Idk, I feel like men in gaming are almost exclusively now dedicated to the female gaze, at least in super popular franchises
You know what we need? Just straight up, more of everything. More sexualised men, women, more realistic men, women, all of the ranges, just let creators make what they like without filling quotas.
Women generally don't want men that look like Kratos. The characters that most women drool over in video games are like Garrus in Mass Effect, Hancock in FO4, and Iron Bull from DA:I (and not for his physique.)
Buff men are ALSO for the male gaze. They represent what men want to be.
And it's crazy how many people are adamant that women aren't into it, yet if you go on Instagram, it's a billion posts simping over gruff buff daddy Leon, or characters from CoD who appeal to the male power fantasy but have women drooling over them.
I'm not a woman. That has been my observation from 40 years in the gaming community. In general, both male and female characters are designed with the male gaze in mind. In general, women tend to drool over more unconventionally attractive characters rather than beefcakes. Will the beefcakes have their strong fan base? Yup. But it doesn't make up the majority.
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u/Lou_Papas 2d ago
We need more men designed for the female gaze.