Are the females too sexualized?

So some people werearguing in the "improved character" thread, threatening to derail the topic (I having contributed some bit as well). So here's a thread just for that.

Scarlet was clearly sexualized as one of the first shots we see of her (besides her biyatch maneuver on live tv) is a straight angle on her partly exposed chest.

But the real 50mil question: are Jessie and Tifa too sexual?

It's been argued that Jessie is too horny for Cloud and any real person should be taking their situation more seriously.

It's argued that Tifa cannot be a badass and be sexy simultaneously. So Rhonda Rousey or Gina Carano are either not sexy or not badass?

I was avoiding getting involved in this because arguing on the internet feels like more and more of a redundant effort the older I get, but...

In a word: no.

In some more words:

- They managed to take Tifa's outfit from the original, and her voluptuous bossoms, and re-design her to be true to her original design, yet in an outfit that looks practical for someone who engages in martial arts. If a tank top over a sports bra is oversexualised then, my bad, I didn't realise we'd gone back to the Victorian era. Her original design was pretty sexualised but the core of her character is that while her outfit could be considered "sexy" she has an innate shyness to her which is at odds to the way she dresses. She's hardly flaunting her sexuality at every given opportunity. If anything she treats her "assets" as another tool in her repertoire of moves, rather than the defining part of her identity.

- Scarlet was always sexualised because she's confident, embraces her womanhood, and isn't afraid to get what she wants. She uses her sexuality to both allure and intimidate.

- Jessie is flirtatious sure. But she's also racked with guilt about the devastation her bomb caused, and perhaps a bit of fun flirting is how she suppresses facing that guilt. Her acting career also fell through, which would've hit her self-confidence pretty hard. Honestly I take a lot of her flirting as coming from that insecurity and a desire to be noticed. Plus, honestly, the way she fawns of Cloud seems like a subtle commentary on the way males fawn over a woman entering their social circle and become clingy etc. It's kinda telling that when that lens is reversed some men suddenly get uncomfortable about it... I won't lie, at first I kinda cringed at Jessie's personality, but then when you realise that the flirting is masking a nervous and vulnerable side to her she becomes a much more rounded character.

- However if we're going purely off of looks and outfits alone... then one could argue that most of the characters are sexualised regardless of gender, I mean seriously, the vast majority of the major characters (playable and NPC) are so freaking attractive.

I wonder if Barret could pulloff wearing a dress the way Cloud does. I mean, Vincent definitely. Roche and Zack too, probably anybody in SOLDIER, hell it's likely a prerequisite you have to be supernaturally attractive.

Lol, I almost forgot Reno.

I feel like there’s this idea going around now that I’m order to write a good, strong female character, you kind of have to reject her femininity, which is kind of bulltrout? Under the pretense of avoiding sexism it just falls into a different type of sexism - it suggests the only way a woman can be a valid, fully realized character, is if she acts masculine.

We’ve come a long way since the early days of video games and it’s pretty clear now that you can make a character feminine and even sexual without making her a sexual object. If you want to make a character feel real you can’t exactly just completely ignore that aspect of their psyche

I mean, Wedge explicitly tells you that Jessie's putting on an act...

I have finalized a conception of Tifa as a sexualized fangasm: if upon reaching the Great Glacier, Tifa continues to travel only wearing her tanktop and short-shorts, I will concede to the naysayers that yes, she is in fact being sexually objectified by the very people who designed her.

So then preferably, upon reaching Icicle Inn, the party (and especially Tifa) should purchase appropriately warm attire for scaling a frozen mountain (and the game will have those annoying "Warning" squares if you try it without the proper gear).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Madame Adequate

I mean, Wedge explicitly tells you that Jessie's putting on an act...

---

So Wedge, a character in the story, explicitly tells you what he thinks about Jessie, another character in the story. Okay. I'm not sure what your point is, but I don't think we have to take one character's opinion on another character as the gospel truth on that character.

I'm not trying to make a statement here about whether the characters are too sexualized. Like I said, I'm not even sure what your point is. I just don't think that Wedge's opinion rules the day either way.

who the smurf says you cant be sexy AND badass? its like the ultimate insult to Tifa.


i am in general ok with Jessy, her horniness was funny, but i reeeaalllyy dislike that weird boob plate she has.

I've seen the boob plate in play for a lot of videogames and some anime. I've also seen male armor that simulates the pectoral and abdominals. As a personal preference, I find these to be more appropriately human. Flat armor is fine if you're trying to intimate your foe into thinking you're some kind of demonic ROBOT. But usually, these games don't play that way.

Specifically to Jessie, I don't find her armor weird-looking. Honestly, I question Biggs, Wedge, and Tifa not wearing armor. Even Barret wore some kind of steel cummerbund in the original.

What were those crazy knights thinking in the middle ages? Trying to intimidate their enemies into thinking they were robots? They don't even know what robots are, you silly knights!

Lol.

I mean, technically a robot is just a non-sentient creature motivated under external will and possessed of no fears, particularly pain and death. I guess a better choice of word would have been metallic golem.

I love how Aerith and Tifa are designed because you think with Tifa she'll be this aggressive tomboy, but she's shy, demure and keeps some of her feelings locked up in inside and vents out some of her emotions on the battlefield. With Aerith you'll think judging by the pink dress and pink ribbon she'll be Snow White Disney Princess, but she's a tough slum girl and is the one that comes up with the idea that Cloud should dress up in drag.



It's also why I really love the Nintendo Smash version of Princess Peach, ingame canon not really a fan, but in Smash she's cute, pink and feminine and kicks butt. Princess Peach DS was one of my favourite DS games. I wish Nintendo would do more of that.


Feminine doesn't equal to weak and it shouldn't.

Dressing sexy doesn't equal to "easy" and it shouldn't.

*bubba strums guitar*

she's gotta boob plate, and she's alright
horny on main, and willing to fight (eoff choir backing vocal: for the planet)
once youre done with that bike, come over tonight
shes gotta boob plate, and she's alright

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mercen-X

I've seen the boob plate in play for a lot of videogames and some anime. I've also seen male armor that simulates the pectoral and abdominals. As a personal preference, I find these to be more appropriately human. Flat armor is fine if you're trying to intimate your foe into thinking you're some kind of demonic ROBOT. But usually, these games don't play that way.

Specifically to Jessie, I don't find her armor weird-looking. Honestly, I question Biggs, Wedge, and Tifa not wearing armor. Even Barret wore some kind of steel cummerbund in the original.

---

its not that i mind boobshaped plates in general.. its just that jessies boobplates are shaped very weird and its bothering me.

Hrmm. Don't see it.

I only dislike sexualized characters if it doesn't fit their actual persona. Like Pyra in Xenoblade 2. A completely non-sexual character in every way, yet had massive boobs just for the sake of it.

None of them in FF7 match this description though. Scarlett is the only especially sexualized character but it totally fits the personality. She's the dominatrix type femme fatale. Wouldn't work if she was ugly or overly conservative with clothing.

Jenova is pretty sexualized IMHO. :(

Sephiroth is Jenova's child, IIRC, and there's nothing more sexual than conception.

Jenova's eye-nipple makes me feel inadequate as a woman. #freetheeyenip

If a person is injected with Jenova cells, does that mean Jenova penetrated them in a way? God!