Tropes vs Women in Video Games - Damsel in Distress - General

If I recall correctly, in the witcher 2 there is a council of all sorceresses who basically completely out smart (kinda) all the male kings and mages by the end of the game basically independently. And despite a lot of the blatant sexuality and Triss being kinda useless I thought that was a cool thing for them to do with female characters.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;39843924] - Trudy, Sunny Smiles (Fallout New Vegas) Trudy is a bartender who tells an armored and armed angry criminal to fuck off (aka she has balls) and Sunny Smiles is a scavenger lurking the wastelands with her dog. Both are friendly if you are friendly to them and show no belonging to any stereotypes you'd call sexist.[/QUOTE] Don't forget about Colonel Moore - she's a very angry and bitter ex-ranger (AKA the elite of the NCR) who would rather deal with problems through the use of violent and aggressive tactics instead of diplomacy, especially when you compare her to Colonel Hsu and Ambassador Crocker, two very soft-spoken and level-headed guys who you interact with alongside her during specific quests.

yea i think stories are getting stale and whatnot with damsels being used all over the place and i’d be all for a guy having to be rescued by a chick at some point that would be a refreshing change. zelda armoring up and taking up a sword? yes please, that would be ballin as hell. my eyebrow raises a bit to how sarkeesian refers to some games as ‘damsel games’ that are being re-released on new platforms, as if it’s the only thing of note about them. they do include the trope, but i dunno. she could’ve worded it a bit better. ehh, not a big deal. this is a trend that needs to break, true enough. that said, using the trope isn't wrong in itself, but fiction is being oversaturated with it. lets have some variety

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;39843924]"Male imposed feminine stereotypes" is an idiotic term. I can only think of one medium where it's truly put in practice and it's porn, because the only "male imposed" stereotype I can think of is a slutty bitch who sucks dicks without questioning what she's being asked to do. A good looking woman is NOT a male imposed stereotype, it's just a societal demand that's logical because people like to look good. These standards have changed through time and they will change again. [/QUOTE] Societal demands in a male dominated society. Everything you see in terms of the ideal women is based on the current ideal for men. The ideal does change over time, but it has always been men who decide it. And thanks for giving more detail to the list of exceptions.

[quote]That's kind of a special one, because bayonetta is essentially the female equivalent of dante. Both are essentially a huge dick/cunt, and both are just complete douchebags.[/quote] I never got this out of Bayonetta, and I don't know where you got it from.

[QUOTE=Key_in_skillee;39844613]I never got this out of Bayonetta, and I don't know where you got it from.[/QUOTE] Pretty much everything she does with Luka and Enzo. Seriously, she wrecked his car and almost killed him on his birthday. Not cool. [editline]8th March 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=person11;39844563]Societal demands in a male dominated society. Everything you see in terms of the ideal women is based on the current ideal for men. The ideal does change over time, but it has always been men who decide it. And thanks for giving more detail to the list of exceptions.[/QUOTE] Women like looking good for themselves. It's quite egocentric to believe they do everything to please men too.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;39840975]Let's make a quick rundown of a bunch of good female characters : - Catwoman (Batman arkham city) - Bayonetta - Heather (Silent hill 3) - Lara croft (early Tomb Raider, Anniversary and Legends especially) - Sarah Lyons, Moira Brown, Amata, Red (Fallout 3) - Trudy, Sunny Smiles (Fallout New Vegas) - Kayle (League of Legends) - Lady (DMC) - Gaia, Athena (God of War) - Ellia, Alex Roivas (Eternal Darkness)[/QUOTE] some of those are literally the polar opposite of "good female characters"

Disabling comments and ratings on the YouTube video really bugs me. Just shows she knows it's probably going to get ripped apart.

Lets stop argueing for a moment to laugh at mens rights advocates talking about this. [quote]One has inherent worth by mere virtue of being a woman, the man has to prove himself "worthy of her love". It is not that the damsel can't do anything, it's that she doesn't have to. Because her womanhood makes it possible for her to just sit around and do nothing, knowing that some "hero" is going to solve all her problems. Real power is a power you don't have to yield. It is present no matter how you project yourself, and it means that you can garner admiration for no other reason than your elavated status.[/quote] [quote]How many TRILLIONS of male characters have died with millions of minds behind the buttons, for that one singular pixelated female that no one plays?[/quote] those poor men pixels lmao

[QUOTE=The golden;39845049]Well she was hit with threats of death and rape earlier. I honestly can't see the comments actually holding any productive information.[/QUOTE] youtube comments on controversial videos are always shitfests

I wonder how /v/ felt.

[QUOTE=Shadaez;39845044]Lets stop argueing for a moment to laugh at mens rights advocates talking about this. those poor men pixels lmao[/QUOTE] More funny when you consider that they are complaining about a trope, men pixels, and societal values that men invented.

[QUOTE=Shadaez;39845044]Lets stop argueing for a moment to laugh at mens rights advocates talking about this. those poor men pixels lmao[/QUOTE] Isn't this whole argument about poor women pixels? lmao

[QUOTE=slapdown3;39845424]Isn't this whole argument about poor women pixels? lmao[/QUOTE] the whole argument is about how some people think video game characters should pander to their wants rather than someone elses.

Gonna be honest. Only hysterical feminists would make a big deal out of this, dont think anyone played a game and thought "Wow this portrayal of women make me think lesser of them" Seriously, no one really gives a fuck except white knights and people like Anita. Not once have I even second guessed peach/zelda or any girl in any video game because its a fucking video game. What pisses me off the most is that people want to change this when all this really would be doing is a form of censorship and its disgusting.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;39844819]Pretty much everything she does with Luka and Enzo. Seriously, she wrecked his car and almost killed him on his birthday. Not cool. [editline]8th March 2013[/editline] Women like looking good for themselves. It's quite egocentric to believe they do everything to please men too.[/QUOTE] Women do not conform to these ideals because they are aware that men explicitly made them want to. The structure of society was built that way and it is hard to deviate from the norm. It is not egocentric to say that men have more control over women's live than is moral and just.

[QUOTE=slapdown3;39845424]Isn't this whole argument about poor women pixels? lmao[/QUOTE] Nope. You've completely missed the point. Women being represented poorly in video games reflects and perpetuates sexism. [QUOTE=HoodedSniper;39845713]Gonna be honest. Only hysterical feminists would make a big deal out of this, dont think anyone played a game and thought "Wow this portrayal of women make me think lesser of them" Seriously, no one really gives a fuck except white knights and people like Anita. Not once have I even second guessed peach/zelda or any girl in any video game because its a fucking video game. What pisses me off the most is that people want to change this when all this really would be doing is a form of censorship and its disgusting.[/QUOTE] You're taking everything completely out of context and fail to understand the point of the video. Also saying feminists are crazy kinda refutes your argument.

[QUOTE=Shadaez;39846195]Nope. You've completely missed the point. Women being represented poorly in video games reflects and perpetuates sexism.[/QUOTE] Exactly, poor women pixels.

You dudes also need to realize that these tropes also harm men. At the same time it's saying women need to be rescued it's saying men need to always be the hero. It's perpetuating gender roles for men and women, though it harms women more because saying women aren't capable of saving themselves or are always the victim, and are weak. [editline]8th March 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=slapdown3;39846209]Exactly, poor women pixels.[/QUOTE] Yes women irl are pixels. When I say sexism it means sexism in the real world.

[QUOTE=Shadaez;39846248]You dudes also need to realize that these tropes also harm men. At the same time it's saying women need to be rescued it's saying men need to always be the hero. It's perpetuating gender roles for men and women, though it harms women more because saying women aren't capable of saving themselves or are always the victim, and are weak. [editline]8th March 2013[/editline] Yes women irl are pixels. When I say sexism it means sexism in the real world.[/QUOTE] I agree with you now, thank you for explaining.

[QUOTE=Shadaez;39846195]Nope. You've completely missed the point. Women being represented poorly in video games reflects and perpetuates sexism. You're taking everything completely out of context and fail to understand the point of the video. Also saying feminists are crazy kinda refutes your argument.[/QUOTE] Then please, tell me the point of the video and the point Anita was trying to make.

[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;39846338]Then please, tell me the point of the video and the point Anita was trying to make.[/QUOTE] IMO the point of this video is analyzing the damsel in distress trope and explaining how it's harmful, the overall point of all the videos is something like having an easily digestible source of information examining sexism in video games. It's doing [b]incredibly well[/b] because it is sparking discussions from people.

[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;39845713]Gonna be honest. Only hysterical feminists would make a big deal out of this, dont think anyone played a game and thought "Wow this portrayal of women make me think lesser of them" Seriously, no one really gives a fuck except white knights and people like Anita. Not once have I even second guessed peach/zelda or any girl in any video game because its a fucking video game. What pisses me off the most is that people want to change this when all this really would be doing is a form of censorship and its disgusting.[/QUOTE] Welcome to the internet where kids pull "problems and social issues" out of their ass and just complain about them because they are so bored and got no other problems.

[QUOTE=JDB;39846472]Welcome to the internet where kids pull "problems and social issues" out of their ass and just complain about them because they are so bored and got no other problems.[/QUOTE] no one really cares how pessimistic you are, stop flaunting it around

[QUOTE=Ownederd;39846557]no one really cares how pessimistic you are, stop flaunting it around[/QUOTE] no one really cares about your opnion, stop flaunting it around

[QUOTE=JDB;39846568]no one really cares about your opnion, stop flaunting it around[/QUOTE] point proven [B]edit:[/B] you're really the only one acting like this, stop being weird about things

13 pages of shitstorm. This thread couldn't have turned out differently, it was doomed from the very beginning

[QUOTE=Shadaez;39846467]IMO the point of this video is analyzing the damsel in distress trope and explaining how it's harmful, the overall point of all the videos is something like having an easily digestible source of information examining sexism in video games. It's doing [b]incredibly well[/b] because it is sparking discussions from people.[/QUOTE] But its not harmful at all, never have games been harmful, not ever, not now. please tell me how its harmful because I can safely say that people dont look at damsels in distress as "lesser" or "weak" Wanna know why? Because its a non-issue that has done 0 damage. I can bet you Anita doesnt care for games, if she did she knew trying to fight against this was retarded because its a form of censorship by trying to spark controversy so games will have more "political" correctness with women, which is wrong, games dont need to tend to ANYONES ways or beliefs. And how is this sexism? Replace fucking peach with Luigi in every single Mario that has you going after Peach, is it still sexism, would this still be an issue? And the funniest part of this all, I bet you anything Anita wouldnt have done SHIT if she didnt reach her goal, even funnier, she needed money to make something as simple as this, something people do on youtube on all those channels you never find, for free on there own time. I guess she doesnt care enough that she had to be funded for god knows what.

not even going to bother watching this tripe since I've already gotten the gist of it does she even bother to provide alternatives, or does she just complain? edit: dumb rating, taking that as a no, thanks mate, always helpful and critical

I actually agree with her to an extent my problem is her approach which is just “let’s water everything down to tropes, that makes everything run together” but I do agree that the Damsel in Distress trope is a bit problematic, but as for OoT Zelda when she gets petrified it's less "It needs to be Women" and more "Well we can't petrify you because you're the main character and that wouldn't work gameplay wise"