I don’t understand it, and I am getting very tired of seeing men telling me what I feel or what ‘’ appeals to women ‘’.
I am talking about the censorship of the female characters.
Why is it that only female cards are being censored ( latest one was Whitemane… ) but the male characters still get to waddle around half-naked just fine?
I see people bring up things ‘’ she’s not wearing pants ‘’ completely ignoring that there are male characters in this game series that don’t wear pants either and are basically in a loincloth…
And dear lawd forbid that a woman shows cleavage, but men can run around with their shirts off.
It’s just blatant sexism and I am getting very tired of it, and it’s sad to see Blizzard of all devs go down this route.
I grew up as a woman playing games back when playing games was still for ‘’ icky nerds ‘’ and wasn’t as socially acceptable as it is today, and I feel as if a lot of people don’t understand how important a lot of these characters like Jaina for example are to some of us.
And to see her get targeted out like that honestly kinda hurts, because it feels like she’s being othered and as if the developers sat down and went ‘’ this character is shameful, cover her up ‘’ which is just very wrong imo.
And I don’t believe for a second that other women are offended by womens bodies like some of you seem to think…
Even Blizzard has loads of women working for them who clearly don’t, funnily enough I think that one of them even worked on Whitemane for HOTS and she did an absolutely amazing job ( easily my favorite model to date in that game ).
I know that people go on about how ‘’ it’s just boobs/ pixels ‘’, but it really feels as if Blizzard are reducing these characters to their breasts/ thighs or whatever by censoring them.
You have to ask the question ‘’ why? ‘’, when you censor a woman by covering her up you are reducing her to her body and it’s basically sending the message that you can’t be acknowledged as a person unless you cover up.
And as a woman it really hurts, especially when it’s in regards to characters that I care so much about and from a development studio like Blizzard which I grew up with.
I had lost my main account because I lost my phone ( which means no authentication code ) and I was going to get it back.
But after I saw that Whitemane card I just felt bad and it made me really sad and reminded me of what Blizzard are doing nowadays.
It especially sucks because I know some people who work and have worked at Blizzard, and I know that they’re not bad people and don’t view women in a negative light just because they show skin.
But this is Blizzard acting as a company, and I keep seeing men proclaim that it’s ‘’ for the sake of women ‘’ and that narrative keeps being perpetuated which I can’t stand and it really makes me angry and turns me away from Blizzard.
I know that it’s futile to write about my feelings here because people will just dismiss me like they always do on the internet, it’s easy to be a jerk on the internet and minimize them.
But do understand that to some of us this is a very personal thing, and as a woman you have to put up with being judged for the way that you dress when men don’t and this kind of crap only perpetuates that.
The message that Blizzard are sending is that these women are wrong and need to be covered up in order to be respected and I think that’s a very backwards and sexist mindset.
And even if that isn’t their mindset and it’s because of China or whatever people have been going on about, I still find it very cowardly.
And I do think that it speaks volumes if Blizzard don’t care enough about these characters to stand up for them and to do what’s right by not giving in to this puritan wave of sex-negativity.
Do understand that this doesn’t exist in a vacuum, these attitudes towards women extend to real life and we have to deal with it every day.
The reason why these characters are censored is based in actual real life sexism, and Blizzard has decided to support and perpetuate it.
And the fact that Blizzard are so sneaky about it and basically stealth censor things and refuse to talk about it only makes it worse imo.
They’re just leaving us to the wolves and let women who feel hurt by it or men who acknowledge why it’s wrong be bashed on and be attacked by men ( and some women ) who don’t understand why this actually matters and IS a big deal.
Anyways… I felt as if I had to write my mind.
I am just very sad and hurt by this even if some of you can’t understand it. Diablo Immortal and all of those meme’s aside, this is what killed Blizzard to me.
Maybe some Blizz employee will stumble upon this and understand how I feel…
I just wanted to say it and I want them to know… But they’re so out of reach which only makes me feel even worse and more hopeless.