Gender Equality?! I LIKE CHEESECAKE!

The Y option works okay for chest hair.

As long as you're okay with a hairy back too.

This is where everyone has to take a drink.

Stop using it with "With Skin" option?

And why can't my female characters have a strap-on?!??!?!!

Second Life is thattaway>>>

And this post is better than any of the others how?

One day I would like to see a "without skin" option so I can go all Hellraiser.

You forgot Khaaaaaaan!



The problem with late twentieth century genetic engineering is that even in the Trek universe, twentieth century geeks were primarily obsessed with boobs.

We can get close:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=263211

Don't forget the Wedding Pack's cheesecake-a-rific Angelic, Excess, and Hearts costumes. (Those make the lingerie-like bridal costume, complete with lacey bustiere and miniskirt options, look demurely restrained.) Males got only a tasteful tuxedo jacket out of that pack, but nobody tried to defend this obvious imbalance by complaining the female model had too many additional costumes.

The Carnie Pack was clearly designed as the first major market-intended set under Noble Savage's policy of designing NPC costume pieces for player use as well. Unfortunately, someone decided to cut corners by using existing parts for the male Carnival of Light NPCs. After the bruhaha over this in the forums, they won't be making that mistake again. (Although considering the entitlement with which some arguments for the male sash are being made, the art department may well decide to wash its hands of this.)

The underlying problem, which the devs are making a genuine, if erratic effort to address, is that the cliche of comic book costume design demands that male superheroes should look powerful and female superheroes should look sexy. The devs' decision to split the difference with female costumes by giving them not only powerful options, but sexy ones as well is turning around to bite them now. Ideally, it shouldn't be an either/or proposition: There's nothing wrong with cheesecake* in itself, only that there should be other options on the menu.


* Or, for that matter, beefcake. There's comparatively little of that in CoH, however, to no great complaint from the player community.

Well, a Flex Mentallo, Man of Muscle Mystery tribute toon would be within reach with those options.

Man of Muscle Mystery, please. A much more intriguing title.

I disagree with several of the details, but I do think that regarding particular posters (I wouldn't count you as one of them) the post itself hits the mark.

I do think that there should be a sash for male and huge characters. But when you have guys coming into these threads complaining about numerical equality and ignoring situational equality (as in, do male and female characters both get similarly useful pieces or do the males get the useful/badass pieces and females get the sexy pieces), that the definition of equality is pretty self-serving.

Quite so. (I noticed my mistake last night just as I was turning in but couldn't fix it because of the bloody log-out bug.) Anyway, if the devs do decide to give us waxed or oiled male (and female) bodybuilder skins, then I have dibs on the character name "Muscleman of Mystery".

For me at this point it is just about stuff. I want some of the same cool stuff the female models are getting, just as the female models wanted some of the cool male stuff. I really want a sash in a bad way, and I would have loved to have a belt with a clock on it.

The way I see it, is things can still be evened up in their current plan of a little more for the female model. The smart thing to do is to not make much requested items (like the sash) gender exclusive. It is also not such a good idea (as we have now seen) to release a single gender costume pack.

At best I hope the devs saw the reaction to the carnie pack, and don't plan to repeat that mistake.

This week has held a lot of reflection for me. CoX was a part of that reflection, because it is really my only outlet these days. See, I may not play female toons, but I do like to see the female model in the sexy items. I am a straight male, so I feel that is pretty natural. I however respect that not all females want to dress that way, and do not begrudge their desire for more gender neutral items.

What I would like is for those who do play female models to also respect the desires of those who only play male toons. There are items we would love to have, things that I see no need to list all over again. I think it is awesome that Dink took personal time to fix some of the glaring issues with female costumes. I hope her or Jay can find the time to do the same for the male models.

Sell it if you have to justify it. I would have bought the WHOLE carnie pack just for a male version of the sash. I (and many others have said the same) have no issue paying for the extras that I want.

But "stuff" doesn't exist in a context-free vacuum. There was an overt subtext to the design decisions that players complained about, which the devs are now correcting with the more recent designs. Tallying "stuff" for column A vs. column B comparisons misses the statements that the superhero fashions are making. (There is no accountant for taste.)

Yet that desire, as you've expressed it, is an aquisitive one. There's nothing wrong with that in this game, but it does muddy the larger issues about costume design that are being hashed out. I'd like a sash for my male Kheldian, particularly since it would go perfectly with his costume and backstory, but that's completely separate from broader issues of superhero gender roles as expressed in COH costume types.

It depends on what those wishes are. If it is, as some posters have done, to complain about how female characters are getting cool, badass costume options and that the number of pieces available to male/huge and females are not precisely numerically equal, I really can't respect that because it is a huge missing the point.

If it's a matter of wanting options that seem arbitrarily limited to one or two character models (setting aside gender at the moment, as I understand huge models don't have access to options that male, female, or both have access to as well) then I can understand that. I mean, I can sympathize with the sash thing because I've wanted a real sash since I purchased the game in mid-May 2004, and I've tried very options that very inadequately simulate it. I am so glad to have one (and it's on three characters now), but there's no reason it should be female only. I understand that the reason it currently is would be logistics.

Why does this man have duck flippers for feet?

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

That's specially designed swimming gear. He is, after all, THE HERO OF THE BEACH.