Sexism and D&D (NSFW?)
I guess you could say some of these images are NSFW. It's all a relative classification and there isn't anything especially offensive about them in context, I just figure it's best to wait until you get home to look.
So WOTC did a whole article on failing to recognise the issue of sexism in fantasy art here: http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4dreye/20120502#80025
It begins with the most tantalising glimpse into someone who could really make a difference on the issue of how women are depicted in fantasy art nearly, ooh, so nearly recognising their privileges and how to resolve the issue then descends into some kind of self-defensive shirking of any responsibility.
Now I'm not going to cover old ground by trying to articulate arguments one way or the other or make out that people aren't allowed to like looking at pictures of people with bodies society encourages us to covet and wearing revealing outfits. I'd just like the target audience D&D pictures currently appeal to, to think about what it can be like for those of us who don't fall into that target audience when we look at these books.
Edit: Andy raised an important point about false equivalence http://www.shortpacked.com/2011/comic/book-13/05-the-death-of-snkrs/falseequivalence/ which makes me reconsider how I've presented this visually.
I've added some pictures below, apologies to the people in the images for not seeking your permission beforehand, I'll happily take them down if you have any objections to me using them this way.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
So WOTC did a whole article on failing to recognise the issue of sexism in fantasy art here: http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4dreye/20120502#80025
It begins with the most tantalising glimpse into someone who could really make a difference on the issue of how women are depicted in fantasy art nearly, ooh, so nearly recognising their privileges and how to resolve the issue then descends into some kind of self-defensive shirking of any responsibility.
Now I'm not going to cover old ground by trying to articulate arguments one way or the other or make out that people aren't allowed to like looking at pictures of people with bodies society encourages us to covet and wearing revealing outfits. I'd just like the target audience D&D pictures currently appeal to, to think about what it can be like for those of us who don't fall into that target audience when we look at these books.
Edit: Andy raised an important point about false equivalence http://www.shortpacked.com/2011/comic/book-13/05-the-death-of-snkrs/falseequivalence/ which makes me reconsider how I've presented this visually.
I've added some pictures below, apologies to the people in the images for not seeking your permission beforehand, I'll happily take them down if you have any objections to me using them this way.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us