Originally Posted by
DS1
Well, this thread also covers some of the fan-service you're talking about. And female cops that look like supermodels, etc, again, do not distract me and ruin anything for me. I didn't struggle taking the character of Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 3 seriously, just because she wore a tube tope and a skirt. But a design like hers certainly got the whore word thrown at her, even from guys who supposedly aren't sexist and believe in gender equality.
As for porn, I don't even like it myself, but not because I'm a prude. The anti-porn people I'm talking hate it precisely because they're prudes. They're the kind who are distracted by all forms of sexuality in the media. I doubt they even hate porn because they think it's sexist towards women (a more legitimate reason to hate most porn) as I think many of these prudes are misogynistic themselves, but just because it's sexually gratuitous.
Every examples in this thread of porn stars who found success outside porn proves one of my points. Barely anyone in the mainstream crowd knows they used to be porn stars. How many are talking about Sylvester Stallone's past as a porn star nowadays? Hell, I doubt most people knew even back in the 80s.
Getting back to over-the-top sexy designs, to me, the designs themselves aren't the problem, but rather, the perception of them. Some people immediatly think of them as degrading, even if the sexy character isn't portrayed as an idiot, or abused, or anything truly negative, behaviorally speaking. That I have a problem with. Because you see, even if a female character wore practical, conservative outfits, if she's treated like crap, it won't make much of a difference, if at all. Just look at women in most of the middle east, and tell me if you think being fully covered is automathically empowering.