Very funny post. The OP has identified a more or less correct insight, such a conflation really does happen, but they aren't reflective enough to realize their own demands for 'realism' in the wake of this are nothing more than another kind of basically fantastical demand. In other words, every demand for realism is a demand for a certain perspective of realism - for a socially constructed image of realism. It's never actually about 'realism' because nobody has an objective view of reality, only a perspective. The roles of women and minorities change in fantasy because fantasy, like any other fiction, is a reflection of 'our' concerns first and foremost, an internally consistent 'realistic' world a distant second. This is why any demand for these sorts of things is really just a rationalization of that social perspective, simply what the one demanding wants to see reflected in fiction. This is why the same person saying that 'realism' demands no revealing female armor or 'boobplate' can be saying that 'it's fantasy, anything goes' the next second; the same reason the opposite conservative viewpoint will demand women have -2 to Strength, but permit Conan style unclothed barbarians in the same fight as plate armor. Regardless, the point is that Larian, averaged out as a company, has a view of fantasy that I personally rather like, all their other faults fully acknowledged. It goes without saying that while both are mere rationalizations, that doesn't mean that one view of realism can't have advantages over another - such as permitting more representation.
