I tried quoting the entire article, unfortunately it surpassed the post's character limit, so I just snipped the opener. I suggest reading the whole thing, but that's the main "twist" the headline refers to.Female gamers prefer playing as highly sexualized characters, despite disliking them
Anyway, while I usually take studies with a grain of salt--and don't think this was conducted in the best way nor initiated with neutral scientific intent (also finding some of what's being taken from the conclusions to be misguided)--I do think it's interesting that female gamers showed preference for these character traits. It is a bit surprising, but not exactly shocking since sexualization typically coincides with a beautiful character, and beauty itself can be appreciated by either gender.
A more specific qualm (among several) I have with the study is I don't think they did an adequate job defining what exactly they constitute as "sexualized". It seems to be a common sentiment now that even merely designing a character not to be outstandingly unattractive is a form of sexualization, a notion popular with developers in recent years, especially western ones. They even go as far as to use facial capture technology on beautiful women...and then alter the in-game model to be uglier. Some example images:
Spoiler.
So do you think the study has any merits? I'm mixed on it personally, but I'm glad it's a subject being looked at regardless.
