Why the hate for the heels?

[RyokoYaksa]

I have a hatred for huge heels on any combat characters because 1. most writers are male and 2. they do not seem to get how ungodly uncomfortable running and jumping in such attire would be.

Solution: all people who make female fighter concepts with such heels should be forced to wear them in a fight themselves as punishment.

 

[BloderModer]

They added heels to an already sexualized character. Zero Suit Samus has been sexualized from the day she was shown. I don't see how having heels is really that big of a deal considering she has always been either half naked or in a catsuit that shows off her butt and chest. Heels realy don't change much, considering she's still in the catsuit, her chest and butt are still shown off, it's the same as always just with different footwear. Metro is fans never complained in the old games when she'd pop-up as a half naked pixelated woman, but now that she's in heels DEAR LORD THATS SEXIST. I'm just confused by the people saying that it's a disgrace to the fans of the series event though it's been this way for a long long time.

I understand that you're confused, let me explain.

There have been aspects of the characterization of Samus that've been criticized. We go through a 10+ hour adventure filled with emotion, sweat and tears and poorly-made written-down maps, and in the end, gets greeted by the woman who's behind the robot suit we experienced our adventure with, surprising and enriching us with the fact that a woman did all this by herself. That mental image of Samus has stayed with gamers for many years, including me. It wasn't like she randomly popped up without any clothes, that only happened if you actually knew it would happen or if you beat the game fast and grabbing many hidden items, otherwise, she would probably stand there without her helmet saluting you or something. It was a more well-contained secret, that didn't alter the characters overall image. However, those elements ARE problematic and are also criticized, and have been long before the Smash 4 heels were revealed. I took a course back in 09 and spoke with female gamers that expressed the positive aspects of a mostly unsexualized heroine that connected to the player through her actions, rather than her appearance, but also expressed dissapointment over the fanservice (for men) that stood as a reminder that the games are marketed to males.

The outrage and criticism towards the heels comes from the reaction to the overall direction Nintendo is going with the character and the Metroid series as a whole. With Other M, the critics and fans showed that they want Nintendo to take a new direction with Samus character and the Metroid series. I for example, don't want Nintendo to continue this way with the Metroid series, we already have oversexualized female action stars that caters to the male (heterosexual) crowd. The heels did trigger the feelings the fans had after Other M, and that may be why people who haven't taken all these aspects I brought up into consideration see this outrage as overblown. But the problems are not just the fans like me. It's that we live in an age were many people deny that sexualization, psychological impact, commercial impact and medial influence exist. Instead of having a more constructive debate where we ask "what should Nintendo do" the debates are instead all about semantics with irrelevant questions and arguments like "but shouldn't women be allowed to be beautiful" or "no, sexualization can't mean anything except for this specific meaning I made up in my mind and can't link any sources to".

Years of research have proven that sexualization in media does in fact exist and have been widely discussed long before the 90s, 80s, 2000s or New 10s. Also, please consider that gaming is going through a phase now that other mediums like art, literature, film and tv entered a long time ago. We have to accept that games have gone mainstream and like any serious media is going to be taken seriously, criticized seriously and analyzed seriously.

I have to excuse myself for any grammatical errors on my part, but I hope that this explains it?

Also note that this is my interpretation of this.

 

[FirestormNeos]

No seriously, why can't Metroid crawl?

I have a hatred for huge heels on any combat characters because 1. most writers are male and 2. they do not seem to get how ungodly uncomfortable running and jumping in such attire would be.

But that doesn't give you the right to trample over female writers.

Solution: all people who make female fighter concepts with such heels should be forced to wear them in a fight themselves as punishment.

Any company who goes through with that would be sued by the government for assaulting an employee. Not the heel part specifically. Just forced into a fight period.

 

[Fafnir]

Think of it like this: There's a very big difference between Bayonetta wearing heels to battle, and Zamus wearing heels into battle (hell, ZSS going into battle at all is really dumb, but we can disregard that for now).

 

[RyokoYaksa]

No seriously, why can't Metroid crawl?



But that doesn't give you the right to trample over female writers.



Any company who goes through with that would be sued by the government for assaulting an employee. Not the heel part specifically. Just forced into a fight period.

You can't possibly think I was serious about forcing employees into a fight.

Anyway, female writers that do this themselves should be every bit as ashamed. It's not empowering, it's just falling into the same trap of perpetuating unrealistic standards of beauty at the expense of one's health. I know more than a few women that complain about foot pain then slip right back into that pair of high heels.

High heels as combat wear is every bit as unrealistic and silly as bikini plate.

 

[ihskeyp]

Think of it like this: There's a very big difference between Bayonetta wearing heels to battle, and Zamus wearing heels into battle (hell, ZSS going into battle at all is really dumb, but we can disregard that for now).

How is ZSS going into battle really dumb? It shows that she is a powerful bounty hunter that doesn't NEED the suit to survive.
Another thing I'm confused about:
Why is it that it isn't sexist to make people think Samus is a man like many people used to (it's almost as if it's saying that a woman can only be strong if she wears a suit and makes people think she's a man) but it is apparently sexist for her to wear heels and a skin tight suit into battle making her seem more 'feminine'.
In my opinion ZSS shows that Samus can survive as herself if she needs to and she doesn't need to rely on the suit 100% of the time.

 

[TrollheartBlue]

Stating the "addition of heels to ZSS is sexualizing her" is supporting the same sexism you're trying to condemn. You're basically looking at it with a male gaze and saying it can only be for sexualization. This would be like criticizing a female friend for sexualizing herself by changing into a dress from another equally suitable outfit before going outside.

Before you argue that they're meant for sexualization you have to show that these heels are not meant for battle in the context of SSB/Metroid. From the game they haven't affected her ability to fight; numerous posts have explained how heels could be better than combat boots; we already know Samus to be a highly trained warrior; would it be that difficult to believe she could & would learn to fight in heels if they offered extra benefits (e.g. I would take Smash4 ZSS's up special over Brawl ZSS's up special)

Basically put, the heels add utility to the least sexualized version of Samus (outside of her power suit). I'm not sure why there is still debate about this (though I understand why people may have initially disliked the decision). :\

 

[Luminario]

How is ZSS going into battle really dumb? It shows that she is a powerful bounty hunter that doesn't NEED the suit to survive.
Another thing I'm confused about:
Why is it that it isn't sexist to make people think Samus is a man like many people used to (it's almost as if it's saying that a woman can only be strong if she wears a suit and makes people think she's a man) but it is apparently sexist for her to wear heels and a skin tight suit into battle making her seem more 'feminine'.
In my opinion ZSS shows that Samus can survive as herself if she needs to and she doesn't need to rely on the suit 100% of the time.

ZSS going into battle is a great idea that shows off Samus' super human strength and speed out of the suit. What's NOT alright is the sexualisation of Samus, the emphasis of her exaggerated breasts, the way the zero suit cups the breasts in a unrealistic fashion (sports bra outfit included) and making a very logical-thinking super soldier wear impractical heels when they just don't suit her character but were added regardless. Like Fafnir said there's a big difference between Bayonetta wearing heels while fighting and Samus doing the same thing. Bayonetta's sexuality is key to her character as she is shown to be a much more in charge of it and it fits her personality. Samus' is not because of reasons i mentioned a few lines up.
Another point is that Samus should never have been sexualised in her own games in the first place and many people have criticized this. The fact that Samus was sexualised to begin with shows the mindset that Samus can't be feminine without being sexualised and that is a very problematic way to think. It also adds to the mindset that she is more of a trophy to be gained and also adds to the problematic mindset of "You won! here's sex as a reward" which has unfortunately seeped it's way into the minds of so many men out there

Stating the "addition of heels to ZSS is sexualizing her" is supporting the same sexism you're trying to condemn. You're basically looking at it with a male gaze and saying it can only be for sexualization. This would be like criticizing a female friend for sexualizing herself by changing into a dress from another equally suitable outfit before going outside.

Before you argue that they're meant for sexualization you have to show that these heels are not meant for battle in the context of SSB/Metroid. From the game they haven't affected her ability to fight; numerous posts have explained how heels could be better than combat boots; we already know Samus to be a highly trained warrior; would it be that difficult to believe she could & would learn to fight in heels if they offered extra benefits (e.g. I would take Smash4 ZSS's up special over Brawl ZSS's up special)

Basically put, the heels add utility to the least sexualized version of Samus (outside of her power suit). I'm not sure why there is still debate about this (though I understand why people may have initially disliked the decision). :\

The point is the heel design wasn't necessary and is incredibly impractical and out of character. If the boots looked more like Zelda's then we wouldn't have a problem here since that sort of design is practical and would really suit Samus much better.

 

[TrollheartBlue]

The point is the heel design wasn't necessary and is incredibly impractical and out of character. If the boots looked more like Zelda's then we wouldn't have a problem here since that sort of design is practical and would really suit Samus much better.

1, There is nothing wrong with making a design change that isn't necessary.
2. Can you show how they're incredibly impractical?
3. Being out of a character is very debatable. Could you point to an example of Samus that would suggest she wouldn't wear heels, let alone if they gave her a combat advantage?

 

[ihskeyp]

Practicality doesn't really matter in a series where she can morph into an extremely small ball... Why are people worried about her feet being sore when clearly her bones should be shattered from her suit crushing her into a ball less than a foot tall.

 

[IsmaR]

Alright, the game is out/nearing international release, and this whole thing has gone on well past long enough.

This is a fictitious video game that pretty obviously does not always follow realism, and just as obviously tries to sell and pander to the fan base through not-so-innocent means every once in a while. Regardless of their meaning/effect on people, the heels are integral to how ZSS' new play/fighting style works now.

You don't have to agree with this, you don't have to like it. That's fine. Samus is still Samus, regardless of anyone who disagrees. What that means to you/the fans personally, completely up to interpretation.

This thread/forum/board are specific to Samus in Smash, not the series the character comes from, not whatever SJW injustice exists in games of this day and age, and certainly not anything relating to realism/practicality.

Feel free to comment on your likes/dislikes for her actual appearance/features in this game (in other words, what this topic was originally for) in the sticky'd Social thread. As for deep/intricate analyses, long/heated debating, and things probably not having even the tiniest of consideration in the mind of both developers and average consumers (aka people actually playing/enjoying video games) as they make/play/enjoy these games, keep that **** on Tumblr.