Oh, you naughty naughty naughty naughty elf!

The real problem here is they wasted the "sexy green chick" marketing ploy on the Holiday Pack when clearly it would have fit the Retro Sci-Fi costume set much better.

I think the problem isn't that it's inappropriate, it's that it's not inappropriate. As Zombie-Man pointed out there was no cartoon drawing of a shirtless man in chaps to promote the Gunslinger costume pack. Due to society's "enlightenment" regarding sexism and racism, the language has become more subtle. Children and teenagers are bombarded with images that support the idea that women are merely objects of male desire. The constant conditioning is so severe that even women will defend these images because subconsciously (or consciously) they believe they should be objectified.

Also, I'm not saying that people who like this image or see nothing wrong with it are bad people either. We've all been socialized to support the idea of the subservient woman and the successful/heroic man. In fact, had Zombie-Man not pointed this out I would have missed it myself. I'm not an advocate of censorship but I do think that we need to be aware of what we're putting into our heads and how it affects us.

I agree! Where is the scantily clad male elf?

This just in: my husband agrees with you too, lol.

My thoughts on the OP:

T for Teens, not Toddlers...
I'm all for empowerment and stopping exploitation... but this character just looks like she's being a bit coy.
Some people (elves included) are that way, ya know... and some people (elves too) enjoy a bit of provocation and I don't see this example as being bad.

I'm not into drawn females (nor males) being suggestive or sexy or anything, but this doesn't really come off that way to me so much as just... How teen girls act!
This elf girl is a great magnitude less provocative than Britney Spears in her prime...
She's not even much different than the original Smurfette.

Whether it is appropriate or not for adults... Just remember than Teens are sexual in nature.

Heh, good one, Zombie. Looks like you had some people going for a minute there.

Are you familiar with the phrase, "Boobs sell"?

The color scheme on the drawn version is much better. Kids these days, never even un-checking the "link colors" option and only ever making costumes with two hues *grumble grumble*

I too was unaware one could acquire mammary glands.

Cool! Hopefully we're moving more toward M for Mature versus T for Teen, then we can stop filling up the the zig and get more funding toward a space station.

You forgot to mention the subliminal word hidden in the ribbon.

Look carefully. There's a reverse 'S', an 'E' at an angle, followed by the 'X' in the knot.

Scandalous I tell ya! Absolutely scandalous!


**edit** Curse you Mandu! I see you already pointed this out!

Not to be too crass, but every time this subject comes up I feel like I'm reading posts from men who slept on the couch last night for some domestic offense and are now trying to make it up to their girlfriends by showing how sensitive they are to gender issues. This isn't to say that there aren't real potential concerns about the portrayal of female characters, but what really strikes me about these threads is how paternal the tone is. It feels like some posters are treating female characters like their own daughters and telling her, "young lady, you will not wear that outfit out of this house!"

The picture of the elf is cute. Maybe you have to be a straight guy for the depravity to register but it flew past my radar completely. The character in the first photo has what is obviously a leotard on under her robe. The second character is posed coyly but is well within a T rating. It's about as shocking as Minnie Mouse or Porky Pig.