Around when did the idea that you can’t have an attractive woman in artwork or entertainment come about? Is the “male gaze” nonsense something fairly new? I remember seeing the “your just mad because you can’t jack off to it” not too long ago on gaming forums if someone pointed out that they seem to make women to look like men.
Yet I’ve heard plenty of women gushing over the Witcher because of Cavill or women who loved Mamoa in GOT and Aquaman. But if I say I’m going to see this movie because the lead actress is hot I’m sexist. Also, it’s interesting how stuff like romance novels have men with rippling muscles but women have to look “realistic”
Honestly, I feel like the entertainment industry started moving this way after the success of the likes of Twilight and The Hunger Games....they all saw that female protagonists was the new wave and tried to ride it. I mean think about it. There's a very specific reason the bow and arrow was a prominent weapon in The Last of Us (and in other games moving forward) and it was very clearly Katniss influenced.
But to me that was the beginnings of it. Twilight and The Hunger Games were huge hits (for reasons still unknown) and everyone jumped on the trend going forward. Then the ideologues started letting their voices be heard.
People here can blame Anita all they want -- I mean I'm no fan of Anita and think she's your everyday con-artist -- but this really wasn't just Anita's doing alone. (not entirely)...the entertainment industry saw the success of the two noted franchises and all rushed in that direction like a bunch of hacks just looking to ride the $$$. Anita didn't help...of course...but to me she wasn't the sole cause of this.
And here we are....that's not to give a pass to the ideologues...the ideologues didn't help in preaching this shit...but the reality is you have the likes of Twilight and Hunger Games to blame for this shit.
Hunger Games books were good. I liked the theme of taking down a tyrannical govt. original character and nobody was complaining about a female lead. I guess they thought that meant they could gender swap everything