So when I show and ask 10 women tomorrow whether they think 4e's art is sexualizing the women, and 9 answer no - it's still sexualization. Wrong. I will conduct my little experiment tomorrow, and if I'm correct in guessing their answers, we will have a debate of definitions.
We should probably talk about your terribly unscientific experimental methods first. No data you could ever collect with such a crude methods would ever be considered valid. Run your little experiment if you want to, but it'll prove exactly nothing either way, not even the brainwashing theory you seem to be so sure would be my response (it probably wouldn't).
Remember, once everyone starts calling it a dog, even though it's a wolf, it becomes a dog.
No. If all fifty students answer on the test that 10-5*2=10, then all fifty students are wrong.
I think people love to throw up the "sexism" flag every time an art discussion happens...
And I think it's a shame that, every time it happens and even though it happens so often, most people's immediate reaction is to get defensive about it rather than actually listening. That's why we end up with buzzwords and phrases like "politically correct" or "oversensitive" or "looking to be offended", because people get defensive when other people have problems that they can't immediately identify with instead of actually listening.
Please show me where it doesn't work in video games? All the top video games basically have female super models running around in tight clothes kicking-$&@.
It shows up in vodegames so much because many videogame developers haven't caught on yet that it actually doesn't work that well. I mean, yeah, most of the top selling videogames are questionable in this regard, but so are most videogame failures. The idea that "sex sells" is actually a pretty outdated one in that form of simplicity, and you won't find many experienced marketing experts nowadays that'll seriously advocate it unless you are actually trying to sell pornography.
Crimson, I know my method is unscientific. It's laughable. It's as laughable as your opinion, my opinion, and my colleagues' opinions- which is what sexism boils down to - opinions.
Trust me, if they state it is, I'll let you know. And then I'll walk away a happier man for understanding better the points of views of people I care about. But for you to be the "voice of authority" when my wife's voice is just as authoritative, you'll have to call it a draw.
So when I show and ask 10 women tomorrow whether they think 4e's art is sexualizing the women, and 9 answer no - it's still sexualization.
Correct. Popular opinion != truth.
In this case, the definition of sexism, in which one gender is devalued, objectified, or disempowered by rhetoric or imagery which undercuts them, is the only determining factor. By that definition, much of the art in the fantasy genre - including a good deal of D&D's art, historically - is sexist. The nice thing is that, with a new edition in the offing, there's a good opportunity here to decide not to continue in that vein.
Guys who think chainmail bikinis are "hot" need their heads checked. There's nothing "hot" about some idiot who decides to sacrifice comfort and practicality, particularly in a life-threatening occupation like dungeon-delver, in order to impress the local neanderthals with the size of her mammary glands. Stupid is never sexy.
Yes. A mundane chain mail bikini is not very effective aside from running. Yet it still provides more protection then wizard robes for whatever that is worth. And in comparison to your full plate wearing friend with a metal bucket on his head you have much more speed. Food may run but food running faster then your companion from a hungry owl bear has some merit. It's better to look sexy running away then getting caught in a "practical suit of full plate" that way you can live to look sexy another day.
With regards to magical armor things are trickier. As the number of +s go up the amount of metal can go down. It's an inverse relationship and it's redundant to the eldritch auras that protect the flesh. Who are you to argue with the divine?
But for you to be the "voice of authority" when my wife's voice is just as authoritative, you'll have to call it a draw.
Exactly. I'm actually quite surprised that the mods haven't intervened. Sexism runs so very close to that controversial line that mods fear crossing. All in all, I think everyone has done a good job of keeping it at least moderately civil. As civil as something like this can be, that is. There are going to be very strong opinions on the matter, just as there are on politics, religion, and so on.
"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind." - H.P. Lovecraft
It's as laughable as your opinion, my opinion, and my colleagues' opinions- which is what sexism boils down to - opinions.
No, it isn't, and that's a cop out. We have data, studies, whole fields of research dedicated to examining gender roles, their causes, their consequences, their depiction in media, and so on. That's more than "just an opinion", and to try to dismiss it as such is nothing but scientifically ignorant. What, do you think that we in sociology, media studies, and gender and women studies just sit in a circle all day and talk about our feelings? No, we collect data, create surveys, conduct interviews, study content, perform literature reviews, cite sources, and more. That's quite a bit more than "just an opinion".
That's the one thing that really sucks about being in this field. It doesn't matter how high your degree, how published you are, or anything else. At the end of the day, every random layperson still thinks they know more about the way that society works than you do.
Speaking of things that were badly designed, please check out this thread for my Minotaur fix. What have the critics said, you ask? "If any of my players ask to play a Minotaur, I'm definitely offering this as an alternative to the official version." - EmpactWB "If I ever feel like playing a Minotaur I'll know where to look!" - Undrave "WoTC if you are reading this - please take this guy's advice." - Ferol_Debtor_of_Torm "Really full of win. A minotaur that is actually attractive for more than just melee classes." - Cpt_Micha
Also, check out my recent GENASI variant! If you've ever wished that your Fire Genasi could actually set stuff on fire, your Water Genasi could actually swim, or your Wind Genasi could at least glide, then look no further.
Finally, check out my OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE article, an effort to give unique support to the races that WotC keeps forgetting about. Includes new racial feature options for the Changeling, Deva, Githzerai, Gnoll, Gnome, Goliath, Half-Orc, Kalashtar, Minotaur, Shadar-Kai, Thri-Kreen, Warforged and more!
Except that they are, insofar as something can be photorealistic.
Not really, they give the ILLUSION of being photorealistic, but they aren't. And you know what? That's the success of Mr. Kormarck's art. He can make you, the audience, believe it's photorealistic, despite the fact that he has no actual resource to show some of the things he's shown.
I mean, how do you depict a spell effect? A magical forcefield? Or even a simple light 'spell'? Those are things you have to make up. And he does that WELL.
It's as laughable as your opinion, my opinion, and my colleagues' opinions- which is what sexism boils down to - opinions.
No, it isn't, and that's a cop out. We have data, studies, whole fields of research dedicated to examining gender roles, their causes, their consequences, their depiction in media, and so on. That's more than "just an opinion", and to try to dismiss it as such is nothing but scientifically ignorant. What, do you think that we in sociology, media studies, and gender and women studies just sit in a circle all day and talk about our feelings? No, we collect data, create surveys, conduct interviews, study content, perform literature reviews, cite sources, and more. That's quite a bit more than "just an opinion".
That's the one thing that really sucks about being in this field. It doesn't matter how high your degree, how published you are, or anything else. At the end of the day, every random layperson still thinks they know more about the way that society works than you do.
Then why does Victoria Secret make lingere that attempts to be sexual if it doesn't sell? Or fashion in general? Deny it all you want but there is a reason why a certain form of download is one of the most popular downloads.
It's as laughable as your opinion, my opinion, and my colleagues' opinions- which is what sexism boils down to - opinions.
No, it isn't, and that's a cop out. We have data, studies, whole fields of research dedicated to examining gender roles, their causes, their consequences, their depiction in media, and so on. That's more than "just an opinion", and to try to dismiss it as such is nothing but scientifically ignorant. What, do you think that we in sociology, media studies, and gender and women studies just sit in a circle all day and talk about our feelings? No, we collect data, create surveys, conduct interviews, study content, perform literature reviews, cite sources, and more. That's quite a bit more than "just an opinion".
That's the one thing that really sucks about being in this field. It doesn't matter how high your degree, how published you are, or anything else. At the end of the day, every random layperson still thinks they know more about the way that society works than you do.
Guess what? They also done studies and found out that sex sells. Not just to men, but to women as well! Believe or not, and you probably won't, but there's a HUGE swath of women out there that like to feel sexy or attractive, even if that medium is make believe, like roleplaying games.
Cheesecake imagery sells, as does beefcake imagery, which really makes me wonder why no one is against beefcake images? I personally like them both, give me a Frank Frazetta picture any day! The Death Dealer picture of his, is one of my favourites. I also love my some Red Sonja art too.
...give me a Frank Frazetta picture any day! The Death Dealer picture of his, is one of my favourites. I also love my some Red Sonja art too.
Frazetta, Royo, Vallejo, Brom, Elmore...even Parkinson...there are good reasons that these guys are considered some of the most iconic, most referenced, most memorable fantasy artists of all time.
"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind." - H.P. Lovecraft
But for you to be the "voice of authority" when my wife's voice is just as authoritative, you'll have to call it a draw. 
I like the might, motion and emotion in this...
