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By destra • 13 years ago

Female Character Design in Video Games

As a female gamer, I’m often alienated from games by their presentation of female characters.  From revealing armor to jiggle-physics, game design is a male dominated area.  Shaylyn Hamm, feeling the same alienation from her games that I do, set out to design interesting and engaging female characters and conduct a study as to gamers’ reactions to the female characters.  Hamm describes her project:

The goal of this project is to follow an effective process that will encourage unique and appealing female characters that fit the style and artistic specifications of a given game. The information gathered in for this project will suggest whether or not females, designed with the same considerations as their male counterparts, are well-received by both male and female audiences.

Hamm starts with a game that already has a wonderful variety of character design, Team Fortress 2– a game with an all male cast.  She then mocks up designs for female counterparts with an eye for individuality and charm instead of sex appeal.  She even makes working in-game models with which you can play. 

Along the way she posts her progress to various fan board to gage gamers’ reactions to her designs.  Some (male) gamers voiced a want for a more sexually appealing character, but on the whole, gamer reaction was positive to her unique designs– proving that we can have broad base appeal without boring stereotypes.

Her analysis of existing female characters is spot on, ...
By destra • 15 years ago

Women Are Not Allowed to Make Their Own Money Choices

This article just makes me angr Vodafone does not allow housewives to buy their phones (I assume househusbands as well, but the article doesn’t talk of them). A woman coming in to buy a new blackberry was turned away because she couldn’t provide a work number as she’s a stay at home mom. Apparently Vodafone is trying to weed out out of work people who might not be able to afford their bills. It obviously is not working.
And get this: they told her to get her husband to buy it for her. Can you imagine? Does anyone thinks this stinks of old school rights where women were not allowed to own property?

This article just makes me angr Vodafone does not allow housewives to buy their phones (I assume househusbands as well, but the article doesn’t talk of them). A woman coming in to buy a ...
By destra • 15 years ago

White Woman Gets Another Headline

Brittany Zimmerman was found murdered on April 2nd. Earlier that evening she had managed to call 911. Not hearing anything on the line, the 911 operator did address the situation as an emergency. Turns out that when the 911 tapes were released, you can hear signs of struggle. The county has of course come under scrutiny for this lapse in procedure. Her murderer has not been found.
This morning I opened up cnn.com to find this cold case has the top headline slot. And there was a very large picture of Ms. Zimmerman.
Let’s look at Ms. Zimmerman. She’s white. She has pretty blue eyes and red hair. She was ...

Brittany Zimmerman was found murdered on April 2nd. Earlier that evening she had managed to call 911. Not hearing anything on the line, the 911 operator did address the situation as an emergency. Turns ...
By destra • 15 years ago

Fulfilling Gender Roles with Dogs

We of the feminist community know of the split between our sisters and brothers over the role of pornography and whether it does good or harm to women. I think there is another large debate is how much of our gender roles is defined by society, and how much by nature.
Every little thing in our society is seen as masculine or feminine. Boys play with blue guns, and girls with pink dolls. Finance is for men, and teaching for women. The type of lamp you buy. The shape of your car. The sex of a person is one of the first things that people notice about others. It is ever pervasive, and it ...

We of the feminist community know of the split between our sisters and brothers over the role of pornography and whether it does good or harm to women. I think there is another large debate is ...
By destra • 15 years ago

Men Hate Their Bodies When Looking at Women

We’ve heard study after study on how the inundation of the contemporary ideal form can affect how a girl or a woman feels about her own body. When shows like Baywatch were introduced to Pacific Asia, the numbers of women who felt uncomfortable with their bodies shot through the roof–and unfortunately eating disorders did too. I know I’ve certainly felt pressure to hit the gym more and fit into that wedding dress. The exposure of unrealistic body types as the ideal has had a horrible impact on generation after generation of women. And it’s not just the women who are negatively affected by these images, but men too.
Jennifer Aubrey , an assistant professor at ...

We’ve heard study after study on how the inundation of the contemporary ideal form can affect how a girl or a woman feels about her own body. When shows like Baywatch were introduced to Pacific Asia, ...