Whether it’s video games, comic books, TV or movies, female characters often get the short straw when it comes to their armour design, safety sacrificed for some exposed midriff and a little cleavage.
Reminding us that it doesn’t have to be that way (and also that video games have some ground to make up), author Rhianna Pratchett posted a link earlier today to this gallery, which depicts female fighters in more “reasonable” attire.
Now THIS is how you do armoured ladies. You can be cool AND covered, just sayin’ games industry 😉 http://t.co/xh7KdfHHSC
— Rhianna Pratchett (@rhipratchett) January 19, 2014
Most of these images come from LARPers, fighters (Samantha Swords is the first image below, while Virginia Hankins is the second), cosplayers, TV (Game of Thrones features) and movie stars playing badass warriors who, thanks to their functional armour, actually live to fight another day.
And to be fair to video games, Skyrim features as well.
If anything, it’s a reminder that for all the internet comedy that’s made out of scantily-clad female fighters, there are some artists (and historians) in the entertainment business who take things a little more seriously.
Comments
18 responses to “Reminder: Women Can Look Sensible In Armour After All”
The armour rating for each one is probably lower than a mythril bikini
Yeah. What people don’t understand is that the armour doesn’t need to be physically protective. It’s high rating is because of the perfectly smooth skin that it shows. Skin that is so smooth and toned that it has it’s own protective rating.
I’ve always been a fan of properly armoured ladies as long as they wear it well. Air brushed super models wearing armour is sometimes just as bad as skimpy armour.
Weren’t some of these photos featured in their own Kotaku article?
A while ago too in their own “women in armour” series , if I remember rightly. But hey, think of who we’re talking about.
The fourth one is a woman?…No way!!
You don’t watch Game of Thrones do you?
Why no, no i dont.
She’s not a cosplayer. She’s Brienne from Game of Thrones … one of the more interesting minor characters. And as the character is particularly plain in the books, the actress has been made to look that way in the show.
Fourth could mean the POC one, if you count the banner image as first. But they all look female to me, and gorgeous to boot. ‘Course, I’m trans, so my viewpoint may be skewed by my life. 🙂
I actually feel, much as I love how she plays the character, that Brienne was miscast. She is nowhere near as ugly as the books imply, and it is a core part of her character. But I guess she is ‘Hollywood ugly’. But as someone who is ‘reality ugly’ I harumph.
The middle ones don’t seem so sensible.. I think it is their glamour overpowering it.
Holy shit, that Nordic armour is bang on the money! Samurai armour would look pretty awesome too.
It might be just me, but I find this way, way sexier than ladies in skimpy armour.
Agreed
Probably because they appear believable. You feel like a bit of a douche if you think an outrageous and improbably designed female character as sexy.
Elite Knight set +10 with Wolf ring.
Picture 2, all bad. Lets see her brush her hair in that suit or better yet, watch her cry as it gets caught in the folds. Don’t say its all reasonable and functional, just because its not showing some skin.
What skimpy armour lacks in actual protection value, it gains in distraction value. Soldiers on the field will think “ooh, i’d like my seed to go there.. and there.. and..” *death*
I agree. I don’t find her ugly at all. I think ‘Hollywood ugly’ is just normal plain everyday people.