A friend of mine mentioned sexism in Skyrim, and I ended up here looking into it.
I don't see how anyone see a problem with this game. Yes, there are men who hate on women. They are usually the villains. How is using a bad thing to indicate a bad guy a bad thing? There are also women who hate on men in this game. There are racists too. It's a world. There are good people and bad people. I saw a couple people mention dragons as a reason we shouldn't be glad of realism in the game, and that's just ridiculous. Fantastical elements in a story does not mean we should throw out the things that make a world seem real. That's why Tolkien and Jordan and Martin are some of the most well-respected writers of fantasy: because there worlds are realistic with regards to human relationships (ignoring the fantastical elements).
Sexism is a very real issue, and I have had to deal with it myself (yes, I am a woman). But I have found, as with racism, these sorts of discussions never help. Omgriri, you are obviously over sensitive to the issue, and cannot see this for what it is. The fact is, there is not evidence to back up your claim that Skyrim is racist. It is a varied world with people are all stripes. That's part of the appeal.
I remember people complaining that Avatar was racist. They totally missed the entire point of the story. If anything, it was an indictment of the Western "white" civilization. I think you are falling into a similar trap. You are missing the point and not seeing what the story is telling you. You are just seeing the sexism and not the context, and certainly not the wider world in which the game takes place that includes sexism in the other direction, and racism on all sides.
Sexism is real and dangerous, and I have found that, like with racism, when we complain about things like this, it makes it worse. When we are overly sensitive to portrayals of a thing, we make ourselves seem weak, like we need to be protected (part of what I, at least, want to work against).
Equality means just that. You wouldn't be here hijacking someone's thread if you saw that Nord woman whoever talk shit about a man, or men in general. It is just that a man was rude to a woman that has you all upset. There are both in the game. Are you saying there should be no prejudices in a game that is largely about prejudice? That's ridiculous. Are you saying women should be given special treatment in games or the media because sexism is a real thing? That's also ridiculous. When we ask for special treatment, we are just proving to the sexists out there that we are deserving of the prejudice because we need protecting, and that need makes us less worthy than they.
I am a strong woman. I point out sexism when a sexist is sexist. But I know we live in a world with varied people, and people behave and see the world in different ways. I hold the door for men. But I don't jump down a man's throat when he holds the door for me. I'll split a bill on a date. But I don't freak out when a guy wants to pay for me. I believe that to be equal, we must both recognize and embrace the differences between us, but also realise that that does not make one group inherently superior than another.
And this game has an equal and fair portrayal of men, women, sexism, racism, violence, hate, love, compassion, goodness, evil, etc. It's a good game. It's a fair game. It's a game that is trying to be a world, and that means not pandering to any group because their feelings might be hurt.
I just do not understand people like you, omgriri. You make ridiculous arguments about a media portrayal of a real issue, when that portrayal is decent and fair. The problem isn't going away. If that's your goal, your wasting your time. People will still be sexist. Always will, on both sides. We should try and educate people when we can, but this is a portrayal of the issue, not part of the issue.
You obviously have strong feelings about this, but to paraphrase blakerat, you can't run a civilization on feelings. The fact is that this game is decent and fair. And frankly, I think you are part of the problem.
I am sorry. I just realised I wrote an essay.
TLDR: Sexism is real, and this game isn't the problem. Equality means equality, which means equal portrayals and fair representation. This game has it. It isn't the problem.
And now, I think it is really weird that there are no perks for hand-to-hand combat. Frankly, it doesn't make sense. Of course, I like athletics, acrobatics, and medium armour. I like short blade vs. long blade. There are some changes I do not like. But it is weird how it seems like the game supports hand-to-hand, save when it comes to the most important thing. It would be one thing if the game just assumed you were going to use a weapon all the time and provided no support or almost no support for hands as weapons. But to provide that support and make it look like you can use it as a viable option, and then not include the single most important part of that support, well, it is weird and confusing.