Isn't this unavoidable? I mean ugly is a strong word, but stuff that conforms to ones taste tends to be beautiful to that person and wise versa.
Apparently it is avoidable because it rarely if ever comes up in discussions about other character designs. There's plenty of male characters that I do not find physically attractive, yet you don't see me going into threads complaining about them and claiming that their design is bad. Nor is there a trend of others doing that. Why can't objectifying language be avoided when discussing Aloy?
Objectification is a thing with real people, not video game characters. They're literal objects already.
No, that's not how it works and I .... really shouldn't have to explain why. So instead I'll just ask a different question and work with your answer to it.
Can you explain to me why physical beauty is consistently brought into the discussion when talking about this new female lead character, yet is nearly absent from discussion on other characters?
It's not, it wholly depends on the person. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what not.
...it literally is though. 'Coolness'
is a more abstract concept that is much broader than 'physical attractiveness of a person'.
That's why there is always so much disagreement in worst character design threads.
But why is it so specifically about physical beauty when it concerns Aloy, when such a thing rarely if ever plays a major / consistent role in discussion about other (mostly male) characters?
It stops being ok? How is there anything wrong with judging character designs by your own standards of beauty? People like different things, some may express that with strong words but that doesn't make what they like or dislike bad.
I never said that judging something by your own standards is wrong. I'm saying that;
1. People's standards of physical beauty are directly and / or indirectly informed by media where women have been objectified, sexualized and idealized for years.
2. 'Physical beauty' dominates discussion about Aloy in a way it shouldn't while it is near absent from discussion on other (mostly male) characters.
3. There is a difference between having an opinion on someones physical beauty and sharing that opinion in a way that specifically objectifies the person / character in question.
Also can we stop with this silliness?
No, because there's nothing silly about it. The underlying factors are part of a larger issue within the gaming community and should be pointed out.