#over-sexualization

[xenomorphic-warrior]

I’ve seen a handful of spanish-written online news articles about Millie Bobby Brown turning sixteen and how apparently she spoke against people sexualizing her and dissing her, and you know what? That’s great for her, but I ain’t clicking on a single one of those news-sites, because they did fucking nothing when other, less popular sites were, in fact, sexualizing her, not a single word did they write about it then, not one bloody column, and now they’re just capitalizing on the fact that she’s “celebrating her 16th birthday by speaking up against media sexualizing her”. Excuse me? Like I said, great for her, but other media outlets have been sexualizing her for at least a year, if not longer, that’s when she was fifteen or fourteen, and all those adults who didn’t say a damn thing about it are now selling the news that, oh, look she’s strong and can speak for herself. Well, you sure as hell ain’t speaking in her support, who the fuck else is gonna do it then?

Millie, you’re doing great sweetie.

[fans-users-gamers-blog]

Violent Sports vs. Enthusiastic Geeks

               Between reading Shawnee Barton’s “As a Female NFL Fan, I Want a Better Stadium Experience – Not a Pink Jersey” and watching Trekkies (1997), an individual gets two very different yet similar views of events taking place in large and public settings. These similar yet contrasting views highlight the distinction made between types of fans and leads an individual into examining how two very similar events can lead to two entirely different experiences for female fans.

           The atmosphere of the convention in Trekkies was very similar to that of a football stadium during a game: filled with enthusiastic fans, people clamoring to see the game (or booths or actors, in the case of the Trekkie convention), and people showing their passion for the event. The events were extremely different – one that is considered geeky and one that is considered “manly” – and yet the fans showed their enthusiasm in similar ways by dressing up to show their support for their favorite team or actor and showcasing their knowledge of the event. At this point, though, the differences begin to show through. In Trekkies, the viewer sees people of all ages roaming the convention, not just adults, and no beer is present, or rather, beer is not explicitly shown on screen if it is present. Also not seen are adults yelling insults or curses at each other as can be seen at a football, or any sporting, event. In her article, Barton very specifically describes the beer and violence, either physical or verbal, present at the football stadium in her experience. When Barton went to her last football game, “a 20-something guy standing directly in front of [her] in line beat two older men to a point in which an ambulance was called” (Barton) due to fighting over their places in the beer line. This sort of physical violence is not present, or not explicitly shown, at the Trekkie convention in Trekkies. This stark contrast in environments leads viewers of both the article and the movie to the conclusion that sporting events, such as football games, are not suitable for children whereas geeky conventions are fitting for families because sports fans are more concerned with beer and physicality than geeky fans.

           One aspect in which the sports stadium and the Trekkies convention are similar in, however, is the sexualization of females. Both events have very different attire for females when compared to men. In the movie, the females are wearing costumes, if they are in costume, that emphasize cleavage and their figure, more so than the costumes of the males. Barton infers that “the [NFL’s] efforts to market logo-ed lingerie and pink gear to women” (Barton) is furthering the negative stigma against female sports fans. The overly feminine coloring and shaping of newer NFL merchandise is leading to female sports fans being discriminated against or judged in different ways than the male sports fans. The stigma against females is different in both environments. In the context of the sports atmosphere, the females are taken less seriously than the males because they choose to wear girly clothing whereas in the context of the geeky convention atmosphere, the females are just seen as regular fans. There really did not seem to be a negative connotation to females in overly feminine or sexual clothing when compared to what Barton described.

           While both environments have similarities, there are enough differences that females might feel comfortable in one atmosphere over the other. Barton clearly describes how females might feel threatened or unsafe in a sports atmosphere but Trekkies lacks this conclusion, in a way. The movie showcases fans enjoying a high-energy atmosphere and bonding over a shared interest whereas Barton describes an environment where females might not be comfortable being due to the stigma against females in that area.

 "Trekkies (1997)." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

Barton, Shawnee. 2013. “As a Female NFL Fan, I Want a Better Stadium Experience – Not a Pink Jersey.” The Atlantic, September 25. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/09/as-a-female-nfl-fan-i-want-a-better-stadium-experience-not-a-pink-jersey/279915/.

[thesatireneverdies-blog]

In other news why are high socks so sexualized they r cute and sometimes it's chilly out :(

[crowleyshalo]

nobody is allowed to sexualize anybody but themselves

[mercyverseconfessions]

Confession #33

The over-sexualization of Mercy on the covers really really bothers me. Women can wear whatever they want but it's so against her character, so obviously a marketing ploy, it really raises my hackles.

[pumpkinleif]

I have an honest, sincere question here, regarding issues I've been reading about.

To the women or gay/bi/pan/whatevs males of the internet: how would you honestly over-sexualize a male figure?

We all know the over-sexualized woman--the lusty, doe-eyed stick-thin babe with DDs nearly bursting out of a tissue paper wrap. Obviously and purposely designed for the heterosexual male gaze.

But that's not necessarily what the average heterosexual woman is into with her guys.

A guy in a single tissue paper loincloth with rippling pecs lovingly exposed? That's more of a male power fantasy than a womanly fetish. (Unless you're into that, which is cool.)

And a guy just standing around in the equivalent armor to women--the bikini bra, or maybe a banana hammock with edgings of penis showing--is more of a parody than anything genuinely arousing. A guy in that looks stupid, not sexy.

A dorky guy in a nice tweed suit fumbling with papers and grinning sheepishly at the viewer like a nerd-puppy? Adorable, yes, but not sexualized.

The seme and uke stereotypes, maybe--a gritty, cool older man with a blushing boy in his arms? Those seem to be something of a niche market.

A gritty looking guy being made all vulnerable, perhaps tied up, is good too, but again, that seems to cater towards more of a specific fetish--BDSM--than general over-sexualization.

So, yeah. How would you over-sexualize a guy, if given the opportunity? What would your ideal male pin up poster look like?

[wildwood18]

So I've been playing the Metro series.

The most glaring things I've noticed so far. Metro 2033 had zero female protagonists. Metro: Last Light, so far, has one. ONE. At first, she's a badass sniper, you get separated from her on the battlefield, and you don't see her again for a while. Then when you finally do, she's captured and you need to save her *eyeroll*. Then, you both might be infected with a weaponized strain of Ebola virus, so she fucks you. It really pisses me off because the whole feeling of the game reminds me of half-life 2, but with more misogyny. Every other woman in the game is relegated to the background as a mother, a sexworker (not hating on sexworkers here just mentioning the over-sexualization of women in video games) or possibly a soldier although you never see one who fights. Plus, they spent way too much time poorly animating bouncy breasts. Ugh. And even though this takes place in post-apocalyptic Moscow, there is not 1 single POC. You might say, but it's Moscow? Yeah sure, there are a lot of white people living there. There are also a decent amount of POC living there. Especially in Moscow. Unrealistic at best. It's the same thing with Watch Dogs. Every woman in that game needs to be saved or gets killed. Every protagonist is a white dude with sharp wit, gruff voice, and 5'oclock shadow. Every black person in the game speaks in slang/is a gang member. I'm so over it! That's why I loved the mass effect series. You could choose (unfortunately only two) genders, race, etc. These other games are being pumped out with very little thought as to who is playing them, and who is affected by their stories. I want more representation. I want more quality stories in AAA games.