So with that in mind, why is it that a 'sexy' female character is a male sexual fantasy, rather than a female self reflection fantasy? Why can't it be both? Are we scared to admit that women have sexuality? Or am I missing the point. I mean lets be honest, I am a white heterosexual male aged 20 to 30 who is financially doing alright. If anybody is going to misunderstand how discrimination works and need a break down of the situation, I am willing to admit I am a prime candidate.
Lets start with some empirical data;
Sexualised female characters have measurable and negative effects on immediate attitudes towards women, and negative effects on female player's self image. While it's not extreme, there were measured reductions in women's
self-efficacy after playing as a sexualised character. They also measured significant changes in attitudes among both men and women, with them having lower opinions of women's physical and mental capacities. The study was limited in scope and size, but it's worth noting that prior studies had found stronger effects (notably hits to self-esteem that weren't measured here) so I'm fairly confident saying this is reasonable low-end measure of the negative immediate effects of sexualised female video game characters.
Which is to say, playing games with sexualised characters can change how people think about women in a negative manner and to a real, measurable degree.
This doesn't mean that sexualised characters should never be used, but maybe it should be kept in mind before they become the default, or are argued to be empowering and positive experiences.
Next there is that sexualisation tends to be orthogonal to characterisation. That is, a female character who is otherwise not objectified will often be sexualised just for the cheesecake factor. [SNIP] This sort of application of the
male gaze makes it clear that although we are looking at a strong female protagonist, we are still looking at her through the perspective of a lusty male. The quote from the page linked is a nice way to put it;
Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves.While such sexualisation doesn't destroy any value a character might have it does make them less likely to be escapist fantasy for women. It makes it clear that they are there for male consumption. It also brings in all those problems with sexualised characters from above for what would otherwise be a non-sexualised positive gaming experience.
Can you have heavily sexualised and sexual women where their sexuality is a positive part of their character? Sure, although it's a lot harder in video games than it is in, say, books, for obvious reasons.
Finally there is the nature of female sexualisation as opposed to sexuality. A female character who is shown to have sexual urges is a very different thing from a female character designed or written to play on the players urges. How many games actually explore the desires and sexuality of the female characters? The big Bioware RPGs? For the vast majority of games, having a female who is sexually confident just means having her wear little to no clothing. Again, it's dropping back into the male gaze issue, where the characters are written as targets for male sexuality rather than as explorations of female sexuality.
Are there women who might find playing a sexually attractive character designed to be pleasurable to men an escapist fantasy? Sure. But is that really the main - effectively default for female characters - fantasy we want video games to offer women and girls entering the medium? Is it the primary example - to the near exclusion of all others - of female sexuality we want to represent? I'm really hoping these questions are rhetorical.