Warning: minor spoilers about the character Quiet in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (especially since it seems like every gaming site of note had already mentioned it by the time the game came out, but better safe than sorry).
So, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. If you people don’t know it yet, there’s a new character in it named Quiet, a mute sniper. Back when her picture was first released, when the game hadn’t been out yet, many reviewers facepalmed at yet another exploitative design for a female character. Here is a picture of her, if you haven’t seen it yet:
I am not kidding.
Now, Kojima was apparently very disappointed in people’s reactions and said he wouldn’t just put a “hot girl” in the game without any reason. And what’s that reason, you might ask? Well, just see this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRSz4TGiNNU.
If you haven’t seen it, let me summarize, with a few additional details: she was infected with a parasite that grants her enhanced physical abilities, prevents her from ever speaking English (otherwise she’ll die), lets her perfectly camouflage herself (she can basically become invisible), lets her perform photosynthesis and “drink” with her skin, and (most importantly for this discussion) lets her breathe also using her skin. She can’t breathe normally, though (several of her internal organs were severely damaged in a fire and the parasites had to “replace” them); if she wears more clothing than that, she’ll start suffocating (as indeed happens in one of the game’s later cutscenes).
One of the things Kojima specifically said about Quiet is that she was designed as a response to female characters in fighting games always being so “exposed”. So, going by that logic, unlike female characters in fighting games, who wear skimpy clothing for no reason, Quiet wearing those clothes is justified for in-universe reasons. Here’s the logical fallacy: that reasoning basically assumes Quiet is a real person who had real events happen to her. She isn’t, though (as should be fairly obvious); she’s a fictional character designed entirely by real people, which means Kojima is still entirely responsible for said design and everything it entails. In other words, Quiet is just as exposed as the female characters in fighting games Kojima looked down on.
Also, let me debunk the idea that she’s supposed to look like that because of her camouflage powers: it run into the same issue as above, that a real person decided she had to be nearly naked for her powers to work. (Also, the series has long had characters wearing “invisibility suits”: Psycho Mantis and the Cyborg Ninja in “MGS 1”, the new Cyborg Ninja in “MGS 2”, The Fear in “MGS 3”, Old Snake in “MGS 4”, Venom Snake in “MGS V”… Heck, even one of the bosses in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Night Sight. Guess how many of them had to run around in boxers or briefs and transparent pants? Not that male characters aren’t also sexualized [as long as they’re handsome in some way] in the series, but the degree to which Quiet is put under the male gaze is disproportionate to all other characters.) (And actually, if it’s only her skin that’s supposed to camouflage itself, how come the few pieces of clothing she does wear also turn invisible? Wouldn’t it make more sense for her to be naked, at least in combat situations? Oh, wait, the game’s rating would be too high in that case. Something similar happened back in “MGS 4”, when the members of the Beauty & The Beast Corps were supposed to be naked inside their armoured suits, but it was vetoed by executives.)
That said, the idea has potential. I mean, Quiet’s design is bad in itself, but the concept of a character whose body was altered in such a way that they can no longer perform simple acts of humanity such as eating, drinking or even breathing can be used for good horror, and I do think Kojima intended to convey that. Heck, even the forced exposition can be used to explore the psychological trauma on the character (not many people, hardened soldiers or not, would be completely comfortable with running around with that much skin revealed, particularly a woman in such a testosterone-laden environment). Maybe the game does deliver on that front; maybe, in spite of Quiet’s “erotic” or “sexy” design (both words used by Kojima himself), the game and its narrative will acknowledge the horror of her situation, maybe even treat the character with respect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms9XAzNs9Ro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-W8oeK5YVc
Or maybe not. What the hell, Kojima.