Do Video Games Abuse or Glorify Women?

I remember watching an Evens Stevens episode way back in the day and in it Louis (younger brother) is playing what seems to be a Tomb Raider knock off game where the main character shoots weapons from her breasts. His older sister thinks the game is derogatory and decides to write a report about it and she has to play the game to do so. Along the way she goes from a type-A goodie two shoes to a hardcore empowered maelstrom of female dominance. In the end she puts into her report that while the game does portray woman in an exaggerated and possibly negative way, it also has a beneficial side that she couldn't deny.

I have definitely seen the games where the women are just sex objects or symbols so there is definitely a side that has nothing to do with making women feel good. I have also seen tons of people freaking out about a lack of diversity in games, movies, etc and that casting directors and characters should represent ALL of humanity. However, I know I personally like playing as a skinny, attractive, gun wielding, powerhouse woman and if that is exploitation either I am brainwashed to like it or or I genuinely do.

I think that there is definitely a positive side for women in putting attractive kicka$$ women in video games, and maybe men like it too.

I can also see the negative side though if it teaches guys to just see girls as objects.

But I am not sure which is overall a stronger argument, what do my fellow Kiadonians think?

 

my thoughts on this is mixed, there are great games that actually glorify women and others that totally abuse women.

For example, their are games that make women protagonist and don't abuse of their image, like Ellie from the last of us, which was a great protagonist! also clementine in the walking dead season 2. these games didn't abuse of the image of women and turned out to be amazing games. and there are many others!





and on the other side there are games that totally abuse the image of women, for example the god of war series, there's so much unnecessary abuse of women in the game, there's even a sex orgy mini game on all of the games! that's crazy
also Metal Gear Solid V, which is a game that i really liked but i thought that was really unnecessary the inclusion of the character Quiet, she's practically naked the whole game, they didn't need to do that.





These are my thoughts on how they portrait women in video games.

 

I didn't even know that there was any of that in God of War, I can kinda of not mind it too much if it has a purpose. Like when Leia is in a slave outfit in Star Wars, it is because at that moment she basically is a sex slave with no power and so it kind of makes sense. Having a main character running around almost naked (especially when a real person would never look like that in the same situation) it definitely is a bit much but I guess there will always be people out there who like it and who buy it so companies will make it.

If playing video games is a way to leave your life and experience the world of the game, I guess it makes sense that orgy on other ones would get popular. I guess the bigger question is what happens when you put down the controller, do you look at women as tools to use like a game feature, do you not even care about real life relationships because you have the game, or maybe it could make you more confident and able to approach women better...I don't know.