Zero Suit Samus’s New Design is Sexist and Here’s Why

So the latest sexism controversy comes by way of the newly revealed model for Zero Suit Samus in the new Smash Bros. Zero Suit Samus, always somewhat a sexualized character what with her skin tight bodysuit and all, is now sporting a slightly larger pair of boobs, a slightly slimmer waist, and most importantly, stiletto rocket heels. This has rubbed some people the wrong way, as it takes an icon that stands as one of the strongest female protagonists in the gaming world, and highlights her sexual aspects. Sexism, by definition, is “unfair treatment of people because of their sex; especially unfair treatment of women.” Thank you Merriam Webster. He sexism outrage in the gaming world almost always boils down to unfair or uneven portrayal of women in games. There seem to be all sorts of male game characters, from big to small, thin to fat, rugged and manly to weedy and geeky, but female game characters almost always end up sexualized. Now that’s not to say that sexy game characters are bad, but if we are talking about equal and fair representation here, there should probably be more non-sexualized females in gaming than there are, or at least more sexualized males. Traditionally, Smash Bros. has actually handled this quite well, at least as opposed to other fighting games. You aren’t going to see Mai Shiranui’s or Ivy’s gravity defying breasts in Smash. Not to mention, for any female that was questionably sexual, like Zero Suit Samus, there were certainly males that were questionably sexual. Heck, Brawl had both Captain Falcons flamboyant fabulousness and Snakes absurdly tight butt cheeks... METAL GEAR!!!

But now the game gets turned over to Bandai Namco, infamous for their big breasted Soul Calibur characters, and the scales seem like they are beginning to be tipped. So Zero Suit Samus got a pair of heels and altered dimensions in an attempt at fanbait. She was sexualized one step further. Alright, I’ll give that to you. Fanbait exists and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So if Zero Suit Samus is fanbait for guys, where is the fanbait for girls? Why isn’t Captain Falcon wearing a thong or sporting a chest twice the size of his last model? Why doesn’t Mario have an absurd crotch buldge holding in his 10 inch slice of manhood? Why doesn’t Yoshi look like a Fist of the North Star character. That, my friends, is why the design is sexist. It’s designed specifically to appeal to males, yet there is nothing similar made to appeal to females. That is unfair and unbalanced treatment between sexes, plain and simple.