Does Infinity Need Sex to Sell?
Like the rest of the internet1 I am all aflame with Corvus Belli’s announcement of Operation: Icestorm; the first Infinity starter set. I have vacillated between wanting to buy the set and remaining committed to painting my current miniatures. Right now I’m on “no” but I am tempted afresh each time I watch a Beasts of War video. The miniatures look great but there are so many cool Infinity miniatures that the idea of re-buying some, even though they’re amazing sculpts, doesn’t sit right. I’m sure I’ll repaint my Aguaciles sooner than later but I don’t see a point to buying a boxed set only to not touch it for months while I paint other models.
One of the rescuplted Fusiliers. A very military looking man. Note the torso armour to protect the sensitive innards. Image copyright Corvus Belli, used without permission. Painted by Angel Giraldez.
But I digress, this was supposed to be an ill-conceived emotional rant. As I was watching Carlos Llauger show off the new designs in the Beasts of War videos I was struck by how different the female models look compared to the men. I know, this has been covered before by better2 bloggers than I. For some reasons I thought this was a thing of the past. I think because Infinity had fallen so far off my radar that I forgot about it.
The thing is, Corvus Belli, I don’t need my female troopers to be sexy. I know I used to be cool with it but like bad typesetting once it’s pointed out it can’t be unseen. I’m not even against sexual depictions of women. I just don’t want it to be the default representation, especially in a wargame.
Why does this Fusilier have a tighter cut of pants and different armour? Corvus Belli Infinity Fusilier painted by Tom Shadle. Image Copyright Tom Shadle, used without permission.
I think projects like the Hawkeye Initiative are good to help people see what the problem is. If you haven’t go ahead and check it out. Warning, it may cause strange feelings. Those are normal, just accept them and keep going. I mean, even before Jeremy Renner played him in The Avengers he was a guy that men wanted to be, women wanted to be with, and gay men wanted to be while simultaneously being with. Obviously they are the clear winners here.
Where’s the Beef… Cake?
I can picture people reading this and agreeing that female miniatures follow a different aesthetic than the male miniatures. Not only are the females posing is if in a photo-shoot instead of fighting in a war but they’ve been given female-specific uniforms. The female Fusilier clearly has a tighter cut of pants than the men plus the always practical combat heels. It’s not realistic, but then this is fantasy. Why not make the women beautiful and the men rugged and manly?
The reason this isn’t a good thing is because it’s casually sexist. I don’t necessarily agree that sexy depictions of women are sexist. It is the context that makes this kind of depiction sexist. If the men were also posed similarly it wouldn’t be a problem. A game where all depictions of women are sexy is one which is less attractive to women. So, it excludes women in a way that is completely unnecessary. Can anyone point to a game or movie which was hurt by realistic instead of sexy depictions.
I wouldn’t mind if there was a line of miniatures, much like the Bootleg line Corvus Belli currently produces, which featured these miniatures in all their glory. The female Fusilier looks great, especially painted by someone like Tom Shadle or Ángel Giráldez, but by avoiding this type of pinup miniature within the main game line Corvus Belli can avoid alienating 50% of the population. Wargaming isn’t considered a “female” pursuit but then Lego thought that girls weren’t interested in building until 2011 when they released their Lego Friends line and even that caught flak for conforming too strongly to gender-roles. Apparently the girls wanted to go on adventures instead of sitting at home and shopping. Maybe Charlotte would like to play Infinity when she’s a little older.
What do you think? Is this a valid concern or am I just white-knighting for feminism? Would you be sad if the sexy female miniature was reduced to 3 in every 4 female sculpts? Let me know if the comments or hit me on on Google+ or Twitter. I have more Infinity stuff coming so subscribe to keep informed.
(1) By "rest of the internet" I mean the portion which would read my blog and not the parts that enjoy Haul Videos.
(2) No, I'm too conceited to actually believe that. I'm just being polite.
Infinity the Game is a skirmish miniature game produced by Corvus Belli. You can find the rules online making it an easy game to grab a couple of miniatures and start playing. Male Fusilier image ©Corvus Belli and is used without permission.
Tom Shadle is a painter and podcaster. The more people that visit his blog and ask him for step-by-step detailed painting tutorials the better. Female Fusilier image ©Tom Shadle and is used without permission.
“The thing is, Corvus Belli, I don’t need my female troopers to be sexy. I know I used to be cool with it but like bad typesetting once it’s pointed out it can’t be unseen. I’m not even against sexual depictions of women. I just don’t want it to be the default representation, especially in a wargame.
What do you think? Is this a valid concern or am I just white-knighting for feminism? Would you be sad if the sexy female miniature was reduced to 3 in every 4 female sculpts?”
I do tend to agree with you. I sometimes visit the Repair Her Armor tumblr, which expresses the same complaint that the problem with the ‘sexy female/chainmail bikini’ trope is that it’s widespread almost to the point of universality. Having a look through that tumblr, or the minis industry, goes some way to convince you of that.
Although I’m only ‘collateral damage’ in the scheme of things, I also find it somewhat insulting as a kind of cynical marketing. “You’re a nerd, and a dude, right? ‘Course you’re gonna want this. ‘Course you’re gonna buy it. We’re all nerdy dudes in this hobby, so it’s okay.”
Vive la différence and all that, but I’m capable of keeping two… interests separated all the same, ta. In fact, seeing some minis in such obvious, out-of-context, poses and depictions mostly breaks my suspension of disbelief and boots me out of the story, or setting. Much in the same way as enormous cricket-bat/surfboard swords, brick-shaped aircraft, or wolf-drawn flying viking bathtubs.
Agreed 100%. Thanks for voicing this.
Guys, I really can’t understand, what your problem is. Female figures in Infinity are amazing, and there are no problem in different armor, so that we all have different bodies. And also, their poses are great. Why don’t you just cut off female head, and glue it in place of man’s one? That could be exactly what you want to have.
Redbat, it is not the presence of female miniatures that is the problem, it’s the depiction. There’s no argument that Corvus Belli isn’t intentionally sculpting their females to look sexy. Infinity is inspired by anime and anime depicts females in this way. Corvus Belli isn’t ashamed of this.
The point is whether it’s needed in wargames, and if there’s any downside to it. I think it’s not needed, and I think that putting off potential players is a big downside.
Tyler Provick, I got your POV, I just disagree. Female figure always sexy, I can’t see problem in depicting them that way. They have their guns and armor, so they can fight, I think. Other option, is sculpting females just like males, but with a femalelike heads. I don’t know, what about you, but that fears me much more, than sexy female poses. Man, I really can’t imagine, how new cute Fusilier, for example, can put someone out of the game. If you are male, you just like she. If you are female… Well, why don’t you like she too?
It’s holding men and women to different standards that is sexist. Yes, men and women are different. But if you pick two people regardless of gender, they will be different. If you look at modern day women in the military, their uniforms are not hyper sexualized, they are practical. Imagine if you got a game where all of the men were pictured as worthless meatheads while the women were hyper intelligent and powerful. It’s funny the first time, right? What if that were the standard and every game you played, movie you watched, book you read, or advertisement you encountered dismissed the male intellect? Would you get sick of it and turned off of products that did it? I’d be willing to bet that you would. That’s why it’s sexist.