I have already talked about the visualization of females in video games, how they are represented and accepted in RPG's and the gaming community as a whole: and now I will talk about the last thing that I have any knowledge about: miniature wargames.
As you may have guessed: miniature wargames are based around the use of miniature figurines to simulate battles, both large and small. These games have been around for centuries. Many experts agree that one of the earliest "wargames" originates from China, called go, it represents troop movements and has been around for over two millennia. Much later, games like chess and checkers would become dominant in both the Middle East and Europe. Both of these games, most notably chess, are used to simulate troop movements and battlefield tactics. Source Today this trend has continued to envelope all kinds of different war games, including those made by Games-Workshop: Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, Reaper Miniatures and their impressive line of fantasy miniatures. Newer companies such as Privateer Press with their games such as Warmachine and Hordes, Corvus Belli and their ever growing Infinity range, or Wyrd Miniatures with their immensely popular game; Malifoux have exploded onto the scene in the past decade creating quite the market for miniature wargamers.
However, despite the variety of games available - there seems to be a trend that developed with video games and '80's fantasy covers - of voluptuous, scantily clad, female warriors:
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on how they think that miniatures should be portrayed: however, my sentiment is that there should be, at least for warrior women, some kind of armor on them? However, this is not always the case. As fantasy and history nerds, well most mini-wargamers at least, there is a fascination about seeing iconic peoples and places that occur in myth and legend throughout history. One of those that applies here is the story of the Amazons. They were a group of warrior women of Greek mythos. As the ninth of his twelve tasks, Hercules was to take the girdle of the Queen of the Amazon's; Hippolyta. There are many examples of these fierce warrior women in both archaeological finds and in contemporary culture.
The example above show the sort of historical reference that Amazoness based miniatures are drawing off of. Because of the historical base for these representations: I am less critical of Amazon's than I am of other warrior women. I don't think that their armor (or major lack thereof) makes any sense at all, but all of the evidence from Greece and Rome couldn't have been too far off.
That being said, I think that there is a rampant amount of miniatures that are not really suitable for general use - just collectors. One of those producers is called Kingdom Death, they create a line of fantastically horrific sculpts. While they are incredibly detailed, and very well done, they are also grotesque and most if not all are definitely NSFW. They also have a dedication to creating "pin-up" versions of their sculpts. "Pin-up" or "Pin-up girls" is a term that was first widely used during WWII, where women celebrities would have images of themselves in various positions, mass produced and sold for informal use. This term is being used today in the miniature industry to showcase larger models, usually 60 or 75mm scale, that are in an undoubtedly sexy pose. These are meant for collectors and master painter who want to showcase their skill on a totally different sculpt. In the case of Kingdom Death they not only create larger sculpts, but they also package with the miniature design and concept art. Examples can be found on their site, I won't post them here.
As I mentioned in my other posts, I really like playing video games, playing RPG's and fighting miniature battles. I just don't like being done fan service to such a great degree. As a consumer I want to own a product that I think that I could use and enjoy. That does not mean that I need to be brainlessly pandered to.
I do not mean to senselessly bash and industry that I support with both my time and money. I would just like to see more women in armor that makes sense, and does not remind me of Lady Gaga outfits...
We as consumers have the power to purchase what we want, and I can say that I have never bought a miniature that I didn't like - or didn't represent a message that I wanted to send. In case you don't know, playing miniature wargaming is expensive. The price of plastic rises constantly and the lack of disposable income makes it so prices for a quality single figure can range from $5 to upwards of $30. Depending on the game and manufacturer you can pay anywhere from $100 to upwards of $700 to play a full game. So there must be some market for these mini's or companies wouldn't make them. Many of the critiques that I leveled against video games are relevant to miniatures, that there should be some shift in how women are represented. I am not arguing that there should only be women who are covered at all time, I would just like to see variety and equal representations across the spectrum, which isn't happening. There are many of the same issues with representations of men in video games: only bald mustached muscle men do well, which is still a problem - but on a lesser scale.
On a more positive note, there has been a proliferation of female wargamers in recent decades. As I have perused Privateer Press forums I noticed that there is a tremendous amount of couples who play Warmachine/Hordes. Which I find not only endearing, and want to emulate, but I also find refreshing. It takes patience, time, some artistic skill and a lot of patience to play wargames - but it as takes friends who want to play with you. Which is why I think that wargames can be a perfect outlet for couples who are interested to share an uncommon hobby. Fathers are getting their daughters into gaming too, there was a recent article (which I cannot find for the life of me) about young gamers and their fathers in doubles tournaments in England. I thought this was really awesome and again, would like to emulate it. Minature wargames can be the most inclusive group because of the resources it takes to play. I'm glad that the trolls are few and far between, and every player that I have either faced or met has been wonderful people. I haven't heard as much from the GW side of things, but I assume that they do the same. [I've played both, but I have grown fond of Warmahordes, sorry to you Warhammer Fans, PP has a better community and is "local" - and more affordable].
The moral of the story is be who you want to be and support what you believe in. Capitalism is all about choice: abuse that privilege.
