I am annoyed with how women characters are sexualized in games
Makes me frustrated and hopeless, Its quite clear that they do this for the male gaze and whatever its called, but that doesnt justify it and makes me very sick.
Not saying that beautiful characters are bad, but semi naked characters with unrealistic beauty which both have nothing to do with the game at all is terrible, very terriole.
Why ruin a good game for the so called" male gaze" or "sex sells" thing? why?
I feel like a hypocrite and a loser.
Not sure if indie games are any better, itch io is very good, it has great (hidden) gems.
But its also filled with dating games and whatnot, I didnt check the nsfw games, but I wouldnt be surprised if they filled the entire front page.
Anyway, Its a deep issue for me, wanted to vent, thanks for reading.
128 replies
Okay, but most of the male characters look like this:
... because of the 'sells' part? Game publishers aren't in business to make good games, they're there to make money.
That photo is also, and still "the male gaze"
Most straight males have no interest in those abs, I assure you.
someone in another comment described "power fantasy" and perhaps that words it better.
Eh... maybe? Doesn't appeal to me, but I suppose it might to some.
Not disagreeing, but... have you seen male video game characters? They're less often half-naked, but usually similarly sexualized.
In fact, video edits about male characters' appearance are vastly more popular than the ones about female characters' appearance.
The male characters are also incredibly more unrealistic. At least from my experience. I have yet to meet a guy who looks like Leon Kennedy, Geralt or Adam Jensen. While having met many women who looked exactly like or better than various female game characters.
Some years ago, it may have been the case that female characters were much more sexualized than male characters, due to lack of female gamers. Nowadays though, I feel like it's nearly equal both ways. The difference is in how the characters are portrayed and received by men and women. Both have, on average, different preferences.
The issue isn't really with men, female characters or video games. All industries of our entire society are filled to the brim with porn and erotic material. And that's largely because of capitalism. Porn and anything containing porn sells well. So in a society built around selling and profits, all of that sooner or later becomes the most popular, and the norm.
Capcom literally had a panel filled with women to be absolutely sure they were making Leon as sexy as possible for everyone. He was hand sculpted for one purpose.
And they still gave him that stupid ass haircut?
Like it or not, this is peak male sexy performance. Confirmed by women.
Although I slightly disagree about your claim for how women vs men beauty is presented, I do like/agree with your response. Thank you! 🤍
Used to be a porn addict and its been months since I quit. But I cant remove the guilt and shame I have for myself, so maybe this sexualization is only making it worse for me.
This is a lot more informing of where your head's at and how/why you feel this way than your original post implies.
I say this as an alcoholic who was not aware of just how much alcohol pervades culture until I got sober.
Because you're an addict in recovery, you are more likely to see it and take note of it being egregious whereas previously you probably didn't really notice/accepted it as normal.
The sexualization of so many things in our culture didn't change, you did, and that's important to keep in mind.
Best of luck in your continued recovery, from one addict to another.
For me the problem here is that the only characters that are sexualised are women. If the game is sexual, then just add the beautiful naked guys. I am sure that this move will double the audience (i am the audience).
In a lot of games the men are not exactly realisticly sized either. They aren't often as sexualized as the women, but most are max 15% body fat and shredded to the point that they'd need steroids in real life.
Dummy thicc Solid Snakes clapping cheeks come to mind.
That Marvel wannabe Overwatch video game puts women in tons of skimpy outfits but those men's asses and chests are on display as well in skintight outfits.
"It's like I'm wearing nothing at all."
...stupid sexy Flanders.
i miss 70s and 80s male sexualization
I always hate looking at pictures of dudes who are roided to the eyes and almost dangerously dehydrated; it just looks painful like I could poke them and they'd bruise.
the difference is that the bodybuilder aesthetic isn't usually what women are into. Nothing inherently wrong with it of course but it's still built for the male gaze. If you ask a gym buff IRL about it they'll tell you most people who notice their physique are men. The shredded video game dude can instead be thought of as a signifier of masculinity and sometimes as a fantasy for men to project themselves into while playing.
I don't think the washboard abs and boulder shoulders would disappear entirely if male characters were designed more for the female gaze, but we'd probably see some more dad bods and smaller dudes too. Hades comes to mind as an example.
Hades characters are not what i would consider "dad bods" or "smaller dudes". They almost all have V tapers, visible abs, and a low body fat percentage. The biggest thing in hades for the female gaze IMO is more attention to costume/outfit design.
There are possibly more relevant examples than Hades, it was just the first that came to mind. It is not a complete departure from typical male character design, don't get me wrong, but I do think there's a greater variety than most games - Hypnos, Sisyphus, Orpheus, Icarus, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Narcissus are who I'm thinking of more specifically. The general character style does still lean on muscular definition (and they're generally still pretty unrealistic bodies for irl humans) but there's more room for a variety of builds and not everyone is portrayed as particularly strong or lean. You are correct that a lot of it comes down to outfit design, but that is still part of the overall character design and it does still feel like a step outside the norm.
And then there's the rare case of Marvel Rival Captain America's Summer Skin.
Hey Baldurs Gate, we sexualise everyone.
Op is just mad they like muscle mommy Karlach, I mean we all do
As a guy, I never understand what women find attractive about men. My partners in the past have tried to explain it to me, but when I pointed out other examples it's always "no, not like that." There must be some qualities I'm blind to.
I think it's a self selecting problem as well, since so many game developers are men, and we make what we know and understand. If there was more women designers, I'm sure we would get more hot guys, and maybe not even notice.
Maybe you are too straight to find men attractive, and those games are really made just for "male gaze". I dont think people will find hot guys hot, if they are not into them.
I think it's more like, there's things that men find attractive, and things women find attractive, in both men and women. Right now even the men are designed for men
It's interesting that people will find issue with sex appeal and unrealistic body proportions in fantasy media but are fine with everything else unrealistic about fantasy. I think the real issue is the unrealistic expectations people put on themselves and others because they can't separate fantasy from reality.
I will never be as buff and chiseled as batman.
My issue is that it's shoved in where it's not needed. Sexy characters where appropriate makes sense. Random panty shots in an action scene don't.
That pantyshot tendency I think is a greater Anime thing than a video game thing.
But if we are talking a fighting game like Street Fighter or something: those are like Luchadore and Professional wrestling. Those are costumes and the sex appeal is usually the point.
But then you have games like Nier that just have lingerie dolls as main characters.
Appropriate sexiness is extremely hard to pin down.
Appropriate being incredibly subjective doesn't help.
Some of the most appropriate I can think of are Bayonetta and Faye Valentine (from Cowboy Bebop).
To be fair, the creator of Nier Automata stated he specifically designed 2B so that attractive girls would cosplay as her.
Was that the guy who tweeted that he'd noticed that there were many rude pictures of 2B on the internet and it was hard to keep track of them all so he wanted someone to just send him a zip file every week?
Yeah I agree with you there, if it's random it takes you out of the story. At least let me know what I'm getting into from the start.
People don't just accept everything unrealistic about fantasy though, you can find plenty of complaints about inconsistencies in world building. Having completely fictional aspects like magic or dragons that work by specific rules within the narrative isn't the same as taking real world creatures and hypersexualising them.
I also hate that the word “unrealistic” keeps coming up about character bodies when so many are literally real people that got body scanned.
It's a if people can't fathom that different body types exist from their own.
I am talking about sexualization and pornification.
Too much of those is very common in games, and they contribute nothing to the fantasy game / story.
You did talk about unrealistic beauty as well.
And as for why, the answer is simple. For every person like you that strongly dislikes it, there are probably 9 gamers that prefer it this way and buy games that do it. Which of course results in about 9 out of 10 games including it. (numbers made up to illustrate point). There really isn't anything wrong with that. If art had to appeal to everyone, there would be no art. You are just unfortunate that your taste is in the minority so there is less content matching your preferences.
I am struggling to accept what you just said, but it does make sense.
If it was frown upon, then such dirty designs wouldnt have existed.
Its unfortunate that because I refuse to accept this pornification, I have become in the "minority"
At the same time, there definitely are tons of games that avoid needless sexualization. Is the issue that there are games you enjoy that has this issue (or would enjoy if it didn't)? You mentioned action games above. Are you able to find alternatives that suit your preferences?
Or is the issue that these simply exist and are at odds with your morals?
both to be honest. Its hard to find games I like that also dont have sexualization. I avoid sexualization because of many reasons. Including my belief that its harmful and inappropriate.
Let me first say that I do respect your preferences and opinion on them being innapropriate, even if I don't share these opinions.
But I have to push back a little on why do you believe they are harmful? That's quite an accusation, and one that contradicts existing research.
Well said. Strong agree.
I have kinda realized that this stuff is everywhere, not just in games and the "female gaze" is just as unrealistic in portraying men, it just isn't (as much) sexual. Read any romance book aimed at women and you know what I mean. There are very few men who can live up to being a hot billionaire werewolf!
Jokes aside, even "reasonable" standards are still something only like 5-10% of men could live up to. Even in lesbian and gay romance books you will find strange and unrealistic standards.
Humans just love dreaming about having a hotty in bed... Probably better if we don't encourage it, but catering to people's appetite sells better than selling something healthy... Ask any food industry.
It is because people make stuff mostly to make money or to make their own fantasies come "true". Hardly anyone out there is making media for "educational" purpose and where everything is realistic and proportional.
Hell that's just real life, we consume media to escape "realistic and proportional" because that's just ordinary and boring!
Look, if this was in a romance novel, then it would make sense, you go watch porn and expect the actors to look humble, makes no sense.
But if it was in everyday media, like how its the case right now, then I believe this becomes an issue, a big issue. ::: spoiler spoiler (I copy pasted my comment from a previous thread) :::
A lot of games have romance options for various characters. The witcher had optional side quests to hook up with characters, which reflected similar scenarios in the books. Skyrim lets you marry and have children.
women and men are sexualized in all sorts of media, unrealistically. and folks love it and folks also hate it, often the same folks who hate their gender being sexualized but love it when it's done to the gender they are attracted to.
why do you care so much about this to the point it is causing you self-negativity? do you like enjoy it and think you shouldn't?
As someone raised evangelical, this was me before realizing my honest attempt to live and breathe the Bible were incredibly self-destructive. When your life is ruled by guilt and shame, you end up despising the things that make you human.
Because I believe its not ethical.
Its enough how dark the porn industry is, and this sexualization only makes me remember the terrible crimes committed there.
Not to mention how it also affects our expectations for the other gender. (even if subtly)
Some people think eating meat is unethical. Those people often stop eating meat. You could follow your beliefs and seek games with less sexualization.
Of course, but this practice is common, making it hard to just seek out porn-free games
Look for more indie developers. There are thousands of games out there without porn.
ok so any sexualization of anyone ever in media isn't ethical?
One of my favorite games of all time is Neir Automata and I don't admit that to normies because it just makes me look like a fucking pervert because of how oversexualized 2B and A2 are.
It genuinely distracts from a beautiful story. It makes it less impactful.
I found the constant almost upskirt shots to be distracting tbh. I thought they were kinda cool at first from an animation stand point but that feeling wore off pretty quick. I think it would have been better if they kept shots like that to a minimum, it would make the times it does happen stand out a lot more.
I agree with you, there is also a game that I really really like the story of. But for some reason most women characters have to look sexy and the men characters look modest and humble (there are some sexy looking men too, but they are uncommon).
Have you seen the incels? They have nervous breakdowns over peach fuzz.
I just saw that post to lol
What is peach fuzz, and there is an incel community in the fediverse out of all places?
How come I didnt hear about any of this, I have been using piefed for 2 whole years (including lurking without an account)
Peach fuzz is what the short almost invisible hair on skin is called. Like the short hairs on peaches.
A few years ago when the first images for Horizon: Forbidden West were released they were supposed to demonstrate the superior graphical fidelity by showing (amongst other things) the peach fuzz in the face of the female lead.
Idiots thought it was a beard as if they had never been close enough to a woman to see them.
Oh I get it now. 👍️
There are counter examples
BG3 is a fabulous one. Asterion is sultry and seductive. Raphael is sexy as hell, and so is his succubus. TBH there was a lot of male nudity and sexiness.
Meanwhile, Karlach and Laezel are just badasses. Never once did I feel that squick from them being overly sexualized.
This doesnt make it okay. Its still bad, and makes me disgusted. Just because they reversed the gender that this applies to doesnt change it.
Let me clarify; I don’t think they used the characters primarily as eye candy, or fell into problematic tropes. All of them just exude charisma.
In "Satisfactory" the main character (The Pioneer) is dressed head to toe in a sort of spacesuit/coveralls/work boots combo. You can sort of tell that there might be a woman inside the suit.
Most men don't have hips like that.
This is true. To be fair, time spent looking at the pioneer is time not spent expanding the factory so I dont pay much attention.
Not sure why an "off the chest" post would get downvotes (perhaps they suspect virtue signalling) but glad you shared.
For-profit companies and even indie devs gravitate toward the demand. I don't play many games that have this trait but even wow has its share of female thongs and chainmail pushup bras. The fact that its widely accepted and very rarely frowned upon let's you know that they e nailed their target demographic.
Glad to know that you recognize its bad, Thank you brother. 🤍
I would prefer equality over stifling content, however. Put the men in skimpy outfits and give them jiggle physics. Optionally make it possible to tone it down.
Im sorta surprised games don't do something like this. Have an option for male and female clothing levels in the game. I feel like the coding would not be massive and suddenly you can bring in horndogs of every persuasion.
Saints row had breast and package modifiers for your character.
yeah im thinking options of nude to victorian.
Coding would be simple, the art wouldn't. You would have to make multiple clothing assets for each character/clothing set. It would be expensive and there is no evidence it would help sell more games
most games already have that. although I guess for the main character but there are so many versions of the main character you would think npcs would be able to make it the same. im thinking like cyberpunk here not witcher.
The playable character (PC) is the focus of attention and therefore gets disproportionate effort put into it. There is usually only 1, maybe 2-3 of them so making a 100 outfits for each PC probably means making a 100 outfits, maybe 300 in the absolute worst case.
If I remember correctly, a game like GTA San Andreas had around 300 different NPCs. So making just one second outfit for each (toggle, not slider) is extra 300 outfits. For most games, the effort is better spent either adding more outfits for players or more NPC types to improve variety (more gamers care about that than NPC sexualization). Or just bigger map, or more missions, etc. Of course it depends on the type of game.
yeah but the npc outfits and the main character can be the same.
In some games they can be the same, and in some they are. But in many games, that doesn't make sense. Maybe the NPC has a role, e.g. a police officer needs to wear a police uniform. Or maybe the NPC has a personality that the clothes help express. An innocent religious girl will not wear revealing outfit and a rebellious daring one probably will. Taking that away with a slider could really deform what the game is trying to express. Especially if NPCs don't get enough screen time, their looks are important to convey their character.
PS: There is also a technical limitation. It's not just artist effort that focuses on PCs. They clothing of playable character will often be more complex. Perhaps it is more detailed. Perhaps it can be combined (different top, bottom, accesories). Perhaps it deforms around character creation sliders. Perhaps it has physics enabled. All of this is extra load on the GPU and in many games is simplified for NPCs. So giving NPCs PC outfits may kill performance. If I again bring up GTA SA as an example (because I know a lot about how the game works under the hood), the main character CJ is the only one that has clothing handled separately from the player model. For most NPCs, their clothes are part of the NPC asset and can't be swapped as that would take extra effort and resources.
Now non of this means it is impossible, but for most games, it is just not worth it.
yeah that is why I mentioned im thinking along the lines of games like cyberpunk than witcher. where the main character has a lot of options. I mean it already seems like there are sales to be made from games with a lot of character customization options. it definately is a draw to begin with.
But... Quiet needs sunlight on her bare skin to live, so an almost naked sniper makes perfect sense! Think about women's health!!
/s
If it's third-person and I'm going to be staring at my character's ass for 30+ hours, might as well pick a nice one
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Now I know why it sells, people like you exist. Please, can you tell me why you dont feel bad for it?
Doesnt sexualization just make you disgusted? if not, do you know why?
Can't speak for the original commenter, but for myself, why should it? One, preferring to see sexualized content is natural. Two, it's fiction. These characters don't really exist and can't be hurt by it. Why exactly should I feel disgusted?
I guess you may have had an upbringing that conditioned you to feel repulsed by such things, or some other personal experience that did so. I and many others didn't. So there is no reason why we would feel as you do.
Also just having a nice butt isnt extreme sexualization. Excessive size, jiggle physics, skimpy outfits, or an unatural/exaggerated walk could be, but a nice butt is just a nice butt.
Our other options here would be not having a female character, reducing the view of the female chatacter, or having the female character not be fit/attractive while the male character likely meets or exceeds male beauty standards. Its a lot more nuanced than girl butt makes men horny IMO.
I super liked Horizon: Zero Dawn because they refused to sexualize Aloy. There is only one outfit that shows bare midrif, and it's not accessible until mid-game. Male characters would hit on her and she'd generally respond like she didn't understand what was going on.
But then I didn't like the "changes" for the sequel. It felt kinda cheap for them to suddenly be ::: spoiler spoiler "Oh no, she is a lesbian actually" ::: instead of the ::: spoiler spoiler aro/ace ::: that she was portrayed as in the first one.
Edit: apparently I can't spoiler. Sorry.
They have done this for both genders - though mostly females - for decades
Not just for games but music, tv and movies as well
the woman are often scantily clad , while the men are roided up.
The one is for male gaze, the other a male power fantasy. None of this appeals to women.
I don't know about that, read some women's romance and you'll see that women eat that shit right up. The male lead is always hot, often rich and more recently also "special" in one way or another (werewolf etc).
Those are pretty unrealistic expectations too, they just aren't as sexualizing.
The problem isn't sexualizing, the problem is unrealistic expectations and standards and that is rampant in women's media too. And why shouldn't it be? Women are humans too with dreams and desires for more than the average.
The book industry providing strong market segments for women has not much to do with the video game industry.
Not even if the topic uniting them is the industry providing strong market segments in both cases?
My most recent "fantasy" dream I had was about this character, a short peasant. There was no nudity, just a hug as he left me... for my cousin (Idk dreams are wierd)
Not all women read smut novels, Ive only met one IRL who does. Not all video games are tits out either though. They can be avoided.
What do you mean not all women read smut?! 😱
You can't just go around ruining men's understanding of the world like its a casual Tuesday!
Also, I have seen plenty of women write about how they fantasize about short men and let me tell you, as a tall person I find that expectation to be very difficult to live up to! Walking around on my knees all day really hurts!
The character Machej from 1670 is the Female gaze, just sayin. It's in his personality. His love intrest, Aniela, is also the female gaze..
Probably why I like the show so much. Im sure there are other examples. Anyway, appreciate your humor Denixen. Also, I think it's thursday ;)
What is this Machej from 1670? I can't find it when I search for it! Is there a typo? Can you give me some more context or a link? I am really curious now!
Edit: I found it! Apparently search engines didn't like just "Machej 1670". They thought I was looking for a dead relative... Not helpful! Had to add " tv series" to the search.
Edit the Second: Did you mean Maciej rather than Machej? I don't find any Machej :/ I did find Aniela though. Gonna watch it later!
I really enjoy learning and understanding what it is that women like, how they see the world and men. Reading and analysing media directed at women is sooo educative to learn about women's preferences and inner workings. It is so different from men because it reflects the historical and societal perspective of women, like what they have experienced in their own lives, but also historically.
Like a werewolf can actually represent the simultaneous danger of men (violence) and the safety they can provide because of the violence they are capable of. What is one day protection, can become a danger the next day.
Fascinating! Yet men never think about this! Even though we are the one's (in a general sense) putting women through these experiences.
I feel like I might be oversharing and I apologize for that, but I am in the zone and I don't want to stop!
Thanks, I wasn't expecting a compliment on this casual Thursday!
I can tell youre in the zone, go off! :)
yes, i did mean Maciej, I dont know polish at all, my bad, apologies
You are on to something with the werewolf bit, I think. That never reached me, but I could understand it better through this context. That does make some sense.
I hope the show can.. well show you something, or you can get something out of it! I like how reflective the show can be at criticizing both gender and class roles. I cant speak for all women, but, idk, enjoy :)
Look, if this was in a romance novel, then it would make sense, you go watch porn and expect the actors to look humble, makes no sense.
But if it was in everyday media, like how its the case right now, then I believe this becomes an issue, a big issue.
Wait I think I understand what you mean now, I missed your point earlier, sorry about that.
I don't think such distinctions are possible though... Also there is definitely porn that is more soft and gentle, 'humble' if you wish, usually it is directed at women.
Sex and sexual desire is an everyday thing though. It is already everywhere in everyday media, like in series and movies. I am afraid I don't really see your point. Are attractive women not allowed to exist in the media because men feel sexual desire for them? Like why is that a problem? I feel like I am missing something here.
Wait is playing computer/video games mainstream now?! When did that happen!
Not all women. I've worked with some that enjoy it. Try not to put a group of people in a box. They are individuals.
I'm okay with it if the men are also sexualized. Like Hades. So many sexy men... 🤤
One recent game that surprisingly reversed the trope was Ion Fury. Despite her origin (lewd, very stereotypical sketch from Duke Nukem), Shelly (main character) is not sexualized in the game.
What women have to do to look like female video game characters:
Don't eat garbage like a starving racoon, go for a walk every once in a while, do squats, do sit-ups, wear makeup mainly eyeliner and blush, keep acne/dermatitis in check (optional), wear a pushup bra (optional), wear tight clothes
What men have to do to look like male video game characters:
Go to the gym every day doing hard muscle training and cardio, take supplements, eat pineapple, take steroids, eat 6000 calories a day, be constantly dehydrated, get vocal training to deepen their voice (optional), get hair implants to maintain perfect hairline regardless of age (optional), be able to grow perfect full beard (optional)
When I log onto Lemmy a quick "Are you a person?" page pops up with a hot little anime girl being displayed. It's everywhere. Pre-internet it as "L'Eggs" commercials. /s
Just curious about what games specifically that you're referring to.
I don't generally get distracted or feel the need to address sexualization either way. I'm more or less ace sexually and I have a female ace friend who is super discouraged by female sexualization but unless the game is about specifically displaying women sexually it's not so much a sticking point for her. Hades/Hades 2 comes to mind.
Generally at this point, at least compared to the 90's, games where sexualization is being really held up are largely advertising the sexualization as part of the point, and I consider that seperate from 'sexualization is inescapable and my games are less fun because of it.' Nier Automata was mentioned in another reply and I would agree that that is probably the best argument for 'how is this necessary to the story' but I don't find it strictly unforgivable. Bayonetta could be argued as a reclaimation of female sexuality but it's pretty flimsy as long as most of the directorial staff are men.
Either way nothing hits the peak like Tomb Raider did where no one even knew what the game was about until you rented the thing when it first released. Gameplay photos were reserved for longer magazine articles.
So stay away from AAA game studios, for so many reasons. Sorted.
Of course, but I am annoyed that they are doing it. It is wrong, at least for me, and so knowing that this keeps, and will keep happening doesnt help.
If you are annoyed that there are things in games that you don't play that you don't like, it's starting to sound like a you problem.
It becomes a problem if I harass others for it.
But showing them what I believe in and why I do, shouldnt be a problem.
I consider myself pretty jaded and cynical when it comes to developers pulling that kind of stuff. As long as they keep it somewhat subtle and low-key I can ignore it and move on.
But recently ( and no, I don't know how this happened) I discovered that for a very long time, I've apparently owned Final Fantasy XV Royal edition on XBox. I don't remember ever buying it, it's never been in my "purchases list". But as I was scrolling through a "deals" list, I noticed that it sayd owned, so I said fuck it and installed it.
Well, let's just say that as soon as Cindy appears, I'm not jaded and cynical anymore. I'm just thinking "holy shit this is just shameless..."
Rest assured, I don't think this is as big of an issue as you seem to think it is. There are examples of this but it's a minority.
I dont watch anime (I watched only one season), but its clear that this problem also applies to anime.
Anime is a good medium of art/entertainment, but these common practices just make me pull my hair. what the fuck does a women with a bikini trying to have a suggestive talk with main character have to do with the story of an investigator trying to find the murderer?!
Um.. how much anime have you watched? One season of one show?
There is a LOT of anime that doesn't do this.
Lots of generalising here..
Yeah my bad, too low of a sample to judge. Really sorry. I watched one season, about 20 episodes, each episode is like 20 minutes.
What the fuck does a steamy sex scene with real actors in a crime series trying to solve a murder mystery have to do with anything? Some of it is just to expand that the characters have lives outside of their work. Some of it is to sell sex and drama for more views. It exists in almost every form of media. If it was cut and dry just about the muderer, the series would feel more like a documentary than a show.
Oh how horrible that anything should appeal to men's preferences and not women's sensibilities. The game just isn't for you then, why does that bother you so much?
What are you even saying? I did focus on women for my post because I believe its commonly applied to women, but my rant applies to both genders.
You should play Honkai Star Rail. There's a ton of characters, about 55/45 split of female to male and they're all well written and not particularly overly sexed up. More like cutie-patooties. The guys, too. There's a few fan service exceptions but for the most part it's pretty wholesome. Coming from a Western perspective, it's refreshing.
As for the industry wide trend... yeah. It sucks. Super sexualizing everything in society to make a buck has disconnected us from the natural flow of life.
In my experience game studios are a cesspool of white toxic males so it checks out
Generalization doesnt make me feel better.
Right now, the only thing I can do is stand against it and boycott. But I am losing hope for that too. 😣
East Asian games are the worst offenders though.
You can scratch the white part, you will find plenty of toxic men amongst colored people driving this too, as soon as they get an opportunity. No need to whitewash them (pun intended)!