by focusing on her getting dressed, 00:02:58.597 --> 00:03:00.809 this ad encouraged players to think of Joanna’s appeal 00:03:00.809 --> 00:03:02.850 as being rooted in her sexual desirability 00:03:02.850 --> 00:03:04.979 rather than her skill as a special agent. 00:03:04.979 --> 00:03:07.860 A character’s clothing is one of the first things we notice. 00:03:07.860 --> 00:03:09.998 It’s an important part of our first impression 00:03:09.998 --> 00:03:12.189 of who that character is, and as such, 00:03:12.189 --> 00:03:13.768 it’s a way for designers 00:03:13.768 --> 00:03:15.337 to immediately communicate to players 00:03:15.337 --> 00:03:17.478 what is most important and noteworthy about them. 00:03:17.478 --> 00:03:20.236 Female heroes in video games might be special agents 00:03:20.236 --> 00:03:22.480 or soldiers or treasure hunters by trade. 00:03:22.480 --> 00:03:24.520 They often find themselves in dangerous, 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:26.225 physically demanding situations, 00:03:26.225 --> 00:03:28.046 fighting off bad guys and saving the world. 00:03:28.046 --> 00:03:30.376 They are typically performing activities that call for 00:03:30.376 --> 00:03:32.531 practical or protective clothing. 00:03:32.531 --> 00:03:34.064 But when we look at the types of outfits 00:03:34.064 --> 00:03:36.212 that female characters are made to wear, 00:03:36.212 --> 00:03:37.923 we can see that they are often 00:03:37.923 --> 00:03:39.831 both sexualized and completely absurd. 00:03:39.831 --> 00:03:42.692 Ivy from the Soulcalibur games is a bold warrior 00:03:42.692 --> 00:03:44.142 who finds herself in battles 00:03:44.142 --> 00:03:46.055 where sharp, deadly weapons are being used 00:03:46.055 --> 00:03:47.616 and protective armor would be a must, 00:03:47.616 --> 00:03:50.502 but the clothing she wears--or lack thereof- 00:03:50.502 --> 00:03:52.285 -is not exactly intended to keep her safe. 00:03:52.285 --> 00:03:54.443 Cammy from the Street Fighter series 00:03:54.443 --> 00:03:56.639 is a British special forces operative 00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:58.479 whose thong leotard does a better job 00:03:58.479 --> 00:03:59.751 of calling attention to her butt 00:03:59.751 --> 00:04:01.905 than of offering any kind of protection. 00:04:01.905 --> 00:04:06.158 Jessica Sherawat from Resident Evil: Revelations 00:04:06.158 --> 00:04:09.559 is a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance 00:04:09.559 --> 00:04:12.621 and regularly faces deadly infected mutants in combat, 00:04:12.621 --> 00:04:14.637 but her outfits appear to be designed for... 00:04:14.637 --> 00:04:16.938 yeah, I don’t even know. 00:04:16.938 --> 00:04:20.115 And this is just a small fraction of the vast number 00:04:20.115 --> 00:04:21.634 of female characters who are forced into 00:04:21.634 --> 00:04:25.168 impractical and objectifying clothing while in dangerous situations. 00:04:25.168 --> 00:04:27.386 “You’ll learn respect!” 00:04:27.386 --> 00:04:33.580 “You’re a fool to come back here.” 00:04:33.580 --> 00:04:39.151 “All right, let’s begin! 00:04:39.151 --> 00:04:42.110 “And instead of donning a shirt plate, 00:04:42.110 --> 00:04:42.912 you dash into battle, shirt open, navel and… 00:04:44.752 --> 00:04:45.002 whatnot exposed!” 00:04:46.475 --> 00:04:49.450 Because clothing can shape our first impressions of a character 00:04:49.450 --> 00:04:51.438 and has a tremendous influence 00:04:51.438 --> 00:04:52.194 on our sense of who they are 00:04:52.194 --> 00:04:53.240 every time they are on screen, 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:55.179 sexualized outfits can contribute to what’s called 00:04:55.179 --> 00:04:58.079 the hyper-sexualization of female characters. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:04:59.611 Hyper-sexualization in the media occurs 00:04:59.611 --> 00:05:02.342 when a character is designed to be valued primarily 00:05:02.342 --> 00:05:04.400 for their sexual characteristics or behaviors. 00:05:04.400 --> 00:05:06.762 In hypersexualized characters, these attributes 00:05:06.762 --> 00:05:08.415 are highlighted above all else 00:05:08.415 --> 00:05:10.219 and made the center of attention, 00:05:10.219 --> 00:05:12.260 while everything else about the character is made secondary. 00:05:12.260 --> 00:05:20.548 Games and other media often work 00:05:20.548 --> 00:05:22.803 to frame this sexualization as a positive thing for women. 00:05:22.803 --> 00:05:25.316 They blur the distinction between female sexualization 00:05:25.316 --> 00:05:27.913 and female power, and as a result, 00:05:27.913 --> 00:05:30.385 sexualized female characters are sometimes celebrated 00:05:30.385 --> 00:05:32.394 for being perceived as “owning” their sexuality 00:05:32.394 --> 00:05:33.981 in a way that is empowering. 00:05:33.981 --> 00:05:36.098 But it isn’t actually empowering 00:05:36.098 --> 00:05:38.138 because the sexuality these characters exude 00:05:38.138 --> 00:05:41.867 is manufactured for, and presented as existing for, 00:05:41.867 --> 00:05:43.878 the presumed straight male player. 00:05:43.878 --> 00:05:46.770 Bayonetta is a quintessential example of such a character. 00:05:46.770 --> 00:05:48.846 When the camera caresses her body 00:05:48.846 --> 00:05:50.890 as it does in the opening scene of Bayonetta 2, 00:05:50.890 --> 00:05:53.535 establishing the player’s relationship with the character, 00:05:53.535 --> 00:05:55.076 she is frozen in time, 00:05:55.076 --> 00:05:56.869 the passive object of the male gaze. 00:05:56.869 --> 00:05:59.070 The camera is putting her and Jeanne 00:05:59.070 --> 00:06:00.536 on display for the player, 00:06:00.536 --> 00:06:02.032 breaking them down into what the game 00:06:02.032 --> 00:06:03.768 is communicating is most important about them: 00:06:03.768 --> 00:06:04.788 their sexualized parts. 00:06:04.788 --> 00:06:07.033 And when Bayonetta starts moving, 00:06:07.033 --> 00:06:08.310 it’s the player who has the power 00:06:08.310 --> 00:06:10.623 to control her sexuality as a weapon throughout the game, 00:06:10.623 --> 00:06:12.678 both literally and figuratively. 00:06:12.678 --> 00:06:15.489 She has an assortment of special moves 00:06:15.489 --> 00:06:17.641 called “torture attacks” which involve devices 00:06:17.641 --> 00:06:20.118 meant to suggest BDSM and that look like something 00:06:20.118 --> 00:06:21.215 you might expect to see 00:06:21.215 --> 00:06:23.578 in an exaggerated stereotype of a sex dungeon. 00:06:23.578 --> 00:06:25.331 But these sexualized moves 00:06:25.331 --> 00:06:26.897 have nothing to do with sex: 00:06:26.897 --> 00:06:28.714 they just obliterate her enemies. 00:06:28.714 --> 00:06:31.020 And a number of her attacks literally leave her naked, 00:06:31.020 --> 00:06:33.553 because, you see, she’s attacking the enemies 00:06:33.553 --> 00:06:35.820 with her hair and her hair is also her clothing 00:06:35.820 --> 00:06:37.828 so when she’s using her hair to attack her enemies 00:06:37.828 --> 00:06:40.645 it can’t be covering her body and… 00:06:45.442 --> 00:06:46.262 In these ways, the game deliberately links 00:06:46.262 --> 00:06:48.381 Bayonetta’s sexuality to power, 00:06:48.381 --> 00:06:50.151 selling a version of sexual objectification 00:06:50.151 --> 00:06:51.560 that we’re all supposed to feel good about 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:53.235 and find “empowering.” 00:06:53.235 --> 00:06:55.053 Every aspect of Bayonetta’s existence, 00:06:55.053 --> 00:06:57.368 from the way the camera is magnetically drawn 00:06:57.368 --> 00:06:58.419 to her sexualized body parts 00:06:58.419 --> 00:07:01.092 to the pole dance reward for completing the game, 00:07:01.092 --> 00:07:03.781 is expertly designed to be sexually affirming 00:07:03.781 --> 00:07:06.436 and satisfying for a presumed straight male audience. 00:07:06.436 --> 00:07:09.426 If it seems like I’m frequently repeating the fact 00:07:09.426 --> 00:07:10.950 that the player is presumed to be a straight male, 00:07:10.950 --> 00:07:13.292 that’s because it’s vital to remember. 00:07:13.292 --> 00:07:15.314 This presumption influences and shapes 00:07:15.314 --> 00:07:17.082 so many creative decisions that are made 00:07:17.082 --> 00:07:18.938 in the development of many games. 00:07:18.938 --> 00:07:20.491 “Let’s see, target market - mostly male, 00:07:20.491 --> 00:07:24.219 18-24 years old, interests - senseless violence, 00:07:24.219 --> 00:07:26.019 high tech weaponry, pain, humiliation… 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:28.909 hey! Maybe this’ll do the trick.” 00:07:29.161 --> 00:07:31.820 Of course, characters like Bayonetta are a fictional fantasy 00:07:31.820 --> 00:07:35.283 But in reality, we exist in a culture where women are often valued 00:07:35.283 --> 00:07:37.319 primarily for their sexual desirability to men. 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:40.796 So while characters like these are incredibly powerful in the physical sense 00:07:40.796 --> 00:07:43.707 able to slay entire armies and bring down gods, 00:07:43.707 --> 00:07:47.591 there’s nothing empowering about the fact that they are sexually objectified. 00:07:47.591 --> 00:07:50.458 In fact, this connection between objectification 00:07:50.458 --> 00:07:52.502 and empowerment is extremely damaging. 00:07:52.502 --> 00:07:55.266 It’s harmful to women because rather than 00:07:55.266 --> 00:07:57.392 asserting that women have intrinsic value as people, 00:07:57.392 --> 00:07:59.642 it communicates that the kind of power available 00:07:59.642 --> 00:08:01.666 to women comes from men finding them desirable. 00:08:01.666 --> 00:08:04.320 And it’s damaging to men because it suggests 00:08:04.320 --> 00:08:06.439 that women who are liberated and empowered 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:09.648 are also women whose sexuality is always available to men. 00:08:09.648 --> 00:08:12.294 When we conflate the sexualization of women 00:08:12.294 --> 00:08:13.085 with power for women, 00:08:13.085 --> 00:08:15.096 we internalize this harmful myth 00:08:15.096 --> 00:08:17.940 and begin to think sexualization is the only way 00:08:17.940 --> 00:08:19.736 to achieve gender equality. 00:08:19.736 --> 00:08:22.668 But the truth is that sexualization doesn’t actually 00:08:22.668 --> 00:08:24.615 bring us any closer to equality. 00:08:24.615 --> 00:08:26.596 In her book Enlightened Sexism, 00:08:26.596 --> 00:08:28.147 Susan J. Douglas sums up the issue. 00:08:28.147 --> 00:08:30.606 ”Under the guise of escapism and pleasure, 00:08:30.606 --> 00:08:33.353 we are getting images of imagined power that mask, 00:08:33.353 --> 00:08:35.625 and even erase, how much still remains to be done 00:08:35.625 --> 00:08:36.689 for girls and women, 00:08:36.689 --> 00:08:39.713 images that make sexism seem fine, even fun, 00:08:39.713 --> 00:08:42.519 and insist that feminism is now utterly pointless-- 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:44.003 even bad for you. 00:08:44.003 --> 00:08:46.216 True power here has nothing to do with 00:08:46.216 --> 00:08:48.270 economic independence or professional achievement: 00:08:48.270 --> 00:08:50.649 it has to do with getting men to lust after you 00:08:50.649 --> 00:08:52.166 and other women to envy you.” 00:08:52.166 --> 00:08:55.140 Some gaming fans have come up with all sorts of 00:08:55.140 --> 00:08:57.203 ridiculous defenses for the sexualized costumes 00:08:57.203 --> 00:08:59.214 female characters are often made to wear, 00:08:59.214 --> 00:09:01.692 like the idea that they dress in these outfits as a tactic 00:09:01.692 --> 00:09:03.730 to help them distract their male opponents. 00:09:03.730 --> 00:09:05.495 It’s not unheard of for developers 00:09:05.495 --> 00:09:07.836 to sometimes rely on this harmful logic, too. 00:09:07.836 --> 00:09:10.226 The superintelligent AI companion Cortana 00:09:10.226 --> 00:09:11.280 from the Halo franchise 00:09:11.280 --> 00:09:13.372 has always been depicted as naked, 00:09:13.372 --> 00:09:14.890 and when asked about why this is, 00:09:14.890 --> 00:09:17.068 franchise director Frank O’Connor said, 00:09:17.068 --> 00:09:20.328 "One of the reasons she does it is to attract and demand attention. 00:09:20.328 --> 00:09:23.597 And she does it to put people off so they’re on their guard 00:09:23.597 --> 00:09:24.654 when they’re talking to her 00:09:24.654 --> 00:09:26.941 and that she has the upper hand in those conversations. 00:09:26.941 --> 00:09:29.674 It’s kind of almost like the opposite of that nightmare 00:09:29.674 --> 00:09:31.433 you have where you go to school in the nude, 00:09:31.433 --> 00:09:33.065 and you’re terrified and embarrassed. 00:09:33.065 --> 00:09:35.107 She’s kind of projecting that back out to her audience 00:09:35.107 --> 00:09:37.570 and winning intellectual points as a result." 00:09:37.570 --> 00:09:41.481 Meanwhile, male AIs in the Halo universe do wear clothing; 00:09:41.481 --> 00:09:43.964 the idea of them trying to “win intellectual points” 00:09:43.964 --> 00:09:46.365 by walking around naked is ridiculous. 00:09:46.365 --> 00:09:47.123 But we rarely question 00:09:47.123 --> 00:09:49.503 the extremely widespread association 00:09:49.503 --> 00:09:50.564 of sexualization and power 00:09:50.564 --> 00:09:52.798 when it’s applied to female characters. 00:09:52.798 --> 00:09:55.068 Usually, the games themselves don’t go into much detail 00:09:55.068 --> 00:09:56.498 to explain or justify why 00:09:56.498 --> 00:09:58.187 female characters are sexualized. 00:09:58.187 --> 00:10:00.713 Players are simply meant to unquestioningly accept 00:10:00.713 --> 00:10:02.536 the impractical outfits these characters are wearing. 00:10:02.536 --> 00:10:05.543 Sometimes, however, as in the case of Quiet 00:10:05.543 --> 00:10:07.669 from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, 00:10:07.669 --> 00:10:10.414 developers build convoluted and absurd tales 00:10:10.414 --> 00:10:12.272 about a character’s past into the game 00:10:12.272 --> 00:10:15.286 in an attempt to justify their blatant sexualization. 00:10:15.286 --> 00:10:18.614 “She, uh, refuses to wear clothes. 00:10:20.169 --> 00:10:23.612 The last staff member who tried to dress her - 00:10:23.612 --> 00:10:26.407 breathing through tubes. 00:10:26.407 --> 00:10:30.027 Other than that, she’s completely cooperative. 00:10:30.027 --> 00:10:35.727 She understands English, she never speaks, sweats, or breathes.” 00:10:35.727 --> 00:10:37.374 “What?” 00:10:37.374 --> 00:10:40.799 “Well, not with lungs at least. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:42.555 She breathes through her skin. 00:10:42.555 --> 00:10:45.742 Clothing would suffocate her. 00:10:45.742 --> 00:11:00.015 Showers are okay, but she can’t be submerged.” 00:11:00.015 --> 00:11:08.123 “What’s wrong with her?” 00:11:08.123 --> 00:11:11.270 “She’s drinking. Through her skin.” 00:11:11.270 --> 00:11:17.027 So you see, she can’t wear clothing 00:11:17.027 --> 00:11:18.790 because she breathes through her skin! 00:11:18.790 --> 00:11:24.607 These ludicrous narrative justifications don’t “make it okay.” 00:11:24.607 --> 00:11:26.388 Regardless of whatever absurd explanation 00:11:26.388 --> 00:11:27.972 a game might provide, 00:11:27.972 --> 00:11:29.377 it should go without saying that 00:11:29.377 --> 00:11:31.710 the only real functionality of outfits like this is to 00:11:31.710 --> 00:11:34.835 titillate the presumed young straight male player base. 00:11:34.835 --> 00:11:36.898 Out of all the arguments that are tossed out 00:11:36.898 --> 00:11:38.710 to defend the impractical and objectifying 00:11:38.710 --> 00:11:40.866 clothing that women are made to wear in games, 00:11:40.866 --> 00:11:42.915 there is one in particular that I hear the most often 00:11:42.915 --> 00:11:45.041 and that is perhaps the most pernicious. 00:11:45.041 --> 00:11:45.852 That argument is: 00:11:45.852 --> 00:11:48.325 “Maybe that’s what she wants to wear!” 00:11:48.325 --> 00:11:49.613 Which is ridiculous. 00:11:49.613 --> 00:11:51.425 These women are fictional constructs. 00:11:51.425 --> 00:11:53.715 That means that they don’t dress themselves 00:11:53.715 --> 00:11:55.307 or pick out their own clothing. 00:11:55.307 --> 00:11:57.321 I can’t believe I have to say this. 00:11:57.321 --> 00:11:59.779 All these visual designs are deliberate choices 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:01.111 made by the developers, 00:12:01.111 --> 00:12:02.869 and they serve a specific purpose: 00:12:02.869 --> 00:12:04.919 they communicate to straight male players 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:07.149 that these characters exist primarily as sex objects 00:12:07.149 --> 00:12:08.675 to be consumed. 00:12:08.675 --> 00:12:11.698 In doing so, they also reinforce the larger notion 00:12:11.698 --> 00:12:13.741 in our culture that the value of real human women 00:12:13.741 --> 00:12:17.191 is determined largely by their sexual desirability to men. 00:12:17.191 --> 00:12:18.941 It’s not hard to imagine 00:12:18.941 --> 00:12:20.224 what more practical clothing options 00:12:20.224 --> 00:12:22.210 might look like for some of these characters. 00:12:22.210 --> 00:12:24.403 But if you’re having a hard time envisioning that, 00:12:24.403 --> 00:12:25.661 I will let you in on a little secret: 00:12:25.661 --> 00:12:27.668 For those of you who aren’t familiar, 00:12:27.668 --> 00:12:29.618 there is this thing called a sports bra. 00:12:29.618 --> 00:12:31.914 Sports bras are designed to keep breasts held in place 00:12:31.914 --> 00:12:34.459 to better facilitate athletic activities. 00:12:34.459 --> 00:12:36.219 In other words, they are used 00:12:36.219 --> 00:12:38.433 to prevent “jiggle physics” in real life. 00:12:38.433 --> 00:12:43.186 In the real world, there are many female 00:12:43.186 --> 00:12:45.673 martial artists, athletes, and women in combat roles 00:12:45.673 --> 00:12:47.247 that developers could use as inspiration 00:12:47.247 --> 00:12:50.154 when designing and dressing their female characters. 00:12:50.154 --> 00:12:52.444 It’s important to note that the amount of skin shown 00:12:52.444 --> 00:12:54.162 is not the crux of the problem. 00:12:54.162 --> 00:12:56.694 Many female athletes wear minimal form-fitting clothing 00:12:56.694 --> 00:12:58.743 because it’s more conducive to their activities. 00:12:58.743 --> 00:13:00.516 However, their outfits are not designed 00:13:00.516 --> 00:13:02.858 with the primary goal of sexualizing the athletes 00:13:02.858 --> 00:13:04.650 for the benefit of spectators. 00:13:04.650 --> 00:13:07.017 The problem of female characters wearing impractical, 00:13:07.017 --> 00:13:09.515 sexualized and objectifying attire and being 00:13:09.515 --> 00:13:12.073 put on display for players is not a difficult one to solve, 00:13:12.325 --> 00:13:14.010 and developers already know how to do it. 00:13:14.010 --> 00:13:15.941 Even many fighting games that have 00:13:15.941 --> 00:13:18.089 several sexualized female characters on the roster 00:13:18.089 --> 00:13:21.387 often have one female option who is in more practical attire. 00:13:21.387 --> 00:13:26.146 The Dark Souls games are generally pretty good 00:13:26.146 --> 00:13:28.812 about not making armor appear significantly different 00:13:28.812 --> 00:13:30.622 on female characters than it does on male characters. 00:13:30.622 --> 00:13:34.852 Natural Selection 2 and XCOM also have 00:13:34.852 --> 00:13:37.481 examples of women in practical armor. 00:13:37.481 --> 00:13:39.010 And Assassin’s Creed Syndicate put female 00:13:39.010 --> 00:13:41.921 gang members in outfits very similar 00:13:41.921 --> 00:13:43.493 to those worn by the male gang members. 00:13:43.493 --> 00:13:45.942 None of this is to say that characters in games 00:13:45.942 --> 00:13:48.209 should never be sexual; far from it. 00:13:48.209 --> 00:13:51.481 Sexuality and sexualization are very different things. 00:13:51.481 --> 00:13:54.314 The sexualization of female characters is about 00:13:54.314 --> 00:13:56.636 designing them, dressing them or framing them 00:13:56.636 --> 00:13:59.020 in ways that are specifically intended to be 00:13:59.020 --> 00:14:01.547 sexually appealing to presumed male viewers or players. 00:14:01.547 --> 00:14:04.232 Women’s sexuality, on the other hand, 00:14:04.232 --> 00:14:06.014 exists for themselves, and for those 00:14:06.014 --> 00:14:08.106 they care to consensually share it with. 00:14:08.106 --> 00:14:10.721 And sexuality can be expressed or experienced 00:14:10.721 --> 00:14:12.510 in any kind of attire. 00:14:12.510 --> 00:14:13.502 “Come here lover boy!” 00:14:14.709 --> 00:14:17.159 Unfortunately, examples in games of female characters 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:20.098 expressing sexual desire in ways that aren’t sexualized 00:14:20.098 --> 00:14:21.625 are exceedingly rare. 00:14:21.625 --> 00:14:23.139 These next few examples aren’t great depictions 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:24.670 of what we’re talking about. 00:14:24.670 --> 00:14:27.362 They’re just some of the only examples that exist at all, 00:14:27.362 --> 00:14:28.896 which serves to illustrate how rare it is 00:14:28.896 --> 00:14:31.589 for female sexuality in games to be presented in ways 00:14:31.589 --> 00:14:34.182 that are humanizing rather than sexualizing. 00:14:34.182 --> 00:14:37.399 The Last of Us: Left Behind features female characters 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:38.926 who express romantic feelings for each other, 00:14:38.926 --> 00:14:41.035 rather than exuding a sexualized energy 00:14:41.035 --> 00:14:43.244 that is directed outward at the player. 00:14:43.244 --> 00:14:49.782 “What do we do now? 00:14:49.782 --> 00:14:53.465 “We’ll figure it out.” 00:14:53.465 --> 00:14:56.697 And in Firewatch, though it’s only heard and not seen 00:14:56.697 --> 00:14:59.789 Delilah expresses sexual desire for the player character, Henry. 00:14:59.789 --> 00:15:00.828 “I wish I was over there.” 00:15:00.828 --> 00:15:04.841 “I wish you were too.” 00:15:04.841 --> 00:15:09.147 “We could sit outside, we could talk, 00:15:09.147 --> 00:15:14.819 without these radios. We could, um, you know.” 00:15:14.819 --> 00:15:16.390 These moments aren’t presented 00:15:16.390 --> 00:15:18.933 as titillating morsels of sexuality for players. 00:15:18.933 --> 00:15:20.495 Rather, they function as expressions 00:15:20.495 --> 00:15:23.208 of the characters’ sexuality that deepen our investment 00:15:23.208 --> 00:15:25.266 in the characters and their relationships to each other. 00:15:25.266 --> 00:15:27.842 To clarify, the act of sex isn’t the problem, 00:15:27.842 --> 00:15:29.529 but rather how its presented. 00:15:29.529 --> 00:15:31.658 I’d love to see great representations 00:15:31.658 --> 00:15:33.446 of healthy, consensual sex in games. 00:15:33.446 --> 00:15:36.364 But sadly, when consensual sex does occur, 00:15:36.364 --> 00:15:38.660 it’s often presented as a transaction 00:15:38.660 --> 00:15:40.660 or as a reward for player accomplishment. 00:15:40.660 --> 00:15:43.138 Whether that accomplishment is completing quests 00:15:43.138 --> 00:15:44.932 or just choosing all the right dialogue options 00:15:44.932 --> 00:15:46.776 to get the sex cutscene to play. 00:15:46.776 --> 00:15:51.195 When fictional female characters in games are dressed 00:15:51.195 --> 00:15:52.762 in impractical armor or clothing, 00:15:52.762 --> 00:15:55.494 it encourages players to view them as sex objects, 00:15:55.494 --> 00:15:58.566 and reinforces the already pervasive and harmful notion 00:15:58.566 --> 00:16:01.053 in our culture that sexualization is the most viable 00:16:01.053 --> 00:16:03.094 or only real route to power for women. 00:16:03.094 --> 00:16:05.535 By contrast, when those characters are dressed 00:16:05.535 --> 00:16:08.250 in clothing that is truly practical and functional 00:16:08.250 --> 00:16:09.786 for the work that they are doing, 00:16:09.786 --> 00:16:12.091 and when they express sexuality and sexual desire 00:16:12.091 --> 00:16:14.387 in ways that aren’t served up as sexualized treats 00:16:14.387 --> 00:16:16.511 designed primarily for straight male players 00:16:16.511 --> 00:16:17.881 to consume and enjoy, 00:16:17.881 --> 00:16:19.978 it encourages players of all genders 00:16:19.978 --> 00:16:22.356 not to view those characters as sexual objects 00:16:22.356 --> 00:16:24.632 but to be invested in them as people.