So its 0-2 in the male female glamour department, yay?

[Theodric]

Thav bustier still looks damn feminine if you put it on a guy so I don't see the problem. Other games have all items unisex and its a shame that this game does not.

The problem is...gear such as the bustier is quite clearly designed to be used by females. Which is fine - but making it available to men doesn't do much to solve the issue of there being a real lack of gear designed for men first and foremost. We end up getting stuff like suits which are, ultimately, rather bland and designed to be used by both genders whilst also having a real lack of detail when compared to stuff like the bustier.

[Serilda]

The problem is...gear such as the bustier is quite clearly designed to be used by females. Which is fine - but making it available to men doesn't do much to solve the issue of there being a real lack of gear designed for men first and foremost. We end up getting stuff like suits which are, ultimately, rather bland and designed to be used by both genders whilst also having a real lack of detail when compared to stuff like the bustier.

What some players are saying - and I agree with their sentiments - is that making everything unisex benefits everyone in the long run. Back when it was relevant my (male, if it matters) friend bitterly complained about the way the Noct Lorica looked on his female Miqo'te because the breastplate was too macho. Then there are the complaints from players with female Dragoons who have to wear their 'sexier' version of the cool job-specific armour; they want access to armour pieces which haven't been adapted to show as much skin as possible. In my friend's case, he would benefit from having access to more 'feminine' gear. In the case of the Dragoons, they want access to more 'masculine' gear. Both groups are using female characters yet they have diverse opinions about how they want their characters to dress.

As a result, I feel that it's important that all players have access to the same number of options so that when a specific piece of gear doesn't agree with them they have equal opportunities to change the way it looks. Most endgame equipment is presumably intended to be suitable for anyone (though it's not always adapted well; burly Astrologians got short-changed with their AF and its lack of detail when stretched over their larger frames) while nobody is going to be forced to wear a level 1 Thavnairian Bustier unless they go out of their way to have one crafted. Glamour items are never forced on anyone.

As nobody can agree on what exactly constitutes 'masculine' and 'feminine' even on an English-speaking forum used by a small percentage of the players of a single video game, I strongly believe that pushing for more unisex options so that each individual player can decide what suits their character is the best way forward, and unlocking the growing number of extra items female characters can use that males cannot. If it then turns out that Square-Enix's staff are currently struggling to make gear without designing it on petite females first and clumsily adjusting it for male characters as an afterthought, that's a separate creativity issue which needs to be addressed behind the scenes.

I think we need to be clear that having access to equal volumes of gear is our message first and foremost as the innate suitability of each piece of equipment for any given gender is in the eye of the beholder. The current knight-heavy Ishgard storyline lends itself to inspiring elaborate armour suitable for both of the game's genders so it's down to the designers to give that to us - once they stop going down the easy route of releasing sexy costumes for girls and ignoring male characters entirely.

[raymon]

snip

i agree that that rather then male exclusive and female exclusive. it should be more unisex options. but this only works if SE puts puts uniqueness into both sides (male and female)of the gear. take the Halloween even gear for example. its unisex but the male version is just a re-skin of a shirt we have a half a dozen in the game already. the female version at least somewhat unique.

[Lukha]

i agree that that rather then male exclusive and female exclusive. it should be more unisex options. but this only works if SE puts puts uniqueness into both sides (male and female)of the gear. take the Halloween even gear for example. its unisex but the male version is just a re-skin of a shirt we have a half a dozen in the game already. the female version at least somewhat unique.

Agreed, although if they'd at least used, say, the Weaver's 55 bodypiece as the base, rather than an item that can already be glamoured by anyone, they might have seen fewer complaints. It's like they put no thought into it at all.

[BreathlessTao]

If it then turns out that Square-Enix's staff are currently struggling to make gear without designing it on petite females first and clumsily adjusting it for male characters as an afterthought, that's a separate creativity issue which needs to be addressed behind the scenes.

Here's a thought: I just read the other day that Facebook is forcing employees to use (non-top-tier) Android phones to better understand the feel and needs and workings of the system. Now, I don't know what characters the devs and designers play, in general, but perhaps forcing them to play males for half a year or so, getting through all the story, events, etc, would help them understand the situation and get a better grip on what sorts of outfits there are, what sorts there should be, and what restrictions we face. It's easy enough to execute too.