I think there is some merit in the caricature argument. Magna Carta's art style, for example, could be considered 'oversexualised', but it's hardly an over sexualsied game. That's just how the artist draws his characters.

It's a double standard. Women cry "sexist!" at female video game characters with radical, unrealistic proportions, but they conveniently ignore the half-dressed male characters with humongous muscles.

It's a general problem with low-brow / majority entertainment.  Base stereotypes appeal to the lowest common denominator.  I'm not saying it doesn't have a right to exist, but it is undoubtedly sexist.  The argument does go for males as well.  Male characters aren't well rounded... they are either gruff cowboy-like marines, insanely muscular charicatures, or suave stubble faced "Drake" like adventurers.

In supporting and enjoying such entertainment you simply have to be honest with yourself.  You are enjoying the propogation of stereotypes.  It doesn't make you evil, but you must be aware of it.  It wouldn't be so much of an issue if a greater balance of products existed.  However, that's one of the negatives of free-market entertainment... the base and the vile will always have an edge so long as the culture accepts it.

I talked about this with another dude in our podcast (shameless plug: http://tfgtg.blogspot.ca/2012/04/tfgtg-episode-10-skullgirls-and-sirlin.html ), and I'll repeat the general sentiment of what I said about Skullgirls' supposed sexism here.

Clothes, proportions, etc. aren't sexist. Skullgirls isn't sexist. This isn't "oh I love a game so I'm blind to its faults" talking; I don't do that, not even to my favorite games. Any thoughtful scrutiny of this game's deco art style and the consistent representation of women within said style reveals a consistent and very stylized, unrealistic aesthetic. "Unrealistic" is not being used as an insult here, merely a factual descriptor.

In other words, the Skullgirls world features almost comically voluptuous women in a fantasy environment where this is the norm. That's not sexism.

Princess Peach is sexist. Her conservative attire doesn't change that she's merely a tool for male characters' motivations. She's girly and bakes cakes and needs to be rescued that's the entire purpose for her continued existence.

Mai from Fatal Fury/King of Fighters is sexist. Her entire point is to push units. Her backstory is virtually nonexistant; what little she has involves either impressing a man or girl power. Cammy from Street Fighter is a close second here.

Samus from Other M is sexist. That game forces her to conform to a Japanese stereotype about how women should ideally act. It's disgusting.

None of Skullgirls' characters are some backwards stereotype of femininity nor crafted solely to pad sales figures due to physical allure. Not one. Hell, one story even involves this idea in-universe; Cerebella uses her wiles in her performance, but it's for her own agenda, not to attract lonely dudes looking for cartoon porn.

There's sexism is video games. Skullgirls is not a prime example of it. At all.

I think one of the biggest reasons I enjoy videogames is that I see it as a game.  Escapism.  I do NOT want to sit around thinking "Since her boobs are this big, is this painting an unfair picture on real women everywhere?" because I'm under the impression that it's a collection of pixels.  Does it speak to me?  Sure.  Is anything these pixels depict victimizing anyone?  Absolutely not.  They're not real.  They were made by real PEOPLE, but they are not real.

If, at ANY point, the game speaks to me in such a manner that I AM actually offended (which has not happened thus far) I will simply chose to not play the game.  So far, games haven't changed me in any way, shape or form.  They haven't made me look at women any more or less objectively than I'm not playing them.  

I am, and always have been under the impression, that if you are LOOKING to be offended by something, you will always find something to take offense to.  This holds especially true to people who, in fact, do not play video games, it seems.

I play videogames.  I'm mature enough to understand that what I am being presented with is, in fact, not real.  Therefore, the game never crosses the line of interacting directly with my reality (Unless Diablo 3 just got released and I have to work at 5 in the morning).  It is difficult for me to understand how someone could look at something as innocuous as a digital panty shot and huff and puff and throw words like sexism and opression around, I guess because I'm older than four years old?  That just seems like the height of immaturity to me, being unable to distinguish the difference between women in a videogame and women in real life, MAYBE because they are, in fact, viewing women as objects in both.

"I don't see it as sexist, therefore it can't be" -- Male On Internet

Nice conversation starter Marcel and nice work Rob!

I'm gonna try and help out here by saying people like myself and Suriel Vazquez [among others] have spoken at great length about Skullgirls and why people in the FGC -- and people outside of the FGC, have issues with the game. [ref: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9090034 ref 2: http://mygenforsale.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=50 ]

Here's why Suriel's piece is so important:

"I totally understand that my style is not for everyone. The art style is more of a cartoon exaggeration, both in proportions and poses, with several inspirations mixed in. I would be pretty content if Skullgirls was a small project and had a niche following. If you enjoy the style of this game, I can never thank you enough for your support and welcome you to our world with open arms. If you have too much of a problem with Skullgirls, then this game isn't for you. To each their own. I'm ok with that notion, and would generally prefer to stay out of public discussions."

Something just happened there. A writer who was genuinely concerned about a game we [FGC and all other gamers alike] "could" have been interested in only for the very developer to be dismissive and literally go into hiding about questions that could push the discussion further.

This has existed since the days of Street Fighter, even if Marcel Hoang sees that series in a much fonder light. We've [us dudes, men, bro-hams] have always widdled down these characters to their caricatures, sex and stereotypes. Look no further than T-Hawk and Dhalsim.

But we can do better and some games, heck...even Skullgirls has Peacock, have actually done better. King of Fighters has recently made news, and had always been a focal point of sexualized characters and sexist imagery [which are two seperate discussions by the way]. This one game has muscle bound men, a "be-jugged" Mai, but on the other end we see a Vice, King and Mature. Women, who are attractive, but aren't showing [superficially and traditionally] why they are attractive.

 

I say this as someone who has documented the FGC in Ohio for almost 10 years. I've played in tournaments and I've written about this and other subjects in the gaming realm. It helps to have a better, stronger, more poignant opinion ... if you aren't just visiting.

I've was around to see the Kotaku's, Destructoid's and [insert random blog site here] rip the FGC a new one after Aris' outburst and to see the community split between people who supported his words and those that didn't. People within the community know that what he did was wrong, and we don't appreciate people outside of the community painting us all as basement-dwelling misogynist -- though some of us are. I've never been more proud to be a part of this writing community IN ADDITION TO the fighting game community. Some of the best people I've ever met.

So as I said earlier, I'm just trying to help. I sent your piece to Mike Z. Hoping he'll respond or someone from Autumn/Reverge will respond. The best/worst thing about Skullgirls, is that it was made by someone from the fighting game community, so it stings a little more to see these guys be so dismissive.

But I think we are getting better.

I'm of two minds on this subject. I think the portrayal of the female anatomy in games like Dead or Alive and Mortal Kombat (2011) is ludicrous and it degrades the medium. On the other hand, I'm a hot-blooded male who enjoys the female body, and I have no problem with its tasteful portrayal in games like Heavy Rain.

In fact, gaming's refusal to embrace a mature presentation of sexuality (for the most part) is yet another factor keeping it in the cultural stone age.

I am all for fantasy....fantasy characters, world, storyline etc. Do they typically burst forth with unrealistic but attractive characters that exude sexuality...yes, but not all. Both male and female characters are done this way...as making a Harlequin Romance novel depicts some overly attractive damsels in distress with roguish charisma of bulky males on their covers...it creates a world, sets the imagination. My issue, which is really why I don't play JRPGs or too many games from the region is the adherence of focus on strict Manga styled renderings..which are more often than not, rendering androgynous, metrosexual characters which all have the same hairstyles, with some giving a hint to a pedophilia nature (rendering characters in sexy attire but maintaining a kiddie quality). It is just unappealing, moreso than Sexist provoking imagery. But those crying sexism have no issue it seems with a child-like cartoony character decked out in outlandish, sexy attire.

 

"I can’t realistically propose that we approach how we design female characters more tastefully. If I could, I would. But Dead or Alive 5 is clearly on its way, and early indications reveal that its women are still trying to fight as sexily as ever."

I will realistically propose this. We should approach how we design female characters more tastefully, thoughtfully, respectfully, and all the other ullys. It will benefit the medium by reducing its reinforcement of a culture of objectification, and it will benefit the gaming community by creating games that can be appreciated for their mechanics without the distraction of sexualized elements.

I firmly believe that a game like Skullgirls, with similar gameplay innovations and an identifiable cartoon aesthetic, but without the sex-centered female charicatures, could be just as successful, possibly moreso.

"I don't want outside media or young girls to see the hypersexualized women portrayed in video games and get the wrong idea."

What do you see as "the wrong idea"? When people see hypersexualized portrayals of women in videogames, they are seeing the results of a system that actively endorses the hypersexualization of women. That's not the wrong idea; it's wholly accurate.

"Some counter that (at least for Skullgirls, specifically), hypersexualized women are designed in parody. It certainly isn't a far-fetched idea, as the characters' bodies are never specifically oogled. ... But the women of Skullgirls have very specific aspirations when it comes to their goal of obtaining the Skullheart, a monkey's-paw-like relic that's at the center of the game's story. Despite their outward designs, the characters aren't actually objectified and are empowered by their unique backgrounds."

Ms. Fortune's underboob isn't parody. Ms. Fortune is an undead catgirl thief. There's not a history of thief portrayals being spoofed by her cleavage. There's no satire of catgirls in her clothing. In fact, in a commentary by the designers, she's described as "a normal catgirl character, except a zombie catgirl." No parody implied, just a design that falls in line with the expected catgirl appearance. She IS an undead Felicia, not a parody of one.

Commentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLQW19UDR9g&t=3m05s

Parasoul's biography is about defending her family honor and doesn't mention anything about her sexuality or her nearly non-existent skirt. It's not that short because of anything in her unique background, and her move set doesn't show off her underwear because of a logical depiction of women's underwear during a street brawl. Her skirt is short because the art direction of the game favors sexualized women.

"Even Street Fighter is just a bunch of racial caricatures with weak underlying reasons as to why the characters are fighting. Chun-Li is a cop and Sakura strives to emulate Ryu, but so what?"

I'm not sure why you brought this up. Are you saying that Skull Girls should be given a pass for its sexism because at least it isn't racist like Street Fighter? If so, that isn't really relevant to the question of sexism. Are you saying that we shouldn't care that Street Fighter is hella racist? If so, that's an impressively ballsy standpoint that probably deserves its own article.

"But is it wrong for me to say this? Is it wrong for a game to be judged solely on the merits of its gameplay? To ignore the issue of how characters are designed in sexually suggestive ways?"

It's not wrong for you to enjoy Skull Girls, but it would be somewhat irresponsible to pretend that nothing is wrong with its depiction of women. If you're conflicted about liking it, just acknowledge what's good and reject what's not. If you're conflicted about showing it to other people, be upfront about it: "Here's a game that dramatically advances the mechanics of the fighting game genre. Admittedly, it has overly sexualized depictions of women, so you may have to put up with that to enjoy it."

We sometimes feel the need to be defensive when people attack gaming in general or call out specific games for their regrettable elements. But we don't need to be apologists; we can be honest. We can say, "I like most of this. I think there's more good here than bad. I can admit to what's wrong without accepting a condemnation of the whole." Skullgirls is a good game at its core; it just has an embarrassingly sexist wrapper. If we can say that, then one day, we'll get a fighting game that advances the genre inside and out.

Interesting observation: Anyone notice how there hasn't been a single female viewpoint/comment in this entire thread?

I think it's a little weird to be discussing how opressed and objectified women are at such length, without a woman's perspective.