Hi all,
I was considering becoming a permanent part of the Forza Horizon 2 community. I watched some Let’s Plays, and immediately changed my mind. This is because of the way women were represented in the game. If you watch the intro, for instance, you may notice that the women depicted in the scenes are portrayed as much as props, as objects, as the cars in the intro. This made me think long and hard about buying this game, and I decided to AVOID this game. I’m sorry, but I am VERY disappointed in the makers of this game.
The fact is: The video game industry needs to STOP misrepresenting and objectifying women. How come they are not, for instance, competing in the races depicted in the intro scenes? I know we are kind of opposed to NASCAR (10 turn left, 20 goto 10) but I will use it as an example of the way it should be: There are plenty of female drivers in NASCAR. They don’t dress up in little bikinis for the pleasure of men; they wear a flame-proof suit and a helmet and actually DRIVE. Why is this important, you ask? Because people are consuming this; this is a form of mass media. In misrepresenting, stereotyping and objectifying women in video games, you are perpetuating something that should have been done away with years ago.
This discussion can either evolve into intelligent conversation and make a change for the better, or devolve into a flamewar and improve absolutely nothing. Which path it takes is up to you.
Thank you.