Posted January 14, 2014
Yup, nothing says "non-sexualized" like a crazy robot dominatrix.
I don't think SHODAN's sexualization is sufficient to explain her popularity but it plays a role. The whole SHODAN character is a vagina dentata. I mean, in the first game you are a man who is literally inside a woman. That woman holds all the power initially and uses it to humiliate you but eventually you subdue and conquer her. The text is pretty freakin' overt. SS2 is a little more ambiguous because the sex that is happening occurs between the Many and SHODAN. Again, SHODAN's movements are literally restricted by the physical presence of the Many pushing down on her and trapping her. It helps that the Many is presented as male while SHODAN is presented as female. It's very, very oedipal.
I don't think SHODAN's sexualization is sufficient to explain her popularity but it plays a role. The whole SHODAN character is a vagina dentata. I mean, in the first game you are a man who is literally inside a woman. That woman holds all the power initially and uses it to humiliate you but eventually you subdue and conquer her. The text is pretty freakin' overt. SS2 is a little more ambiguous because the sex that is happening occurs between the Many and SHODAN. Again, SHODAN's movements are literally restricted by the physical presence of the Many pushing down on her and trapping her. It helps that the Many is presented as male while SHODAN is presented as female. It's very, very oedipal.