The Male Gaze

[GrooveMan.exe]

Of the character? No. Male Gaze as a concept is not a 'character trope', but a factor of media design, and is the fault of the writer/director/artist/etc.

To clarify and elaborate on my discussion of Bayonetta in the General Discussion thread, I like Bayonetta as a game, and to an extent, as a character. But what bugs me are the decisions behind her character. She was designed by a director who has really deep-seated sexist beliefs, and these beliefs were acted out through Bayonetta. She is the puppet for the director's sexual fantasies. And that's creepy! It's unlikeable in the same way that Mary Sues in fiction exist to satisfy the author's fantasies, but even worse because it has negative connotations for a minority.

The other factor is how "othering" it can be. I'm not really happy about bringing factors of myself into a conversation like this, but in media (and Advertising, holy fuck advertising is really bad at this), it will make an assumption that the consumer is a straight, white male - and consequently pander to this 'ideal' average with sexual attractiveness. When you don't fit that demographic, and when that demographic is being pushed heavily as the important normal that SHOULD be consuming this media... it's not a great feeling.

I was able to sit through Bayonetta and enjoyed the large majority of it. But then there were key scenes that were not gameplay or plot-driving that were SPECIFICALLY about the Male Gaze pandering. And it's not great. And knowing the reason behind its inclusion:
http://www.destructoid.com/bayonetta-dev...1213.phtml
is even worse.