This has been brewing now for a few months but I’ve had some issues trying to put it into words.  I’m going to try to do that now, forgive me if it doesn’t come out quite right.  Nothing exactly ‘sparked’ this one, unlike my previous discussion on the portrayals of women in video games.  This was just a bunch of tiny little comments that slowly built up an irritation inside of me and I’m finally voicing my opinion.

Things like comments I’ve heard over Witcher 3 probably had the most to do with me deciding to come out with this now but, as I said, there wasn’t some ‘final straw’ that broke the camel’s back in this case.

For background purposes, I’m a long time gamer and fan of comic books.  I’ve been a nerd for as long as I can remember and, ultimately, I want to get into game design as my choice of career.  I’m a woman and I’m gay, which is relevant for my outlook on this subject and you should know that going in.

I hope you find this an interesting read.  If you’re concerned with the growing trend of casting aside female power fantasies while discussing women in video games, I would suggest you keep reading.  Read all the way through and give me a fair shake.

An Inconvenient Truth

So many discussions of the depiction of women in video games like to skip over a very inconvenient truth. Women have power fantasies, just like men do.  For all the talk of male power fantasies in video games, nobody discusses the potential for female power fantasies.  Why? Because it is inconvenient to do so.

The standard handwave for male sexualisation in video games, the rippling muscles and handsome appearance is “male power fantasy”.  But it isn’t held true for female characters who are beautiful, powerful and, yes, sexy. It would be admitting that women have agency and can relate to those characters or, at very least, insert themselves into those characters as wish fulfillment.

Now, yes, individually people have different power fantasies.  But as a whole?  Power fantasies means wish fulfillment.  And we, as a whole, wish to be adored, loved, admired and powerful.  Part of that is being physically fit and sexually appealing to the vast majority of our prospective partners.

Male power fantasies involve kicking ass and looking sexy as fuck doing it.  Don’t believe me?  Look at what so-called wish fulfillment in comics and video games looks like?  Gone are the days where every male character is a brick shithouse.  Now it’s far more varied, superheroes are slimmer, more akin to the build of David Beckham.  As the view of what is ‘sexy’ for men changes, so does the visuals of male power fantasies.

Power fantasies for women are much the same.  We want to be powerful, to kick ass and look hot as hell doing it.  

The Proofs in the Cheesecake… Um, Pudding

Women like feeling sexy. Female wish fulfillment often is about feeling sexy and feeling powerful at the same time.  People familiar with BDSM scenes can quickly attest to this fact, as the role of dominatrix is a combination of female power fantasy AND fulfilling the desire of the submissive.  In other words, the dominatrix wears the boots, the corset, all that leather, not for you.  But for her. She wants to feel sexy, empowered and in control.

We see this in some very specific comic books.  These books are often labeled ‘cheesecake books because they typically depict women in very sexual outfits and poses.  One of the forerunners in this ‘genre’ (note: its other people who typically define what gets labeled cheesecake) is Lady Death.  Lady Death not only had a supremely dedicated female fanbase but one that comprised nearly 50% of all sales of the book.  Quite interesting despite the female lead dressing like this.

Books like Vampirella also boast a similarly dedicated female fanbase as well, from what I’ve read. So the question that this raises is a pointed one.  Why are women enjoying comics with such sexual, sexually attractive female characters? Perhaps it has to do with the characters being badass?

Mangass, Comic Boobs and Video Gams.  Sexy Women In Other Entertainment

So what about female power fantasy across the entirety of entertainment?

Perhaps some of the best known anime with extremely high amounts of female fans have highly attractive, sexy and powerful female characters.  Full Metal Alchemist’s creator, Hiromu Arakawa, has gone on record saying she designed characters very specifically with her own world view (“men should be buff, women should be va-voom!”).    Perhaps the biggest female power fantasy, one many young girls lived, is Sailor Moon.  Created by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon not only features prominent, beloved, powerful female characters, but those very same characters are extremely attractive. Their transformation transitions have them naked, their uniforms are form fitting with tiny skirts and the scouts themselves have hugely long legs.  And yet, Sailor Moon is probably some of the most beloved anime recounted by young women growing up.

I touched upon comics above, with so called “cheesecake comics” but what about more ‘standard’ comics? DC’s Power Girl solo, drawn by Amanda Conner, is considered by many to be the best run of the character (notable for her relationship with partner Terra) and had an immense female fanbase for the time.  The book, however, took a very cheeky and fun approach to Power Girl’s physique and sexual attractiveness.

She-Hulk also has a history of appealing to women, but also has a history of being fun and cheeky with the character’s sexual nature, as well as the character being fun, enjoyable and extremely powerful and self-sufficient.

And let us not forget Bayonetta, who was created as a power fantasy by her FEMALE designer.  And that a lot of women love her as a power fantasy, despite (or rather because) of her sexiness.  

Cosplay, Women Do It for Themselves

The real smoking gun in this entire debate is cosplay.  Consider all the women who dress in sexy outfits for cosplay, who dress as characters who are sexy.  Women are dressing up, engaging in nerd fandoms, as sexy characters for their own enjoyment.

There is no other way to really put this.  Women dress sexy for their own enjoyment.  Unless you want to make the argument they do it for attention or for nerd cred, which instantly shoots any argument you’re having for furthering women’s agency in nerd culture.

Yes we’re constantly having battles over sexy women in media, specifically video games.  Are we to believe that it’s entirely demeaning when a video game team creates a female character who is strong, powerful and sexy, yet it is somehow empowering when a woman cosplays the same character?  That just lacks internal consistency.

If women are dressing up as female characters like Bayonetta, Mileena, Zero Suit Samus or Lara Croft, how can you say those characters are somehow demeaning to women, when those same women are happy to play those characters and dress as those characters.

The reason for this is simple.  Dressing as these characters make the cosplayers happy, it plays to their power fantasy.  Their female power fantasy.  

Male Gays:  How Gaze Theory Is Myopic

When discussions of power fantasies and female sexualisation in gaming come up we constantly hear about the “male gaze”.  The dreaded “male gaze” is the concept that media panders, via camera angles, panning and character designs (among other things), to how a male’s eyes would follow the female form.

The problem?  Gaze theory was developed well before widespread LGBT awareness and rights.  So, pretty much the foundation of the entire theory ignores how gay men, gay women and bisexuals for both interact with the female form.

It ignores the potential for female creators to create shots that appeal to them.  It bases itself on the assertion that a female creator wouldn’t create shots that would appeal to the ‘male gaze’ for her own reasons, such as if she were gay herself and found those shots sexually appealing, or if she simply found those shots aesthetically pleasing.

The entire concept is bunk and is a talking point used to erase ‘problematic’ concepts from the discussion so only straight women are considered the benchmark for who to appease. If you break down the entire discussion into just ‘male and female’ and imply it’s a matter of heterosexual men vs heterosexual women, you’re able to make the issue look sexist, rather than it being a range of appeals and opinions through a range of different individuals.

Conclusion

The biggest conclusion for this entire debacle, the entire debate about “male power fantasy” vs “female objectification” is that the comparison is an intentional, weasely way of shifting victimization on women.  It strips women of the capability of having the same level of autonomy and agency as men, in finding joy, power and wish fulfillment in similar scenarios. It is utterly condescending in how it treats women as incapable of finding catharsis in playing a sexually attractive character.

As mentioned in previous articles I’ve written, calling it ‘objectification’ instead of a ‘power fantasy’ is also a way of attacking sexually attractive women.  Characters like Ivy or Dragon Crown’s Sorceress are deemed ‘inappropriate’ because of male gaze and objectification, despite being potential power fantasies for women and offering representation for women who have body shapes like theirs.

There needs to be internal consistency in the discussion of female vs male power fantasies vs objectification.  We need to start treating women fairly, like they’re independent and strong like they deserve, and not condescend toward them.  Women can have power fantasies, this can (and often does) include being sexy.

I find myself entirely shamed by these discussions on ‘male gaze’ and ‘female objectification’.  I like feeling powerful and sexy.  I like looking at sexy and powerful women.  I like playing those kinds of characters. And as somebody who wants to get into game design I’m genuinely wondering if the people attacking certain characters for ‘male gaze’ will suddenly condemn me for my sexuality and my choices for design if I put out a game.

Frankly, this entire talking point feels regressive, sex negative and actually hurts female portrayals in video games, rather than allowing those characters to permit female gamers to experience their power fantasies.

I’m a woman, I’m a gamer, I have power fantasies.  That isn’t objectification.  That isn’t degradation.  It’s empowering for me.  If you have a problem with that.

If you liked this article you may like my post on Female Representation and/or Female Portrayals in Video Games.