Skyrim Mods and Hyper-sexualization

[Mr Lepidus]

First off, let me clarify: I am not by any stretch of the imagination condemning those who chose to install "girlie" mods in thier games. I am not with this post trying to take any moral high ground or make any sort of ad hominem attacks towards other members of the community. I understand that as individuals you have the right to modify a product that you've purchased in any way you see fit, and that I have no say in what you do with your private property. I do, however, feel like I need to speak up about something I find somewhat disturbing in the modding community, which is to say the crass hypersexuality that seems ubiquitous among this game's player-generated content. Now, I've been on the Nexus websites for years now and have seen mods of this variety the entire time, so I understand that it's nothing new; however, that doesn't mean that it's necessarily okay.

 

I was just browsing the gameplay effects and changes section of the Skyrim Nexus, when I saw a mod that turned literally every woman in the game into a supermodel, replete with luridly skimpy clothing and inhumanly massive breasts (I'll just leave unmentioned that the preponderance of *real* supermodels could never have breasts of those size because they're all required to keep their bodies as stick-thin as inhumanly possible) and found it rather disturbing. The base game of Skyrim does a better job than most contemporary games in putting women on equal footing with men: in the game-world, they are allowed to do the same jobs; the character creator provides the same 'weight' options for them as it does for men; women are not portrayed as flirtatious objects for the player-character to control. I find all of these staples of Skyrim's writing admirable. That said, the most important thing Skyrim does for gender and videogames is that it portrays ugly women. This fact may sound irrelevant or strange, but believe me, it is. The majority of games, it seems, must have all their female characters have supermodel looks and perfect bodies so that men can ogle them while they play: we see this sort of characterization in everything from First Person Shooters to Japanese RPGs, with the latter perhaps a bit more flagrant of an offender than the former. Skyrim -and indeed the Elder Scrolls franchise in general (from Morrowind on)- generally avoids these chauvenistic conventions.

 

And now modders have felt the need to take that step forward and drag us several steps backwards. No, I am not homosexual and yes I appreciate the female form. What I do not appreciate is how mods like this reinforce highly negative and destructive ideas about women. I won't even go into the fact that a woman can't possible weigh 90 lbs and have H-cup breasts without her spine breaking. These sort of things are just wrong on principal. Many female characters in the game are not at all sexual beings -much like their male counterparts- and should stay that way. Now, I could understand -for the sake of being reasonable- if one wanted to increase the voluptuousness of the game's barmaid characters; it would make sense for those ones to be more sexually overt. What bothers me is that this sort of user generated content implies that *all* women should be that to men. I know I'll get "it's just a game" responses from this, but to counter that assertion, I say this: when you consume media, your brain takes in the images and stores them subconsciously. Whether you actively think sexist thoughts while playing a game with content such as this or not, your mind is subconsciously making the connection between females and sexuality. Subtly, you may be persuading yourself through this media that what is portrayed in it is the ideal, when in fact it is not.

 

Again, I would like to emphasize that I don't look down on the people who created this mod for their work: I understand that creating a mod that affects the majority of a game's characters is meticulous and grueling work, and commend them for their effort. What I don't commend them for is the message that they are (most likely unintentionally) spreading. I would also like to conclude by saying that no two people are alike: there are plenty of gamers who, I'm sure, choose to consume this sort of player-generated content and still are perfectly able to separate fantasy from reality, and that's great. I truly am not trying to malign any member of this community, but rather I just wanted to express my concern at the sort of negative attitudes that content like this may or may not be spreading.

 

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see some civil discussion about this point. Again, I mean no disrespect at all to the people who choose to make or download content like this on a personal level!

[elijahlucian]

tits or gtfo.

[acidzebra]

I know exactly what you mean, ever since I've started playing pac-man I just pop every pill I see. Because of the subconscious connection, you see?

Wakka wakka wakka

Also FPS shooters have convinced me that blowing someone's brains out is a valid response to interpersonal conflict -subconscious connection again- and Jack Thompson, is that you?

Amazingly, most people, even kids, can discern between fiction and reality (have you noticed you're killing dragons and undead beings in skyrim?). Those who cannot have bigger issues than unrealistic boobies in a video game. Don't run any mods that change people into supermodels, can't stand them myself and if I could I'd make Skyrim even grimier, but come on. Bring some hard facts to the table instead of endless weasel words like maybe and may or may not, or what the guy above me said. The second part at least. And in a more civil fashion, of course.

[Thandal]

The Number One Rule on the Nexus is: "Don't like it? Don't use it, but pass in silence."

 

While you're welcome to post your opinion here as a discussion topic, (as opposed to a comment on a specific mod) I think the most common response you'll receive is, "See Rule One." :whistling:

[bben46]

First you start off by claiming

I am not with this post trying to take any moral high ground or make any sort of ad hominem attacks towards other members of the community.

 

And then proceed to do exactly that. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/charonn0/ohgeez-1.gif

 

The finish with

I would like to emphasize that I don't look down on the people who created this mod for their work:

 

After doing precicely that. :pinch:

 

Please get off your moral high horse and just pass those mods you don't approve of by without comment, We ban several a week for comments like this when they are directed toward specific mods.

 

Locked to prevent a flamefest. :rolleyes:

Bben46