The video game Bayonetta was released on Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 on Tuesday January 4. It is an action video game about a witch fighting both the forces of heaven and hell. Bayonetta, the leading character in the game is hardly realistic as a woman. With legs that are twice the length of her body and a skin tight black cat suit created out of her own hair, she may be the most hyper-sexual character in video gaming. But, is Bayonetta an exploited character made by pervert male programmers or is she a symbol of empowerment toward women?
The world of video games has always had trouble portraying women. Video game females are usually damsels-in-distress who are typically featured in chain-mail bikinis. For every Jade in Beyond Good and Evil, there is a Daphne in Dragon's Lair, and a prostitute in Grand Theft Auto. Women in multiple video games are dressed as sluts and have bodies worse than Barbie.
Bayonetta, in turn, is different. In the game, she uses her sexuality as the key source of her power. The previously-mentioned hair suit is literally a weapon; it will fly off of her in the form of a giant stiletto against her enemies – with just enough hair left to cover some unmentionable parts on her body.
Damon Brown, author of Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and other sexy games changed our Culture, states how he is unsure of Bayonetta's long-term impact in the game industry. "Bayonetta has made a big splash, but I don't think the idea of a sexually-powerful woman is new in gaming. If anything, I think Sega, unlike other developers with hyper-sensual Japanese-styled games, has embraced the media machine: A full layout in both Playboy Magazine and Playboy.com, plenty of hype at E3 2009, and so on. I'm still playing through the game itself, but I haven't found the any ground-breaking substance yet that will make it notable... in the sexual or feminist arenas".
A slew of other articles have appeared online about the content of Bayonetta since it was announced several years ago. Leigh Alexander, the news director at Gamasutra.com wrote for gamepro.com saying that "...eager as we are to make progress beyond the industry's bad habit of reducing female characters to either sidekicks or sex objects, it's unfair to strip video game women of their sexuality completely, or to assert that if a character is sexual that she must be getting exploited. It's wonderful that our entertainment medium is developing more characters that bring more to the table than their looks - but at the same time, we can accept that being mousy, tomboyish or turtle-necked is not the only way a woman can be considered admirable. Bayonetta's elegant nakedness in the fervor of battle is not in and of itself a bad thing."
Video games may have a long way to go in terms of their artistic legitimacy, but steps are being made in regards to sexuality. It may be too early to look at Bayonetta's impact on gender roles in gaming; whether she is a strong female character or merely created to sell copies to horny thirteen year old boys is left up to debate. But one thing is certain, Bayonetta and her leather-clad curves will probably be seen again in inevitable sequels. This reporter is betting on a trilogy.
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