The thing is, we can’t really even say if Vice-Versa is male or female. The hat is pretty much an “it” at this point.
It has its good points, though 
As has been stated multiple times over.
sexy =/= sexist
The same can be said for sexualization. Just because it’s sexualized doesn’t immediately make it sexist.
Also, Vice-Versa isn’t sentient like Samson is. It’s a weapon like Parasoul’s Krieg.
@Ectoplasm on Toast: Vice-Versa has a gender? Anyway, Filia and Cerebella “rely” on Samson and Vice-Versa as much a a soldier “relies” on their gun or a knight “relies” on his sword. That is to say it is a two-way street and the weapons are worthless without their wielders who need the skill and ability to wield them. Maybe you can make a better argument for Filia & Samson vs. Cerebella & Vice-Versa but either way there is no problem or inequality present in these relationships as they are currently known.
Sexism is inherently bad and serves to demean a particular gender. It is not a word that should be thrown about casually; something that I feel happens a bit too often for my tastes. It’s one thing to not like the over-the-top aesthetic SG or other games have, or even one aspect of it, it’s another thing all together to call the product as a whole sexist. It does a disservice to everything the game is about and everybody who has worked on it.
Regarding pantyshots, they have been used to both titillate or as a source of comedy/silliness/cheekiness in both American (older cartoons mostly) and Japanese animation for years. There is nothing inherently wrong with them. Like with anything, context is EVERYTHING. Just like huge bulging muscles, bouncing breasts, explosions, etc. they are prone to exaggeration as with anything else. How they are used is what’s important. It’s the difference between why something like Panty and Stocking or Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann are crazy, over-the-top awesome fun and something like Queen’s Blade is super sleazy. SG falls squarely in the former IMO.
One thing I kind of appreciate, oddly enough, is that SG only has pantyshots when it makes sense. If people IRL were wearing some of these outfits, pantyshots would be unavoidable. The whole thing feels a lot more honest that other games that will put their characters in similar outfits that would naturally produce them but thanks to “Magic Skirt” effects and whatnot they don’t. Lili’s standard outfit from Tekken is a common example. The flip side is that you could of course just not put your characters in outfits that may produce pantyshots and I think that’s a fair argument. This is all about the exaggerated nature of this game though and again, I don’t detect any sleaze from SG. Furthermore, if you don’t like the pshots, all the characters that have them have palettes with pants, stockings, etc. on so you never have to see them if you don’t want to.
I will agree 1000% though that people need to stop saying “complainers are white knights/need to get laid/etc.” Regardless whether you think it is true or even IF it is true, it is completely unproductive unless you can PROVE it and only serves to derail conversation and make your opponents hesitant to see your point of view.
Assuming Vice Versa is male is sexist. Men are not just a set of ripped, strong arms.
Assholes.
Nah brah, only men can be sexist, just how only white people can be racist. Didn’t you get the memo? 
For all intent and purposes do you guys mind if I define sexism and sexualization?
Sexism - Portraying one gender as inferior to another. Example
This advertisement is obviously sexist because it portrays the woman as a weak individual who is inferior to her male counterparts. The ad asserts that since a woman is weak she should stay indoors (where the advertisement implies that where she should stay). This is blatant sexism. One gender is clearly depicted better than the other. Skullgirls is not sexist because it does not assert that a gender is inferior to another since as of now it consists of entirely women.
Sexualization - is making a person, group, or thing sexual in nature. Or degrading a person to the point where they can be seen as nothing but an object for sexual satisfaction.
I can’t post an example image because it may be NSFW. So I’ll give you a verbal example. Picture an image of an attractive half naked woman dressed in very tight shorts and a corset, she’s also wearing a childish birthday hat on top of her head. In the woman’s hand she has a bottle of Budweiser and she suggestively licks the bottle opening with her tongue. On the bottom of the advertisement it says “Budweiser: Gotta have it at every party!”.
This is an example of the latter definition of sexualization, the woman is made out to be nothing more than a sexual trophy for having Budweiser at your party. The childish birthday hat represents that she’s docile and easy to win over. All you have to do is buy some Bud for your party and you’ll get someone like her. Skullgirls features sexualized characters based on common tropes (Princess,Nurse,Schoolgirl, Cat-girl). (Primary definition of Sexualization)
Hyper-sexualization - Hyper sexualization is making sexual features over emphasized.
Soul Cal’s Ivy is a prime example. Her assets are unrealistically large and perfect. Valentine is a bit hyper sexualized due to the size of her breasts and the physique of her body.
I’m not going to argue about whether SG is sexist.
I think people making that argument just got their vocabulary mixed up somewhere.
The real issue at hand is the sexualization, and the fact that DUE to the rather overt sexualization, this game is going to get put in a similar (NOT THE SAME) category as the Dead or Alive franchise. Say what you will about the quality of the actual fighting games, Dead or Alive is known just as much for being a creeper-mode game franchise as it is a fighting game franchise.
The bigger problem is the fact that hardly anyone in the Skullgirls community is willing to come to terms with this. The art direction, I’m sure, was a very deliberate decision by A.Ahad and I respect it, but you can not deny that a lot of the game’s visual design was engineered deliberately to induce some nerds into fap-fests. What’s sadder is the argument occasionally passed around of “OH YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE SEXY LADIES?! WHAT ARE YOU, GAY?!” which is ad-hominem at best, and accomplishes nothing besides making you look desperate to “justify” a purchase outside of, “Hey, it’s porn.”
In short: All else being equal, Skullgirls is making a very deliberate appeal to people who are going to use it as masturbation aid, and denying this is folly of the highest order, or a sad attempt at PR spin. That does not mean we SHOULDN’T enjoy the game. Hell I’m still going to likely double-dip a console and PC buy of the game myself, but the way this subject is treated on any medium of discussion has me rather disgusted at almost everyone involved.
why does this thread exist? WHY THE FUCCK DO PEOPLE EVEN KEEP BRINGING THIS UP??? WERE ALL GONNA PLAY THE GAME, WERE ALL GOING TO LOVE IT. AND WERE ALL GOING TO PROBABLY GET BODIED BY MIKE Z. SO STFU ABOUT THE SEXUALIZATION STUFF.
This thread is here to quarantine the filth ;).
And suddenly, your signature became so relevant
EDIT: Or whatever the little slogan is beneath your avatar
Dude I thought I like nipped this in the bud like on page 1 XD. But everyone was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This seems weird to me. It’s like saying “it’s one thing to dislike racist behavior, but it’s another thing entirely to call people ‘racists’ when they exhibit it.” No it isn’t, that’s totally what you’re supposed to do! Just because I’m criticizing one aspect of the game doesn’t mean I’m trying to undermine it entirely with accusations of brutal misogyny. If anything, I’m just trying to make things less frustrating for the few people courageous enough to come here and voice their opinions of a game they’re otherwise excited for.
Anyway, having a bunch of female characters repeatedly (and often gratuitously) show their underwear to the (mostly male) viewers is almost definitely demeaning to women (or “sexist,” if you will~) by what I would consider “reasonable standards.” By which I mean, if you don’t think random pantyshots are sexist, you’re probably also just fine when TV shows decide to slowly pan up female character’s bodies when they’re first introduced. Or like, Strike Witches. If you’re one of those people, I’m not even here to argue with you because there’s just no common ground. I would have to explain like… fundamental “feminismy” things that you wouldn’t care to pay attention to in the first place, so there’s kind of no point (also I would be terrible at explaining them in the first place because it’s not like I’m formally educated on it or anything, but I digress)!
Otherwise, you might think there’s some legitimate artistic merit to the pantyshots. Which could actually become a pretty interesting discussion, now that I think about it. Like, maybe you think the pantyshots aren’t sexist, but instead serve as a subtle commentary on sexism, like… I don’t know, Tyler the Creator or something. That would actually be a hilariously awesome surprise and I would be totally open to anyone giving some sort of clever artistic interpretation of all the sexualization in Skullgirls. I just think it’s way more likely that Alex Ahad just kind of likes pantyshots and thinks they’re sexy and should be in his video game. Which, again, is totally better than the “hey guys, where do I join the Design Cammy’s Ass Committee? You know, so we can design Cammy’s ass. By committee” sort of thing you might see in other games. It just doesn’t stop it from being demeaning when a third of the cast shoves their underwear in my face at assorted intervals with often-tenuous justifications for doing so.
Try having some perspective maybe? Like, is it really that shocking to you that some people find “sexism” to be a really really important topic, regardless of forum?
All I’ve got out of this is if it has tits, it’s sexist and sexualized.
Sorry women but it’s your fault for having those things. Holding your gender back from progress and shit.
Anyone else in the WNF stream calling UFC3 sexist and sexualized?
I would have, but I got bored before I got offended by the rampant sexualized sexism.
It should be noted that for a game that “keeps its panty shots ‘regular’” there’s currently no char on the roster that wears pants. O_o
I never really thought about it much but then the story trailer came out…
[media=youtube]6AG88wRA4FA[/media]
and its like, filia grope, boob pokes and I never even noticed MissFortune had a serious underboob thing going on. And then the tutorial chick? That’s sexualization, c’mon. It doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things but I can’t help but feel overall it coulda been done more tastefully? Its not like chunners ever gave you more than your imagination…
I remember when peacock was annouced and I thought the whole game was a celebration of various styles of things but since then its kinda narrowed its focus IMO - social commentary or a view into the developers mind?
I have perspective. When I saw the game I didn’t think “Ohhh look at all these scantily clad whores who need to be in the kitchen making sammiches fighting for our entertainment.” I thought HOLY SHIT a dope new fighter that looks awesome. If the first thing you noticed about the game was the womens shape and clothing what does that say about you?
C’mon man, no one saw valentine and was like - this is a wholesome and fun representation of how our medical system works. Why that reminds me of that time when they didn’t have any cherry lollypops and I instead got the scratch and sniff stick-
That’s what sexualization is, creating a first impression based on the fun bits. I’m not saying its a big deal, but just pretending like its not there isn’t a very adult response either.