It all started while I was going through the scheduling for Saturday at PAX, while looking through all the potential panels I may be interested in. And then I see it, two panels with a feminist theme; Females on Female Characters and The "Other" Us: If We're All Gamers, Does Our Gender Matter?
Both of these seem to be talking about the same thing, the “F” word being thrown around in the gaming community and how females react to the more eccentric female characters.
So ok, I’m really intrigued, but not only is my gut tell me I’m going to get annoyed real fast in the panels but I slightly am getting irritated at the descriptions of these future panels. “Words like "feminist" got thrown around in comments sections of popular gaming sites as if it were the new "f" word.” And “how they would like more heroines with similar attributes integrated into Geek culture.”
Why did this aggravate me? I don’t know maybe it was my stomach turning and my brain going “you know what’s going to happen…do you really want to go”? Please don’t take me for a pessimist or even a hater. But let me describe what I saw happen….actually let me quote the description one last time then I will tell you. “Top 5; as they discuss what they embrace in female fictional characters and why these attributes are important. They will identify their favorite characters and how they would like more heroines with similar attributes integrated into Geek culture. This fresh, positive approach to female characters shouldn’t be missed.”
We walked into the conference area with a large common picture of Lara Croft on the screen and we sat staring at her till the panel started. I am thinking “ok this of course is a famously inappropriate female character because she has more boobs then clothes, so how will they begin.” So it starts with the females; well panelists, view on what we were looking at; famously inappropriate character drawings. This kept up for awhile about what these women don’t like, what annoys them and how ridiculous it all is. This is not what I wanted to hear. Lets be realistic, these are video game characters, not historical figures, book or movie leads. Yes I know there are exceptions to this but I am not talking about playing Ariel in the hit game The Princess of all Sea or Eowyn in The Return of the King. They are just LOOSLY creative video game characters. Yes buxom, shapely and naked sells, but this is to make up for the fact that there are limits to story lines and characters. So what’s the easiest way to make something interesting? This is the point I wanted to see everyone get to. Now let’s ask the question, are we ok with this as a person…not as a feminist.
What’s my answer? I don’t care and I never have. There are few guys I know that sit and ogle the pixilated female before them while attempting to regenerate their hearts. There are even less females I know whose image problems stem from the ridiculous measurements of Lara Croft.
Is there a better character? YES YES YES, there is nothing we; everyone not just women, like more than a great character build with an amazing story. I don’t get excited when a lead is female, but I do get excited at the potential game that is going to give me a great plot with great characters.
Now there was another part of what actually bothered these women. Have you guessed what it is yet? If you are a woman you may…Get this, they don’t like over girly either! This means (in their words), nothing winey, pouty, dependant and peppy because these all equal ANNOYING. Who are their examples? Well mostly Princess Peach and Princess Zelda of course. These helpless throw-ins to the story make them crazy. Why, because they don’t do anything. Yes I get it, but tell me what you like!
Ah finally. Wait you love the “motherly nurturing Ellen Ripley”? Ok I get it, let’s wait till they give another example. Now we are talking, the Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli leads. They are all bold, independent, nurturing, interesting and loving. They have goals, they make friends with anyone and they are loved by everyone. Hmm still not a video game character but I will take it. Of course I was waiting for someone to say Aerith but I’m sure all that pink will make them puke all over the tables and she won’t count. But I digress.
So with a rough and highly expected start, I have to say the topic somewhat pleased me. But I don’t exactly plan to search out more feminist themed discussions. To me we are people, people apart of a common hobby and passion. If I were to have the opportunity to join the discussion I will just want to argue why empower the “F” label.
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"I don’t get excited when a lead is female, but I do get excited at the potential game that is going to give me a great plot with great characters."<br /><br />Exactly. I (a woman) couldn't care less what a character's gender is. Do they have great qualities? Are they believable? Or in lighter games/movies/books, are they fun? (Like, yes, even Princess Peach and Lara Croft). The only difference a character's gender makes to me is that a female protagonist is usually more relatable to me because I am female. I've never played the Lara Croft games but I really enjoyed the first movie with A. Jolie. The fact that she's got huuuge "tracts of land" didn't make any difference except that it did "stretch" believability to the breaking point since some scenes were obviously included just to show that off, but it's an action/adventure movie which generally aren't very believable anyway, and I enjoyed it as much as the Indiana Jones series.<br /><br />The only time gender matters to me is if a female is made to be or feel inferior or patronized in some way BECAUSE of her gender, or made to conform to a negative stereotype. THAT really makes me mad.<br /><br />Ironically Ellen Ripley was meant to be played by a guy and the script was written for a male lead. So if she's the gold standard of what we as women want female characters to be like, it's a good lesson for all the writers out there: They can (and probably should) write female characters in exactly the same way as they would a male character. And if she's still the #1 heroine 32 years after her creation, that's a pretty good indication that the writing of female characters has a long way to go and gender stereotypes, sadly, still prevail. (It's also telling that in all the sequels to Alien, her gender was significant to the plot, whereas in Alien, it wasn't.)
Good post! It is encouraging and helpful to hear this from a female gamer. Gaming has gotten so much more relevant over time and as we grow older, our demand for depth of character has grown. One of my favorites is Liara from the Mass Effect series. I was really pleased with how they toughened her up in ME2 too. She was still feminine (in an attractive way) but had a rough edge about her that was realistic to the role she had taken. Thanks for the article!