Leftists want video games to match their skills.

Why Dove’s Push For “Realistic” Video Game Characters Misses the Mark

 

 

The Problem with “Realistic” Video Game Characters

There’s a strange sentiment going around that video game characters, especially female ones, are unrealistic looking and causing anxiety amongst players who don’t see themselves reflected in the virtual world. Dove, the soap company, released a video claiming to take a stand against overly sexualized and unrealistic women in video games. But their push for “realistic” characters is problematic.

The Problem with Implying Obesity is Beautiful

The Dove video implies that obesity and a general lack of care for one’s appearance is beautiful. This is nothing new for the left, which thrives on getting people to stop caring about putting effort into themselves. But the emphasis that characters in fiction reflect “real people,” which is code in this Dove video for unhealthy obesity, creates a negative feedback loop. The left wants people to see themselves as victimized and powerless to solve their own problems, which creates the perfect excuse to allow big government to step in and be the solution.

The Problem with Mediocrity

What Dove seems to want is characters that are content with their averageness, which is terrible from a political perspective and also just terrible for the sake of art! Heroes should be larger than life. That’s what makes them heroes. The point of video games is to connect with the characters you’re seeing on screen but not to see yourself in them one-to-one. Not every gamer needs to strive to be a supermodel or look exactly like the characters they’re playing as. But they should at least strive to be a little bit more like the heroes on screen in spirit and in virtue. Dove might be comfortable with mediocrity, but we shouldn’t be.

The Real Reason for Underrepresentation of Female Gamers

The video claims 74 percent of girls feel underrepresented in video games, according to a study conducted by Dove. But the weight of the heroines is not one of the reasons for underrepresentation. The real reasons are complex and multifaceted, and include societal pressures and gender stereotypes.

• Female gamers are not as common as male gamers
• Societal pressures and gender stereotypes

Check out the episode of Playing Politics from a few weeks ago for more on this topic.