See, I was working on a prop for the new Fate game I'm running. It's sort of a crossover between Shadowrun, Call of Cthulhu, and Cowboy Bebop. But the important thing is that I was looking for images of lizardfolk to use in this prop. And I noticed that many of the images I was seeing displayed breasts on the females.
This struck me as odd, because reptiles don't have breasts. Breasts are a uniquely mammalian feature; in fact, that's where the word 'mammal' comes from: the Latin word mammalis, 'of the breast.' No other type of animal has mammary glands.
Yet there are the hordes of females depicted with breasts that would, if they were on a human (or human-like, such as elves or halflings) be considered sexy. For example:
The absurdity of a reptile with boobs is so great that it was even parodied in an installment of The Order of the Stick. But what brings me to write about this topic is an article I read over at Nerdarchy. It's entitled 'D&D Dragonborn Illustrate Why the Reason Why Matters.'
Yeah, I know that title is a little hard to parse. Perhaps a better way to phrase it would be 'the importance of the reasoning behind your actions is illustrated by D&D Dragonborn.'
The main thrust of the article is this: it doesn't make sense to have breasts on non-mammalian females, such as Dragonborn, lizardfolk, mind flayers, and so forth. However, there may sometimes be valid reasons to have them anyway. In 4th edition D&D, females of these species had breasts, because (according to the article) they are seen as a source of (or, at the very least, symbolic of) feminine power. Thus, by giving breasts to non-mammals, they are allowing females to be seen as powerful without sacrificing their femininity.
However, in 5th edition, these races have no breasts. The idea here is that, even with the best of intentions, human-like breasts are more commonly associated with sexual objectification than with feminine power, often despite the intentions of the creators of the artwork. In other words, even if an artist put breasts on a lizardfolk for the purpose of symbolising female power, the end consumers of that artwork (i.e., the players who purchase the books) view it as sexual gratification.
Given the current state of gender in American culture and the culture of other industrialised nations, this is a valid concern. To a great extent, even in nations where women are better off (say, the United States, as opposed to Saudi Arabia where it will remain illegal for women to drive a car until June 2018), women still face levels of inequality. These inequalities may be subtle, easy to overlook, and less extreme than those of women in other parts of the world, but they can still have significant impact on the lives of the women whom they affect.
I'm trying to keep this blog from getting political, so I'm not going to delve any deeper into the issue. If you want to know more about this topic, or you need examples of ways in which women are still oppressed in more 'advanced' countries, try this article about the misinformation regarding feminism.
Returning to the article that inspired this post (D&D Dragonborn Illustrate Why the Reason Why Matters), the author describes how he had a player that came to him and asked to play, in a 5th edition game, a dragonborn female with breasts. She explained to him that she specifically wanted a symbol of female power for her character. The author/DM felt that in such a situation, with both the player's and his own guiding influence to oversee the characters, this was a reasonable request, and so he allowed it.
As I was working on the prop for which I needed the picture, I decided that biological reality was of some level of importance to me. The lizardfolk and dragonborn in the world I'm creating would not have breasts, because I wanted to stay in keeping with non-mammalian entities having no mammary glands.
But then we get into the bigger question: we're already talking about a fantasy world. Given that lizardfolk, dragonborn, mind flayers, and other fantasy races are already a bizarre merging of real-world elements with fantastical ideas, do we need to worry about whether non-mammals have boobs? In other words, if I'm ok with teleport spells and fireballs, why would I have a problem with non-mammalian mammary glands?
And that's where personal preference comes in. If you are running a game that includes reptilian PC races, you are welcome to put breasts on the females of those races. Just keep in mind the subtle nuances of how those actions may be perceived by your players, and make sure to work hard to overcome any potential objectification that may result.
As the still somewhat recent phenomenon of Gamergate illustrates, there is still a lot of misogyny extant in the gaming world. I hope that you, like me, are working hard to ensure that this wonderful hobby becomes and remains accessible for everyone, regardless of demographics. Because, as I've said many times, everyone is welcome at the gaming table.
So, I hope this has been interesting for you to read, and has at the very least given you something to think about. So have fun out there in the many worlds of gaming, remember to make the world a more inclusive place, and of course,
I'd rather misogyny in the virtual world than misandry in the 'real world' LOL
ReplyDeleteThere are several problems with this comment.
DeleteFirst, the 'LOL' at the end, as if there were anything funny either in this article or in your comment. There is clearly not.
Secondly, why does it matter if it's the 'virtual' world or the 'real' world? Discrimination of any form is equally harmful.
Thirdly, comparing misogyny to misandry is a false equivalence. The amount of misandry that exists is paltry compared to the amount of misogyny that exists in both the virtual and and real worlds.
And, of course, there's the fact that it would be preferable to have neither one. Instead of pointless competitive comparisons, let's just work to eliminate sexism altogether.
Answer to your question ...yes, if you want them to LOL. In my fantasy world the female Lizardfolk have breasts coz they are not exactly lizards/reptiles from Earth, they are a lizardlike/reptile-like descendant species of a lifeform that evolved on a different planet from lizardlike/reptile-like creatures that combined aspects/elements of 'mammals'/warm-blooded with lizard/reptile aspects/elements. Even on Earth creatures don't all fit exactly into groupings ie there are marsupials, monotremes, a warmblooded lizard etc. I take as an inspiration the Duck-Billed Platypus. It lays an egg & then after baby Platypus breaks open egg it nurses from milk-pores in mama platypus' skin. So my lizardfolk have intercourse same way as humans/mammals, male fertilises egg, which grows inside her for a two months, then she pops it/or two or three of them out relatively softshelled but soon after they enter world shell hardens with air-contact ...then she nests on it for a month then it/they crack/s open and the babies begin to nurse. She breastfeeds them for three months or until each baby draws first blood from her due to sharpening/hardening teeth & desire to bite. Then the father starts bringing raw meat home for the kid/s.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. This article was never meant to say they should not. Only to suggest careful consideration of the question and the motivations behind the decision. It is a fantasy game after all; having breasts on a lizardfolk female is no less ridiculous than the concept of lizardfolk in itself. I just want people to think about things a little and in a new way.
DeleteAnd, hopefully, to consider the effects of those decisions.
Yes it is funny that feminists & their simp 'white knights' see misogyny everywhere & in everything while ignoring rampant misandry espoused by feminists & enabled by a gynocentric legal system. The definition of what is considered misogyny has expanded so much/broadened so widely that it's in danger of becoming almost worthless as a term. In our twisted broken society it seems it is perfectly acceptable to insult all 'white' males as "stale, pale, male", privileged etc while ignoring the many privileges that women have legally/socially etc etc. BTW Once upon a time I was a radical Socialist & considered myself as a 'Feminist' until told that I couldn't be a feminist coz of my maleness, but I could call myself "an ally". I came to realise that 'feminism' was not about 'equality' but about 'Matriarchy'/ 'Supremacism'. If it was about Equality then you don't need the word 'Feminism', Egalitarian/Equalitarian' do perfectly fine. If 'Patriarchy' is 'bad/evil' then by logical inference 'Matriarchy' must be good, a desired goal. If men are bad coz of patriarchy, then women must be good/better/superior to men. I believe women are fundamentally 'equal' to men, but I still consider myself a misogynist in the pure unadulterated original meaning of the word ...I despise women, but it's nothing personal though as my misanthropy trumps everything.
ReplyDeleteI don't care about all this political nonsense. Just do what you think is scientifically accurate in D&D campaigns. For instance, Warforged are masculine or feminine, they don't have a gender. Goliaths have deep voices due to their size alone. Wild Magic Sorcerers can possibly change someone else's gender, or their own. In summary, do what you want, as long as it's not political or biased.
ReplyDeleteThe way I see it, 'lizard people' should have breasts, because they're people with a lizard-theme/aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteIf you reason 'lizard people shouldn't have breasts because lizards don't have breasts' then you could also say lizard people shouldn't, walk upright, talk, wear clothes, live in houses, etc., because lizards don't do those things.
I would also argue that it makes sense from a evolutionary point of view
In nature, we see that more intelligent animals have less independent offspring (e.g. insects are independent from hatching, other mammal babies can move independently but need to be fed, while human babies are completely helpless for years).
Lizard-people, with human-level intelligence, would therefore have young that are as helpless as babies, and would require feeding. The best option for this seems to be breast milk (crop milk is second, but contamination would pose a bigger issue than it does in birds).
I agree with you on all these points. However, the bigger issue here is: why do the players in your game want the lizardfolk females to have breasts? If it's just because you think it makes more sense, biologically speaking, that's fine.
DeleteWhat I worry about, and the reason I wrote this entry, is because some people want lizardfolk females to have breasts because 'boobs are sexy, hur hur hur!' Which is a sign of deep-seated misogyny, and THAT is what I have a problem with.
The whole point of this entry wasn't to say, 'The lizardfolk females in your game shouldn't have breasts.' It was to say, 'Have you thought about why they do or don't have breasts? If not, maybe you should. And if you find you don't have good reasons, or you find that the reasons are bad ones, maybe you should rethink the issue.'
That's all.
Since when is thinking boobs are sexy automatically misogyny? Are Lesbians Misogynist for liking boobs? Men like boobs coz of Biology & the drive to mate/procreate. Healthy/Ample boobs indicate fertility & child rearing potential. Biology doesn't care about Feminism & Gender Studies. If you're not attracted to boobs you're either Gay or a straight female with no boobs to speak of I think :) Also there is just as much Misandry in world as there is Misogyny. If Misandry was so inconsequential as you claim men would be treated fully equally in Family Law etc. Truth is women get a lot of Discounts in Society due to their femaleness. Women are hardly ever held to same standard as Men.
Delete::goes back and rereads the comment:: No, I definitely did not say that 'thinking boobs are sexy is automatically misogyny.' Nowhere in my comment did I say that.
DeleteWhat I DID say was that if the only reason you want your lizardfolk to have breasts is because boobs are sexy, that's a sign of misogyny. What I said, in the original article, and in the comment above, was that you should examine the reason why you have decided that lizardfolk in your game world have or don't have breasts. Did you make that decision for valid reasons? Awesome. I support whichever decision you make.
But if you made that decision for invalid reasons (and 'breasts are sexy' is not a valid reason to make a global decision about an entire species in your game world), THAT'S where I have a problem.
And as a final note, don't start with the 'men have it just as bad as women' nonsense. Did I ever say that there is no misandry in the world? No. Nowhere in my post or in any of my comments did I say that. Misandry certainly does exist. It absolutely needs to be eliminated just as much as misogyny does. But when the worst that a man has to worry about when subjected to misandry is emotional trauma, and the worst a woman has to fear from misogyny is being killed, I don't want to hear about how misandry is just as serious an issue as misogyny. A woman being treated nice because she's sexy or being given preference over men in custody hearings hardly makes up for being ignored, dismissed, or passed over in professional settings, or worse, being killed by a man because she said no to him (which happens a lot).