At Paste Magazine, Maddy Myers has some interesting thoughts on the “male gaze,” the “sub gaze,” Dommes, gender, sexual desire and video game character Bayonetta. “‘[M]ale gaze’ seems like an unkind oversimplification as to who might be doing the ‘gazing’—let alone the identifying—and perhaps evidence that gaming desperately needs a new phrase to describe the complex interlocking of factors that occur when players identify with a character. We don’t just get invited to watch Bayonetta, we also inhabit her. When I play, Bayonetta is me, and the camera’s glances are just the “sub gaze”—the male submissive’s gaze. Bayonetta holds all the cards.”
Categories: Notes