I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse that I never seem to care about these things.
I'd argue men can be just as fan servicy as females can, though obviously not as frequent. I'd also like to add to what she says here. And as mentioned above, it is an attractive feature in men. A fit man with muscles is seen as the "best thing" in our culture as women in a bikini who are as skinny as a twig. Both are unrealistic and not the most common thing among men. QuoteOne reinforces preexisting oppressive ideas about women that are real and damaging to women in their everyday lives, the other does not reinforce anything.Now this is one thing I really just outright disagreed with rather than just nitpicked at. I feel as though this is an open and shut case in her regard and I entirely oppose this. I hate to bring it up again, but Emma Watson said at her UN speech (or wherever she was), that both sexes, male and female, are horribly oppressed by such stereotypes. Women for what was covered in this review, but males as well for almost the same examples she brought up, but failed to talk about. Males are supposed to be strong! Tough! Do everything and take care of the woman, don't show emotions, don't cry! It's because of those pictures she showed of buff men who are shirtless, that I felt she missed that point entirely.Men do suffer from stereotypes just as much as women do. Though it may not be sexualized per say, it still is put to the forefront when I saw these pictures. I can only think of a few action games where the male character isn't some muscle head or someone lithe but super ripped. The normal guy is nothing like these characters, and is just as exaggerated as the female in their own regard.Men don't HAVE to be muscle heads, emotionally distant, always cool with the ladies. Men CAN cry, they can be emotional, they can be physically weak. I'd argue a lot of pressure is on men in our society just as much as a woman, though of course in different ways as I explained. That's not to discount what the women in video games, or in general go through, but to ignore one side, to me, is just very silly and an injustice.
One reinforces preexisting oppressive ideas about women that are real and damaging to women in their everyday lives, the other does not reinforce anything.
I agreed with most of your post, but I would counter with the classic, "women are sexualized, men are idealized" argument that typically comes up during these debates.Not that such stereotypes aren't also harmful to men in their own way, but it's slightly different. The men are typically stereotyped to appeal to male ideals such as strength, toughness of will, and so on where as females are also stereotyped to appeal to male ideas - specifically the male gaze which the video touches on.
Body Language & The Male Gaze - Tropes vs Women in Video Games
