The Next Generation's Feminism

Imagine that you are an officer on the greatest starship in the galaxy. Your home is the flagship of the united federation of the planets. It took a lot to get here; this post is one that every other person in your profession dreams of holding. That’s right, you are an officer on the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. Your superior officers inspire the respect of the entire crew, a population of over 1000 different people.

Obviously it takes a significant amount of hard work, dedication, and just pure talent to obtain such an important and respected position. Looking at them, you see professionals, people you would want to have at your helm in a standoff against the Romulons or the Borg. Well, at least most of them. That one woman there at the end, the one without the regulation uniform, the deep V-neck and the long flowing hair, what’s her problem? You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen her actually being useful. What was her contribution to the action at Farpoint? Getting a headache and muttering vague uselessness about pain, that’s what.magine that you are an officer on the greatest starship in the galaxy. Your home is the flagship of the united federation of the planets. It took a lot to get here; this post is one that every other person in your profession dreams of holding. That’s right, you are an officer on the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. Your superior officers inspire the respect of the entire crew, a population of over 1000 different people.

Deanna Troi. She had such potential to be a strong, independent female character. Her other female counterparts did well for themselves: Beverly Crusher portrayed not only an impressive medical professional but also a single mother that was always there for her son, even if the entire galaxy found him annoying; Lieutenant Yar, while short lived, was always the first crew member to intercept an opponent and let them know who was boss, while still being feminine enough to steal the otherwise cold heart of an android incapable of feeling.

As I said, Troi had potential. As a half Betazoid, Deanna was able to sense the emotions of almost any creature in the galaxy. For a starship with the sole mission of seeking out new life forms and making peace with the universe, having such a skill could have been invaluable. Unfortunately, things never seemed to work out so that Deanna’s ability was actually helpful. She would sit at Picard’s left-hand, but all she could contribute to a briefing on why was going to were things like “I feel such pain, suffering…” or “They are masking their thoughts, I can’t be sure.” She’s the head counselor of the greatest starship of her time, but you take away her special power and suddenly she can’t use her psychology degree?

For whatever reason, any episode that focused mainly on Troi quickly turned into a glimpse into a short lived romance. Either that or she would be the damsel in distress, waiting in the thick of things while countless redshirts (and the previously mentioned Yar) give up their lives to save her.

Could it be that Deanna’s character is just a tribute of sorts to the original show, where every woman within a 100 yard radius was supposed to fall head over heels for Captain Kirk? When the uniforms were tight and awkwardly revealing, but it didn’t matter because none of the women were truly in positions of power anyways? Because that’s what it comes down to, Troi wears a jumpsuit that does nothing to diminish her already curvy figure, so she isn’t allowed to be taken seriously.

You scoff? You shouldn’t. Because, while in the first 5 or 6 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation Troi is sort of a joke, eventually she does have to put on a uniform. The episode this happens could also be known as the one where Deanna becomes a 3 dimensional character. As Marina Sirtis, the actress who played Troi so aptly put it in an interview, “I was thrilled when I got my regulation Star Fleet uniform, or the regulation space suit, as we call it. First of all, it covered up my cleavage and, consequently, I got all my brains back, because when you have a cleavage you can't have brains in Hollywood. So I got all my brains back and I was allowed to do things that I hadn't been allowed to do for five or six years. I went on away teams, I was in charge of staff, I had my pips back, I had phasers, I had all the equipment again, and it was fabulous.”

Almost as soon as Troi puts on her uniform again, she develops not only a mind, but an ambition. In the final season, Deanna Troi successfully passes the test to become a Starfleet commander, an idea she did not even consider while she was wearing more revealing clothing. So she did eventually live up to her potential as a strong female, it just took 6 seasons and many different skin-tight outfits to get there.

Female Objectification In The Music Industry

WNBA Female Warriors

Female athletes have experienced inequities for their participation in sports for generations. Up until Title IX, the groundbreaking ruling passed to level the playing fields in the NCAA for women and men, only men’s sport programs would even be considered for sponsorship, or in some cases, creation. Now, with Title IX in effect, for colleges to build new men’s sport programs they must provide equivalent opportunities for their female student body as well. Even with all of the progressive laws and movements society has fueled towards gender equality, sports tend to still show themselves as masculine events, or male dominated. Even though the dynamics of sports do not create a gender barrier, our society continues to view sports in traditional ways that they belong in the masculine realm. This can be easily observed in many sports, but perhaps one of the greatest differences we see is the difference between women’s professional basketball and men’s professional basketball.

Ever since the foundation of the WNBA, we have seen the female athletes who compete be mistreated. These women give their all game after game, practice after practice, yet continue to be viewed as insignificant compared to men’s basketball. In the NBA, popular athletes are widely celebrated throughout the country. Their names are generally identifiable in many locales and regions, and their jerseys make large numbers of sales. Comparatively, I personally could not tell you of a time I have ever seen anybody wearing a WNBA jersey. The NBA also shows men like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade making $14.5 million and $14 million in one season, respectively. This is completely blown out of proportion, because women who perform the same job and entertainment service make only a small fraction of that. Professional women’s basketball players make an average of $46,000 to $60,000. The average salary for females is the equivalent to what Shaquille O’Neal made in about 12 minutes of game time. However, the differences in earnings does not stop there- female basketball players are given salary caps, compared to the minimum salaries their male counterparts are promised. WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson was told that she can make a maximum of $87,000, where Shawn Bradley, considered to be an NBA disappointment, was guaranteed a minimum of $1.1 million. The inequality in compensation for the same entertainment service that male and female professional basketball players provide is a huge disappointment.

How many women’s basketball games have you watched or even seen being played on major sports channels? Now compare that to the amount of NBA games that are broadcast during basketball season. Men’s sports make up 90% of sports media coverage. Media companies would argue that women’s sports receive lower ratings. How would they know this when they have never displayed even coverage of both genders’ sport events? Some of the highest ratings for covered events come from Wimbledon and women’s World Cup Finals, proving that women do have the capability of attracting large audiences and fan support. Now compare the stereotypical sport audience for games broadcasted on television to the Olympics, where almost 50% of athletes are females, and over 50% of the spectators are female. Women’s basketball is an Olympic event where we see a majority of watchers are women; why do companies not air more WNBA games? The latest broadcasting contract for the WNBA has ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 air a minimum of 18 games each season, compared to the NBA, which has no need for television contracts due to existing beliefs that everybody wants to see a male-centered, male-dominated sporting world.

Clearly, with the underrepresentation on media networks alongside the unfairly low amounts of pay that these athletes have to endure, it is fairly easy to say that WNBA players are horribly mistreated and unappreciated compared to NBA players of similar stature. It is high time we do something about this, and stop the mistreatment of these highly skilled, specialized female athletes. The WNBA has shown its attraction to athletes and fans alike as it has continued to grow over the years- more teams have been added throughout the nation as more players have become interested and signed, as well as attendance for games continuing to rise. As these female warriors continue to battle through the hardships they face, they continue to focus on the main point of their career: the love of the game. Some of their male counterparts have begun to sell out to the big money and have lost sight of what truly matters, but professional women basketball players put up with the mistreatment they face all to play the game they love. For this, they deserve recognition. For this, they have gained the respect and support of thousands.st ratings for covered events come from Wimbledon and women’s World Cup Finals, proving that women do have the capability of attracting audiences and fan support. Now compare the stereotypical sport audience for games broadcasted on television to the Olympics, where almost 50% of athletes are females, and over 50% of the spectators are female. Women’s basketball is an Olympic event where we see a majority of watchers are women; why do companies not air more WNBA games? The latest broadcasting contract for the WNBA has ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 air a minimum of 18 games each season, compared to the NBA, which has no need for television contracts due to existing beliefs that everybody wants to see a male-centered, male-dominated sporting world.

Inequality Faced in the WNBA

Ever since the foundation of the WNBA, we have seen the female athletes who compete be mistreated. These women give their all game after game, practice after practice, yet continue to be treated unfairly. In the NBA, we see men like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade making $14.5 million and $14 million last season alone, respectively. This is completely blown out of proportion, because women who perform the same job and entertainment service make only a small fraction of that. Professional women’s basketball players hardly make more than $100,000 a year. The average salary for females is the equivalent to what Shaquille O’Neal made in about 12 minutes of game time. Female basketball players are treated very unfairly, receiving far less exposure and fewer benefits than their male counterparts do.

How many women’s basketball games have you watched or even seen being played on major sports channels? Now compare that to the amount of NBA games that are broadcast during basketball season. There are lower ratings for women’s basketball, yes; but can you really expect the ratings to be similar when the broadcasting time is so disproportionate? Men’s sports make up 90% of sports media coverage. Now compare this to the Olympics, where almost 50% of athletes are females, and over 50% of the spectators are female. Women’s basketball is an Olympic event, where we see a majority of watchers are women; why do companies not air more WNBA games? The latest broadcasting contract for the WNBA has ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2 air a minimum of 18 games each season, compared to the NBA, which has no need for said contracts because they are already shown on air because they are believed to bring in much more revenue and ratings.

Clearly, with the underrepresentation on media networks alongside the unfairly low amounts of pay that these athletes have to endure as well, it is fairly easy to say that WNBA players are horribly mistreated and unappreciated compared to NBA players of similar stature. It is high time we do something about this, and stop the mistreatment of these highly skilled, specialized female athletes.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

You are an officer on the greatest starship in the galaxy. Your home is the flagship of the united federation of the planets. It took a lot to get here; this post is one that every other person in your profession dreams of holding. That’s right, you are an officer on the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. Your superior officers inspire the respect of the entire crew, a population of over 1000.

Obviously it takes a significant amount of hard work, dedication, and just pure talent to obtain such an important and respected position. Looking at them, you see professionals, people you would want to have at your helm in a standoff against the Romulons or the Borg. Well, at least most of them. That one woman there at the end, the one without the regulation uniform, the deep V-neck and the long flowing hair, what’s her problem? You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen her actually being useful. What was her contribution to the action at Farpoint? Getting a headache and muttering vague uselessness about pain, that’s what.

Deanna Troi. She had such potential to be a strong, independent female character. Her other female counterparts did well for themselves: Beverly Crusher portrayed not only an impressive medical professional but also a single mother that was always there for her son, even if the entire galaxy found him annoying; Lieutenant Yarr, while short lived, was always the first crew member to intercept an opponent and let them know who was boss, while still being feminine enough to steal the otherwise cold heart of an android incapable of feeling.

As I said, Troi had potential. As a half betazoid, Deanna was able to sense the emotions of almost any creature in the galaxy. For a starship with the sole mission of seeking out new life forms and making peace with the universe, having such a skill could have been invaluable. Unfortunately, things never seemed to work out so that Deanna’s ability was actually helpful. She would sit at Picard’s left-hand, but all she could contribute to a briefing on why was going to were things like “I feel such pain, suffering…” or “They are masking their thoughts, I can’t be sure.” She’s the head counselor of the greatest starship of her time, but take away her special power and suddenly she can’t use her psychology degree?

For whatever reason, any episode that focused mainly on Troi quickly turned into a glimpse into a short lived romance. Either that or she would be the damsel in distress, waiting in the thick of things while countless redshirts (and the previously mentioned Yarr) give up their lives to save her.

Could it be that Deanna’s character is just a tribute of sorts to the original show, where every woman within a 100 yard radius was supposed to fall head over heels for Captain Kirk? When the uniforms were tight and awkwardly revealing, but it didn’t matter because none of the women were truly in positions of power anyways? Because that’s what it comes down to, Troi wears a jumpsuit that does nothing to diminish her already curvy figure, so she isn’t allowed to be taken seriously.

You scoff? You shouldn’t. Because, while in the first 5 or 6 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation Troi is sort of a joke, eventually she does have to put on a uniform, and suddenly she becomes a 3 dimensional character.

Superhero Women

Fact: women in superhero comics are ridiculously portrayed.

They fit into two categories.

First is the helpless damsel in distress such as Mary Jane Watson and Louis Lane. They only serve to move along the plot and motivate the main hero. By themselves, they are for the most part insignificant and fulfill the traditional gender stereotype that women need to be saved by men.

Then there are the female superheroes and sidekicks. Sidekicks are both male and female so in that regard they are equal. When it comes to the actual heroes however, women did not start getting their own titles until recently. It took 70 years for women to be featured as much or even more than men in comic books. A big change happened during WWII era when women took over the jobs of men. Women became much more common in comics. It can be said that comic books were tailored to the social norms of the day and therefore the appearance of modern superhero women is…noticeable.

Women in modern comic books all have at least one of two things in common when it comes to their appearance. They all have extreme curves that are not often found on actual women and they wear extremely revealing clothing.



For example, take Black Cat, a supporting character from Spiderman. In all of her incarnations from all the different Spiderman series, she dresses in this same general fashion: a tight black spandex suit that has a giant v-neck. Although she has/had a romantic interest in Peter Parker, her sexuality never really came into play in the grand scheme of the Marvel Universe.



In the case of the damsel in distress, the same applies in that their “over” sexuality is idiotic. What does this collectable statue of Mary Jane Watson add to any of Spiderman’s comics? Nothing whatsoever.



On the other hand, strong women also suffer from the same problems in comics. Look at the X-men for example in this so aptly captioned picture. Their lack of clothing and/or their ridiculous figures are actually funny. I cannot believe that getting superpowers make someone look like that.



The whole “sexification” of superheroes, although not as extensive, applies to male heroes as well. In addition to sometimes not remembering how to correctly wear their underwear, male superheroes also wear rather time suits (or not shirt at all). Obviously this is to show off their build rather than their curves. The difference is that usually the male superheroes are so built because of their powers instead of for looks.

What is the purpose for the way female superheroes look? Devoted readers of comic books do not care about their appearance as they are more attracted by the rich plot of the story. Therefore, the women who have been appearing more frequently in the comics as sexual objects must be there for one thing: marketing.


Advertisers use women as tools to attract new customers to by comic books. Personally, this was not successful. I did not start reading comic books because of the women on the front covers but rather because I was attracted by the plot. I cannot believe that this is that successful of a marketing tactic. After all, there is a certain stereotype that goes along with comic books. While not all comic book fans are socially awkward men who live with their mothers, the vast majority of people seen at comic book stores and conventions would not be driven to go out and start reading a new comic book series because of the picture on the front cover.

In the end, women in comic books are just like women in almost all other forms of media today. They are portrayed almost as sexually as possible to attract a larger male clientele in a ridiculous way.

Advertisers: a little less shameful behavior in the way of portraying your characters would be much appreciated.

Top Gear: The Interceptors

In the video women are used primarily to add visual appeal to the title sequence for men. The general concept plays off of old spy TV shows and movies, and women are used in a similar manner to affect the “Bond Gaze”. The silhouettes of the women dancing spliced into the intro are there solely for their looks. The hosts of Top Gear even say to the audience before they air the clip that they specifically needed to have cars, guns, karate, and women. At one point, Jeremy Clarkson is shown stopping a plane from taking off and afterwards a beautiful women walks out. In this clip, he not only saves a woman from supposedly being kidnapped (stereotypical damsel in distress role) but also has two half naked women sitting in the back of his car for absolutely no reason. In another clip with the same women, he is shown driving along and one of the women touches his arm in that “oh you’re so strong” sort of way after which Jeremy glances at the camera with an “I’m so cool” look. These two scenes refer to everything that is wrong with women’s roles in media: they have to show off their body, they have to be saved by a strong male lead, and they have to reinforce the male lead’s masculinity. Near the end of the video, Richard Hammond drives up to the Playboy Club of London in an attempt to make himself look “cooler”. Frankly, this really has nothing to do with being a spy unless spies need to objectify women like Playboy does to appeal to the masses. Isn’t that a strange thought? Again it is the objectification of women that makes men look better to the world.
The whole point of this introduction scene is to highlight the coolness of the Jensen Interceptor, the car featured in the video. Everything the hosts do in the video is to emphasize how cool the car is. The way women are presented in the video in relation to purpose of the video is very sexist indeed. They cannot look “cool” unless they are either half naked or being saved from doom by the men which is a direct reference to the gender stereotype and appeals directly to the Bond Gaze. The Bond Gaze refers to how men view women only as objects and think that women are an accessory to their glory.
Throughout their show, the hosts of Top Gear have been known to poke fun at topics in news, politics, popular culture, and anything they can get their hands on. Despite their childish jokes on screen, they all have deep views about society. From Jeremy’s article on women in Top Gear, it can be inferred that the hosts agree with the feminist views that women are only important if they look good on screen. Thus it is possible that the entire introduction sequence is a satire on the traditional concepts of what makes a cool TV show. After all, a silhouette of a man kicking a dancing woman in the crotch cannot be interpreted as anything but humor.
As a spoof of the whole spy genre of TV shows, I think that the video makes a good point as to what made the genre appeal to men: fast cars, karate, and women. I also think that people noticed how wrong it was and changed the way the shows opened. In Burn Notice, a modern spy show, the title sequence only has a small clip of women on the beach. It is so small that if you blink, you may miss it. This shows that society understand the problem with how women were portrayed used in these introductions just to attract male viewers. On the other hand, even though TV shows may no longer feature women as objects in their openings with as much frequency, they still have them “featured” in the shows themselves.


Burn Notice Opening by xkaelar

I think that Top Gear definitely made this video as a satire of all that was wrong with television back in the day. Not only does the fact that when women come onto the show, they are spoken to about their opinions and not about their looks (as much). Furthermore, the humor in the clip makes nothing serious or believable and at least when I saw the way women were cast I laughed because it was making fun of their typical roles in the genre.

Social Non-Conservatism & Our Grammy Awards

Today in pop culture, it’s a shame to say that we still see women unequally glanced upon. Female celebrities constantly make appearances with a newly designed outfit with high levels of sex appeal. They are always primped up to look their best, and that usually means they left some of their clothes in wardrobe. With all of the feminist and equality movements out there, this shouldn’t be a requirement for a celebrity to get exposure. Women still succeed in businesses, education, and athletics world-wide; they should not have to sport any less amount of clothing than men to be seen as attractive in today’s modern world. An example that just about everybody is familiar with is a highly anticipated red carpet event that we know as the Grammy Awards, but the unbalanced scale of clothing can be seen in basically any celebrity event.

As an example, I found this photo of one of my favorite female celebrities, Katy Perry. Just because she chose to show herself in a public scenario, she chose a very revealing dress that exposes more than anybody really ought to see, all in order to make sure she gets some of the spot light and attention. This really isn’t fair, because male celebrities are still stalked by paparazzi even if they step out of their homes in sweats and a long-sleeve tee. While Katy Perry has one of the best singing voices in my opinion, her lack of conservative clothing is still a necessity to acquire the most attention she can possibly get by appealing to the male-run media stations and cameramen. Where talent should be all it takes for women to achieve stardom (which it does, to an extent), they must dress in a lewd manner in order to attain media coverage. Most female celebrities don’t really have too much of a male fan base up until they begin leaking photos into the media of them exposing their bodies.

Why is this put up with?

Men are expected to wear suits or tuxes, whereas women only get their time in the limelight if they are wearing some sort of revealing dress (unless you're Lady Gaga, and you have see-through skin suits). Here are some examples from the 2011 Grammy Awards:

Here, Selena Gomez is shown exhibiting her body in a skin-tight dress with a deep-V. Instead of dressing conservatively, she chooses to reveal her chest because she understands that the society whom she presents herself for expects nothing less. As she made an appearance at the Oscars, she had a better chance of getting camera time off-stage with this, rather than a concealing outfit. All of the little primping done with her makeup and outfit was a must for her to look her best out on the stage as she presented awards as well, further supporting the male gaze that has remained a constant thorn in the side of fashion and society.

Drake showed up for the Grammy Awards in a full long-sleeved suit. The men are expected to make their appearances revealing nothing but their faces, but in our culture, women are expected to reveal their bodies. Male actors, singers, and performers need not expose themselves in order to be liked. Males in society will choose to like a male singer if their music is good, rather than by what they wear; in effect, male actors will be successful as long as they perform well in movies. Where guys don’t say, “Oh man, Sean Connery looks really handsome,” when it comes to females, positive comments almost always come down to something like, “Wow! Angelina Jolie definitely picked a sexy outfit to wear!” Male actors are usually defined by their ability to entertain the masses, which is how it is supposed to be, yet females are defined by how attractive they are.

The levels of acceptance set by men for women are beginning to unfurl as a judgmental scale for women to use as well. When I hear my female friends talk about celebrities, they are starting to like them more and more based on creative lingerie outfits and sex appeal, rather than liking them for being a good role model like it used to be. Often female spectators can be heard commenting on things such as, “Oh gross, how could anybody let Nicki Minaj show herself at the Grammys in an outfit like that?” When celebrities actually do dress conservatively in public events such as the Awards, they are criticized for being unattractive or making an unintelligent move for their social status. While it really is an extreme outfit, the conceal and…ahem, sleekness of the outfit makes me applause Nicki for taking a stand for conservatism in attire for women world-wide.

You go, girl.

References:

Manofthehour. "Rapper Drake - MAN OF THE HOUR." Contents - MAN OF THE HOUR. Man of the Hour, 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. .

Moss, Hilary. "Grammys 2011: Nicki Minaj In Head-To-Toe Leopard Print (PHOTOS, POLL)." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. .

Premiere Guide Media. "Actress/singer Selena Gomez Arrives at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards." PGM. Premiere Guide Media. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. .

Starr, Chris. "Katy Perry's 7 Best Outfits." JoeCrazy.com. JoeCrazy, 31 July 2011. Web. 10 Sept. 2011. .

Tribune Media Sources, Inc. "Brad Pitt." Zap2it.com. Zap 2 It, 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. .

The Predictable Life Of A Female Video Game Character

Picture yourself in an intense battle in the 7th war of imperium, or leading out King Arthur’s knights of the round table in search of the holy grail. Or maybe you’re out there battling the vicious Dragon “Bubbles” or jousting with the Dark Knight. You have your trusty sword, Excalibur to slay your enemies, your shield of Shukaku to protect you and your Breastplate of bravado(alliterations make things awesome) as your final line of defense. Right, now hold on there. The last bit pretty much only makes sense if you’re a dude. If you’re a girl you’re probably going to be dressed in a bikini with some chain mail slapped on it and lets face it, you’re pretty much going to die if you go out to war in a swim suit.

Obviously this is probably isn’t what they actually wore back in the day but this is indeed the image that movies and in particular video games have put in our heads. Video games have come a long way since the idea was first conceived but a few themes have not changed. Its always the Zombies, the Russians, the Nazis or your favorite evil wizard. But the recurring bit that I’d like to highlight is the portrayal the female characters. They are almost always pointless and/or have big breasts.

Lets look at Mario-one of the most iconic figures in the world of entertainment let alone video games. If you ever took a step back and looked at what the game was actually about you would have noticed that it was the good ol’ damsel in distress gig. A beautiful princess waiting for her man to come rescue her from an evil villain, how original. As revolutionary as that game was, it can be argued that it set the foundation for generations of games to portray women as helpless and needy.

Now you might say there have been games where the main character and hero of the game is female. Even these are designed with the intention of attracting the male gaze. Take X-blades for example, the plot boils down the same old Good vs Evil cliché but if you’ve ever played the game you’d know that it didn’t sell because of its plot or game play but because the main character was a tall tanned blonde with flowing hair and a ginormous pair. And to compound the effect, her wardrobe is restricted to a two-piece that struggle to keep things in place if you know what I mean.

Some female leads are however, more generously clothed like Bayonetta(albeit in black skin tight latex but hey its an improvement). But the male gaze strikes again- her attacks and movements have a very significant sexual undertone, and that’s me putting things delicately . It would not be an exaggeration to say that she looks like someone out of a bondage porno movie.(There’s something I never thought I’d say on an English assignment)

However it should be mentioned that there have been cases where women are given meaningful roles and importance in games like Prince of Persia Sand of Time. The plot actually develops Princess Farah’s character into someone interesting and not your average helpless princess(take note Zelda).Sadly, very few games can boast of being fair to their female characters.

One would think that nerds being the (supposedly) more intellectual demographic would be above such a primitive line of thinking but this is clearly not the case(I am assuming a reasonably large percentage of passionate gamers are nerds/geeks).This is perhaps a good example to show that sexism exists in every nook and corner of society. Personally I don’t think people should have a problem with the media focusing on beautiful men or women as long as it also shows them having other positive qualities like intelligence generally being a well-rounded person. I find that the moment people start talking about feminism its like they are annoyed at people for being good looking which isn’t really fair is it? Its about being a complete person and if someone happens to be good looking then good for them. In my opinion its only negative when the cover of the book is all that is analyzed and dissected. Anyway, I digress.

In conclusion it can be said that the roles of women in video games are as pathetic as the roles of their real life counterparts in popular culture and media. Objectified, dumbed down, belittled, dominated and (most importantly in my opinion) not taken seriously. Video games need to do their bit in dispelling negative female stereotypes and questioning traditional gender roles but are in fact only strengthening them. But until then we’re “stuck” with Lara Croft. I will now leave you with Y U NO guy who I think makes a very good point.