i've been wanting to talk about this for a while, so here it is! for future reference, this post is being made by a woman.
as a lot of people know, hoyoverse has always had criticism for sexualizing characters in at least 3 of it's major games — hsr, hi3, and genshin impact. since i've never played the other two, this post will revolve around genshin impact character design.
if you accuse hoyoverse of objectifying and sexualizing women by design, you'll be met with the backlash of "you're the one sexualizing women!" & "women showing skin isn't sexual!"
i think the thing those people fail to realize is that you can't view these character designs as if they were on real people. you need to view it from the ideas of the designers. what was the purpose of this skin? what was the purpose of exposing this? why did they want to do that?
for example: yae miko, raiden shogun, and yoimiya. these are three key examples of hoyoverse choosing skin over culture. inazuma is undeniably representing japan, and it's important they properly represent outfits. the problem isn't yoimiya having a sashi (exposed part of the chest for archery), but rather her only clothing being a happi (festival coat). she wears no kimono, literally JUST a coat. then, there's raiden. japanese kimonos are intended to be covering. If your kimono exposes your entire chest, then you're wearing it wrong, or it doesn't fit. also, why expose her legs? it serves no purpose whatsoever. she could have stood out from characters without having almost all of her skin on display.
then, yae miko. she is one of the examples i bring up most. yae miko is shown wearing a mockery of traditional miko attire. however, her sideboob, arms, and legs are all on display. actual shrine maiden attire is very modest. and i'm not saying she has to wear the same clothes as npcs, either. i've seen some wonderful redesigns in the past that keep her distinctly designed (will share @ in the comments). there was no purpose to look at the miko attire, put it on an npc completely normally, then look at yae miko and expose her skin.
alternatively, there are characters who aren't inherently constrained by culture, but still suffer from a mix of impracticality and randomness. examples include mona and eula. is there any actual reason why mona, an astrologist, is wearing what's essentially a one-piece bathing suit? genuinely, what was the purpose of designing that, if not to show skin? the same thing applies to eula. if i'm not mistaken, she was supposed to be wearing a bodysuit. so why did they choose to expose her thighs, if not monetization or sexualization? and, for a lot of characters that are properly covered (ie shenhe) they have unnecessary holes that expose large amounts of skin, while the same aesthetic could have been achieved without those holes or with some sort of fabric underneath, which could've made her outfit even more beautiful.
also something i forgot to bring up: in a lot of cultures, including chinese culture, armpits are considered something sexual and revealing. an incredibly large amount of female characters have exposed armpits. the connection is simple enough for you to make it on your own.
