Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games
-
0:00 - 0:06"Honey dontcha know, I'm more than Pac-Man with a bow"
-
0:24 - 0:27In this episode we're going to shift the discussion away from plot devices
-
0:27 - 0:33to focus on a pattern in character design and conceptualization which I’ve decided to call the Ms. Male Character.
-
0:33 - 0:37As always it’s important to keep in mind that it’s entirely possible to be critical of
-
0:37 - 0:42some aspects of a piece of media while still finding other parts valuable or enjoyable.
-
0:42 - 0:50Let’s begin our examination of this trope by traveling back in time to 1980 and the creation of one of the most famous characters in the history of gaming.
-
0:50 - 0:57Initially called Pakku-man in Japan, the name was later changed to Pac-Man when the game hit arcades in the United States.
-
0:57 - 1:05Incidentally Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man, has stated in numerous interviews that the game was designed to appeal to women because,
-
1:05 - 1:07and I'm not kidding about this, he said,
-
1:07 - 1:13"When you think about things women like, you think about fashion, or fortune-telling, or food or dating boyfriends.
-
1:13 - 1:20So I decided to theme the game around “eating” — after eating dinner, women like to have dessert."
-
1:20 - 1:26Luckily Iwatani’s regressive personal or cultural notions about women are not reflected in the finished game itself.
-
1:26 - 1:32Pac-Man went on to became an international sensation and remains one the most recognizable pop culture icons today,
-
1:32 - 1:39but probably not because women are genetically predisposed to "like eating desserts” more than humans of other genders.
-
1:39 - 1:43"Hi I'm Lily Tomlin. I'm a Pac-Man freak.
-
1:43 - 1:46It's alright, I can talk about it now.
-
1:46 - 1:49'Course there was a time when I couldn't."
-
1:49 - 1:55The next year, a group of MIT students created a mod for the original Pac-Man arcade cabinets called Crazy Otto
-
1:55 - 1:59which featured 4 new mazes and a new male hero with little legs.
-
1:59 - 2:04The idea was to sell this “enhancement kit” to arcade owners so they could breathe new life into older Pac-Man machines.
-
2:04 - 2:11But because of a separate lawsuit settlement with Atari, they decided to try and sell Crazy Otto directly to Midway
-
2:11 - 2:13the US manufacturer of Pac-Man cabinets.
-
2:13 - 2:20As luck would have it, Midway was anxious for a follow-up to Pac-Man and worked to transform the mod into an official sequel.
-
2:20 - 2:25In an effort to continue appealing to female gamers, Crazy Otto was briefly changed to Pac-Woman,
-
2:25 - 2:29then to Miss Pac-Man before finally becoming Ms. Pac-Man.
-
2:29 - 2:36An 11th hour move designed to avoid potential backlash for the 3rd cutscene which features a child born out of wedlock.
-
2:41 - 2:46The game hit arcades in the United States in 1982 and was an immediate smash hit
-
2:46 - 2:51becoming the most successful American-made coin-operated arcade cabinet ever produced.
-
2:51 - 2:55Like her predecessor, Ms. Pac-Man quickly achieved widespread cultural prominence
-
2:55 - 3:01and it wasn’t long before she was turned into a special marshmallow and added to Pac-Man’s cereal.
-
3:01 - 3:05“Pac-Man cereal's got a new surprise. When you look inside- it's shocking!
-
3:05 - 3:09Shocking pink! It's new Ms. Pac-Man marshmallow!
-
3:09 - 3:11She's got a shocking pink bow-Oh!”
-
3:11 - 3:14Ms. Pac-Man was not only one of the first playable female characters,
-
3:14 - 3:20but she also holds the distinction of being the original Ms. Male Character in video games.
-
3:20 - 3:22I describe the Ms. Male Character trope as:
-
3:22 - 3:25A female version of an already established or default male character.
-
3:25 - 3:30Ms. Male Characters are defined primarily by their relationship to their male counterparts
-
3:30 - 3:35via their visual properties, their narrative connection or occasionally through promotional materials.
-
3:35 - 3:37"Hello!" "Hello!"
-
3:37 - 3:41This trope is of course part of a long tradition in visual storytelling.
-
3:41 - 3:48The process of creating Ms. Male Characters out of preexisting male heroes has been especially popular in animation and comic books over the past century.
-
3:48 - 3:54When the female spin-off is an exact duplicate, she is sometime referred to as a Distaff Counterpart.
-
3:54 - 3:57Even though the Ms. Male Character did not originate with video games,
-
3:57 - 4:01developers have made generous and frequent use of the trope over the years
-
4:01 - 4:04especially in games marketed towards young people and general audiences.
-
4:04 - 4:05"It's Mr. Arcade!
-
4:05 - 4:07And Ms. Arcade!
-
4:07 - 4:08Ms. Arcade? Wow
-
4:08 - 4:10Eat those dots, Ms. Pac-Man!
-
4:10 - 4:11Into the tunnel!
-
4:11 - 4:12That couple's in love!
-
4:12 - 4:13Yeah, with Ms. Pac-Man!"
-
4:13 - 4:17Let’s explore this trope in a little more depth by asking a simple question.
-
4:17 - 4:20How do we know what gender a particular character is?
-
4:20 - 4:26Other than their names, how do we know that the collection of pixels on the right signal male while those on the left indicate female?
-
4:26 - 4:34Well, in order to differentiate Ms. Pac-Man from her already world-famous counterpart, her creators added a series of stereotypical design elements.
-
4:34 - 4:39With only a few pixels to work with, designers built on top of the original Pac Man template
-
4:39 - 4:45adding a red bow, red lipstick, an eye with makeup, long lashes and a mole as beauty mark.
-
4:45 - 4:48Even though Ms. Pac-Man is essentially a personified shape,
-
4:48 - 4:55in promotional materials she is presented in high-heels with long legs, jewelry and sometimes a feather boa.
-
4:55 - 5:01The design elements that were used to transform Pac-Man into Ms. Pac-Man are referred to as feminizing gendered signifiers
-
5:01 - 5:06the bow, the makeup, the long eyelashes are all specific stylistic choices;
-
5:06 - 5:12they are all part of our culture’s visual vocabulary intended to convey information about gender to the viewer.
-
5:12 - 5:19Game designers use these stereotypical attributes as a sort of shorthand to quickly identify a given character as female.
-
5:19 - 5:23Childlike hair decorations are by far the most frequent accessory used for this purpose.
-
5:23 - 5:28It’s standard practice for creators to, just, put a bow on top of anthropomorphized animals
-
5:28 - 5:33or personified objects in order to communicate that a character is not male.
-
5:33 - 5:36The Bubble Bobble series stars heroes Bub and Bob
-
5:36 - 5:41who are charged with rescuing their female counterparts and respective love interests, Peb and Pab.
-
5:41 - 5:46Lala is the feminized version of the male hero Lolo in the Adventures of Lolo series.
-
5:46 - 5:51MeeMee’s fills this role as the main protagonist’s girlfriend in the Super Monkey Ball games.
-
5:54 - 6:01In Disney’s popular Where’s My Water mobile games, we know that Allie is female because she is the only alligator who wears a bow.
-
6:04 - 6:09The Adult Swim game Giant Boulder of Death takes the trope to ridiculous extremes
-
6:09 - 6:17by gendering a pink boulder with a giant pink bow before she’s stuffed in the refrigerator to motivate the blue boulder to seek revenge.
-
6:20 - 6:24Now the interesting thing is that these gendered signifiers are really quite arbitrary and abstract.
-
6:24 - 6:29There’s nothing about a bow in and of itself that is intrinsically or essentially feminine;
-
6:29 - 6:31it’s just a piece of colored fabric, after all.
-
6:31 - 6:38But our society currently assigns a very specific, socially constructed and strictly enforced meaning to that piece of fabric.
-
6:38 - 6:44It’s a symbol that conveys the concept of female (and invokes the idea of girlhood.)
-
6:45 - 6:48The indie game Rogue Legacy has an interesting system
-
6:48 - 6:52whereby you can be randomly assigned the choice of either male or female heirs to play on each run.
-
6:52 - 7:00The characters are essentially identical both mechanically and aesthetically (except for a very minor difference in their breast plate styles).
-
7:00 - 7:08So far so good, but all the female heirs also have a strangely conspicuous and completely unnecessary lavender colored bow on top of their armour.
-
7:08 - 7:11This is a classic example of put a bow on it!
-
7:16 - 7:21The colour-coding of characters is another frequently used visual element to signify gender.
-
7:21 - 7:25Typically the dominant color used in the design of the female variant is bright pink
-
7:25 - 7:29(although sometimes a purple or pastel palette may be used).
-
7:29 - 7:35In the 1985 NES classic Ice Climber, player 1 controls Popo who wears a blue parka.
-
7:35 - 7:39If you have a 2nd player they can control Nana who wears a pink parka.
-
7:41 - 7:47Amy Rose was designed to be a pink female version of Sonic, especially in her early incarnations.
-
7:49 - 7:53CommandgirlVideo is the female version of CommanderVideo in the Bit Trip Runner indie game series.
-
7:53 - 7:57Her dominant color is purple, she sports a giant bow on her head,
-
7:57 - 8:00and in Runner 2 she is suddenly and conspicuously busty.
-
8:02 - 8:09The most commonly used gendered signifiers or feminizing accessories are bows, lipstick, long eyelashes and the color pink,
-
8:09 - 8:15but there are a whole host of other design elements that, in combination, serve the same purpose.
-
8:15 - 8:22Other signifiers used to differentiate women from men are pigtails, high-heeled shoes, painted nails, pronounced makeup
-
8:22 - 8:30(especially blush and eyeshadow), midriff baring outfits, exaggerated breasts with exposed cleavage, and a heart motif in their design or powers.
-
8:30 - 8:35Pretty Bomber is the protagonist’s adversary and sometimes love interest in the Bomberman series.
-
8:35 - 8:39And just to make absolutely clear there is no confusion about her gender,
-
8:39 - 8:45she is decked out in pink, has a giant heart attached to her head and also throws heart shaped bombs.
-
8:48 - 8:52Gendered signifiers are not mandatory for the Ms. Male Character trope to be in effect
-
8:52 - 9:00but these type of stereotypical attributes do serve to “mark” female characters as decidedly different by virtue of their feminine presentation.
-
9:01 - 9:08Now just to be clear, there’s no inherent problem with the color pink, makeup, bows or high heels as design elements on their own.
-
9:08 - 9:13And of course people of all genders may choose to wear any of them from time to time in the real world
-
9:13 - 9:16and there is nothing necessarily wrong with that either.
-
9:16 - 9:24However, when designers choose to use the Ms. Male Character trope and its associated visual stereotypes to specifically distinguish female characters
-
9:24 - 9:28from the rest of the cast in a fictional context, it has a few negative consequences.
-
9:28 - 9:37One repercussion of constantly relying on feminizing signifiers for character design is that it tends to reinforce a strict binary form of gender expression.
-
9:37 - 9:42The gender binary is an entirely artificial and socially constructed division of male and female
-
9:42 - 9:45into two distinctly separate and opposing classes of human being.
-
9:45 - 9:54The gender binary also erases the continuum of gender presentations and identities that fall outside of the rigid masculine/feminine false dichotomy.
-
9:54 - 9:59And within that strict binary women are “marked” while men get to remain largely “unmarked”.
-
10:06 - 10:09In the Mario franchise, the Koopalings were originally described as Bowser’s seven children,
-
10:09 - 10:13all of them are male except for one named Wendy O Koopa.
-
10:13 - 10:20We know she is female because her designers used practically every hyper-feminine frill and accessory available to separate her from her male siblings.
-
10:21 - 10:28Wendy’s six brothers, by contrast, are “unmarked” by gendered identifiers which means they get to be presented in a variety of creative ways.
-
10:28 - 10:31Ludwig's design communicates intelligence and arrogance,
-
10:31 - 10:34while Lemmy's reveals his playfulness
-
10:34 - 10:37and Iggy's makes him seem maniacal and a little unbalanced.
-
10:37 - 10:43Sadly, Wendy's identity is limited by the fact that she is covered in superficial gendered signifiers.
-
10:43 - 10:47One look at her and you know she's female, but not much else.
-
10:50 - 10:55As with many Ms Male Characters, her defining characteristic is her gender.
-
10:55 - 11:00Wendy also suffers from a parallel condition I like to call “Personality Female Syndrome”
-
11:00 - 11:04wherein female characters are reduced to a one dimensional personality type
-
11:04 - 11:08consisting of nothing more than a collection of shallow stereotypes about women.
-
11:08 - 11:11She is vain, spoiled, bratty and quick to anger.
-
11:11 - 11:13"I don't care!
-
11:13 - 11:18I want America for my birthday!
-
11:18 - 11:23I want it, I want it, I want it!"
-
11:23 - 11:27When female characters are “marked” by obligatory stereotypical identifiers
-
11:27 - 11:35it actively limits the range of available options by enforcing a narrow, restrictive and monolithic model for the portrayal of femininity.
-
11:35 - 11:43Meanwhile, since male characters are allowed to be unmarked it permits a much wider array of possibilities for their designs.
-
11:43 - 11:49I should note that even though pink and purple are strong gendered indicators when combined with other feminizing visual markers
-
11:49 - 11:52those colors are not the exclusive domain of women.
-
11:52 - 11:56An expanded color-palette is something we do see applied to men on rare occasions
-
11:56 - 12:01as with Kirby, Bomberman or Roy Koopa but they are the exception to the rule
-
12:01 - 12:06and are typically only found in colorful childlike (and extremely male dominated) worlds.
-
12:11 - 12:18But if a bow, lipstick, eyeshadow or heels are placed on an otherwise male-identified character the intention,
-
12:18 - 12:23or at least the result, is typically a homophobic or transphobic joke.
-
12:23 - 12:25"Heike Kagero!
-
12:26 - 12:27Fight!"
-
12:30 - 12:36There are a few optional design accessories for men like neckties or baseball caps but they don’t hold the same significance.
-
12:36 - 12:47They are not ubiquitous or strictly enforced, and are never really used to “mark” men as “not female” in larger fictional universes dominated by women.
-
12:47 - 12:50Maxwell is the hero of the popular Scribblenauts series.
-
12:50 - 12:56In the fourth game Scribblenauts Unlimited we are introduced to his twin sister Lily who is basically a feminised copy of Maxwell.
-
12:56 - 13:02The two are identical except for a series of gendered signifiers designed to “mark” her as a female.
-
13:02 - 13:05In the game we learn that Lily is one of 42 children.
-
13:05 - 13:13All 41 of the other siblings are male and all have some trait or interest associated with their name that serves to define their personality.
-
13:13 - 13:19There’s Artie the artist, Buzz the astronaut, Glum the emo-rocker and so on and so forth.
-
13:19 - 13:23and all are unlockable and playable during the course of the game.
-
13:23 - 13:27By contrast, Lily's personality trait is essentially being Maxwell’s twin
-
13:27 - 13:32she has no associated interest or hobby other than being the female version of the game's hero.
-
13:32 - 13:42In addition to being a Ms. Male Character, Lily is also a particularly pronounced example of another related trope called the Smurfette Principle.
-
13:42 - 13:49The term was coined back in 1991 by feminist author Katha Pollitt and is of course named after the only female smurf in Smurfville.
-
13:49 - 13:55The Smurfette Principle is the tendency for a piece of media to include only one woman in an ensemble of male characters.
-
13:55 - 14:04The trope is a pervasive problem in video games, manifesting as the “token chick” in any given grouping of heroes, villains or non-playable characters.
-
14:04 - 14:08An exceptionally stark example of the trope can be found in the original Mega Man series.
-
14:08 - 14:15Over the course of 10 games there are 78 bosses or robot masters and exactly one of them is female,
-
14:15 - 14:18Splash Woman who appears in the 9th game.
-
14:21 - 14:25In the Wii U game The Wonderful 101, six of the seven color-coded playable heroes are men.
-
14:25 - 14:30The one exception is, of course, the pink hero, named Wonder-Pink!
-
14:34 - 14:39In addition to her Smurfette status, she is also afflicted with “Personality Female Syndrome.”
-
14:39 - 14:40"I got in late last night.
-
14:40 - 14:45But there was this party! And then the after-party and then the after-after-party.
-
14:45 - 14:49I needed a major powder break to freshen up before meeting you guys."
-
14:49 - 14:55Wonder-Pink is shallow, vain, materialistic and flies into a rage at the drop of a hat.
-
14:56 - 15:01You can find Smurfettes in just about every genre, from dungeon-crawlers
-
15:01 - 15:03to racing games,
-
15:03 - 15:04from RPGS
-
15:04 - 15:06to shooters.
-
15:06 - 15:10Pollitt sums up the crux of the Smurfette problem nicely in her NYTimes article;
-
15:10 - 15:11"The message is clear.
-
15:11 - 15:14Boys are the norm, girls the variation;
-
15:14 - 15:16boys are central, girls peripheral;
-
15:16 - 15:19boys are individuals, girls types.
-
15:19 - 15:23Boys define the group, its story and its code of values.
-
15:23 - 15:26Girls exist only in relation to boys.”
-
15:26 - 15:29With that in mind let’s come back to Ms. Pac-Man for a moment.
-
15:29 - 15:35One of the core consequence of the Ms. Male Character trope is that it helps to define women by their connection to men.
-
15:35 - 15:38So despite her tagline “More than Pac-Man with a bow”
-
15:38 - 15:41"Honey, dontcha know?
-
15:41 - 15:44I'm more than Pac-Man with a bow!"
-
15:44 - 15:50Ms. Pac-Man’s visual properties are simply an extension of Pac-Man’s original design;
-
15:50 - 15:54she actually kind of is just Pac-Man with a bow.
-
15:54 - 15:59Her simple narrative reinforces the fact that she really only exists in relationship to Pac-Man.
-
15:59 - 16:03She is both his love interest and also the mother of his child.
-
16:08 - 16:12Dixie Kong is the feminine variant and love interest of Diddy Kong.
-
16:12 - 16:19Note the ponytail and hair ringlets, pink shirt, pink hat, earrings, and eyelashes all to distinguish her from her predecessor.
-
16:19 - 16:25Essentially Ms. Male Characters are feminized imitations or derivative copies of already established male characters.
-
16:25 - 16:30They exist only because of, and in relationship to, their male counterparts.
-
16:30 - 16:34Ms. Male Characters typically aren't given their own distinctive identities
-
16:34 - 16:38and are prevented from being fully realized characters who exist on their own terms.
-
16:38 - 16:42This has the, perhaps unintended, effect of devaluing these characters
-
16:42 - 16:47and often relegating them to a subordinate or secondary status inside their respective media franchises,
-
16:47 - 16:52even when they are, on rare occasions, given a starring role in a spin-off or sequel.
-
16:52 - 16:57One very old and notable example of the Ms. Male Character trope comes to mind.
-
16:57 - 17:02As the story goes, God made Adam in his own image and then later took a rib from Adam’s side
-
17:02 - 17:05and fashioned a woman out of it to be his wife and companion.
-
17:05 - 17:10This Adam and Eve version of the creation myth reinforces a subordinate view of women
-
17:10 - 17:15man is cast as the original concept and source code for woman who is derived from his body.
-
17:15 - 17:22Essentially Eve is the sequel to Adam, just as Ms. Pac-Man was built from the body of Pac-Man who came before her.
-
17:22 - 17:25In a male identified society like ours,
-
17:25 - 17:28men are associated and become synonymous with human beings in general.
-
17:28 - 17:33In other words, male tends to be seen as the default for the entire species.
-
17:33 - 17:38In video games male identification manifests as the tendency for all characters to be male by default
-
17:38 - 17:44unless there is some special reason or specific justification for women to be present in the story.
-
17:44 - 17:48To help illustrate one of the ways the "male as default” phenomenon operates in gaming worlds
-
17:48 - 17:52let’s take a look at the mobile mega-hit Angry Birds.
-
17:52 - 17:57When the game was first released in 2009, the five original birds in the flock were identified by their color
-
17:57 - 18:01and did not include any specific gendered signifiers.
-
18:01 - 18:07Over time, as the game has grown in popularity and the brand has expanded to include numerous spin-offs,
-
18:07 - 18:14real world merchandise and a weekly cartoon series, the birds have been given more distinct personalities and actual names.
-
18:14 - 18:22Mobile developer Rovio first began gendering birds in February 2011 with the release of their valentine-themed episode for Angry Birds Seasons
-
18:22 - 18:29which includes Ms. Male Character versions of the Red Bird, the White Bird and a Female Pig as love interests.
-
18:29 - 18:32Note the bows, makeup and long eyelashes.
-
18:32 - 18:38There is a larger unintended consequence to “marking” these birds as female with feminizing gender signifiers;
-
18:38 - 18:45it reinforces that all the other birds and pigs without these specific visual cues are all male by default, unless otherwise noted.
-
18:47 - 18:53The addition of the Pink Bird to the main flock in 2012 further entrenched male as the default setting for the Angry Birds universe.
-
18:54 - 18:59I should mention that Rovio later stated that the white bird was also female and named her Matilda.
-
18:59 - 19:03This revelation led to a character redesign which has feminized the white bird
-
19:03 - 19:08by adding pink accents, rose cheeks and long eyelashes in the Angry Birds cartoon series
-
19:08 - 19:11just to make absolutely clear that she is female.
-
19:13 - 19:19Over in the Mushroom Kingdom we have Toadette who is both a Ms. Male Character and the only woman among the Mushroom people.
-
19:25 - 19:31Her introduction to the Mario-spin off games emphasize the fact that all the other Toads in the entire species are male.
-
19:31 - 19:37Both the Smurfette Principle and the Ms. Male Character tropes create scenarios that reinforce a false dichotomy
-
19:37 - 19:43wherein male is associated with the norm while female is associated with a deviation from the norm.
-
19:43 - 19:48Everything we have discussed in this episode thus far has been related to visual design or narrative connection.
-
19:48 - 19:54But there is another way that the Ms. Male Character trope can manifest itself, and that is through marketing and promotional materials.
-
19:54 - 19:59A great illustration of this trend can be found in Bioware’s highly regarded Mass Effect series.
-
19:59 - 20:04The games offer players a choice between a male or female version of the protagonist Commander Shepard
-
20:04 - 20:07each with a range of cosmetic customizable options.
-
20:07 - 20:13The female option is well designed and her overall narrative is nearly indistinguishable from her male counterpart’s,
-
20:13 - 20:16aside from some of the romance options.
-
20:16 - 20:21However, if we take a step back from the game experience itself and look at the marketing campaigns for the trilogy,
-
20:21 - 20:25we see that the female variant of Shepard is practically non-existent.
-
20:25 - 20:30In mainstream advertising of the franchise, the male commander is used almost exclusively.
-
20:30 - 20:35His image is front and center on the box covers for all releases including the special editions.
-
20:35 - 20:41He is the one featured in the TV commercials, teasers, trailers, web banners, street posters and print ads
-
20:41 - 20:44and his face appears on most of the magazine covers.
-
20:44 - 20:49All of this positions the male Commander Shepard as the default protagonist of the series.
-
20:49 - 20:50"One man
-
20:50 - 20:52one very specific man,
-
20:52 - 20:59might be all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat of our brief existence."
-
20:59 - 21:02That is how Bioware is selling the Mass Effect experience.
-
21:02 - 21:07Nearly everything about the advertising campaign explicitly tells players that Commander Shepard is a man
-
21:07 - 21:12and by extension associates the official storyline with the male version of the hero.
-
21:12 - 21:17This marketing strategy contributes to the fact that only 18-20% of players choose the female option
-
21:17 - 21:22(despite the fact that Jennifer Hale’s voice acting is widely praised as being far superior).
-
21:22 - 21:25"You brought me here to confirm what you already know:
-
21:25 - 21:28The reapers are here."
-
21:28 - 21:33Still, the female version has a dedicated fanbase who frequently refers to her as “FemShep”.
-
21:33 - 21:39And although this is meant as an affectionate nickname, it does further highlight her designation as a Ms. Male Character.
-
21:39 - 21:42She is the one with the qualifier attached to her name.
-
21:42 - 21:46She is “Female Shepard” whereas the male version simply gets to be, “Shepard”.
-
21:49 - 21:53During the advertising of Mass Effect 3, Bioware made a little more effort to include female Shepard
-
21:53 - 21:59with items like an alternate reversible slip cover for the game box (which features the male version by default)
-
21:59 - 22:02as well as a special web only trailer
-
22:02 - 22:06but these gestures feel like an afterthought or niche specialty marketing
-
22:06 - 22:09and hardly what I would call a substantial or equitable inclusion.
-
22:09 - 22:14While Mass Effect’s advertising strategy might not undermine the story or gameplay,
-
22:14 - 22:19it is a glaring example of how the Ms. Male Character trope can be perpetuated by marketing departments
-
22:19 - 22:26unless careful consideration is given to how gender is represented when advertising games that do offer players a choice.
-
22:26 - 22:32Now it’s certainly true that in many cases the games starring the female variant are better gaming experiences overall.
-
22:32 - 22:38And taken on their own, each individual example we’ve covered in this episode might seem relatively benign or trivial
-
22:38 - 22:44but the reason this series focuses on tropes is because they help us recognize larger, recurring patterns.
-
22:44 - 22:50Both the Ms. Male Character and the Smurfette Principle have been normalized in gaming and in mass media more broadly.
-
22:50 - 22:56So much so that the two tropes usually pass under the radar and are often reproduced unconsciously
-
22:56 - 23:02which is part of what makes the myths they perpetuate about women so powerful and insidious in our culture.
-
23:02 - 23:07The truth of the matter is that there’s really no need to define women as derivative copies of men
-
23:07 - 23:14or to automatically resort to lazy, stereotypical or limiting gender signifiers when designing video game characters.
-
23:14 - 23:21"It was at that moment that Claire realized...she had super powers!"
-
23:21 - 23:27Claire is a simple blue cube and one of the more memorable characters from the indie game Thomas Was Alone.
-
23:27 - 23:32We know she is female because of her name, her narrative and the pronouns used during gameplay.
-
23:32 - 23:37Claire’s gender presentation doesn’t reduce her to her gender or separate her from the rest of the cast.
-
23:37 - 23:42"Claire needed to come up with a super hero name as soon as possible."
-
23:44 - 23:50Half of the playable characters in TowerFall are women and the game is also notable for it’s color-code inversion,
-
23:50 - 23:54The Last of the Order wears blue while the Assassin Prince is decked out in pink.
-
23:55 - 23:58Indie games like the Knytt Underground,
-
23:58 - 24:00Scary Girl
-
24:00 - 24:02Ittle Dew
-
24:02 - 24:04and the iOS title Lili
-
24:04 - 24:07all have female characters who resist gendered stereotypes.
-
24:07 - 24:10Each of these indie games avoids falling back on the Ms Male Character trope
-
24:10 - 24:16or relying on narrow superficial visual markers as a stand in for personality.
-
24:16 - 24:20The visual aesthetics of these female characters displays a range of gender expression and presentation
-
24:20 - 24:24using a variety of hairstyles, color choices and accessories.
-
24:24 - 24:30Developers can also choose to give players the opportunity to get to know the personalities, interests and struggles of their characters.
-
24:30 - 24:33Even with minimal narrative or limited graphics
-
24:33 - 24:38it is entirely possible to make games that feature dynamic women who exist on their own terms.
-
24:39 - 24:43"Remember, it all starts with a harmless quarter.
-
24:43 - 24:48But it can turn to tragedy just like that.
-
24:55 - 24:58Can I play now?"
- Title:
- Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games
- Description:
-
In this episode we examine the Ms. Male Character trope and briefly discuss a related pattern called the Smurfette Principle. We've defined the Ms. Male Character Trope as: The female version of an already established or default male character. Ms. Male Characters are defined primarily by their relationship to their male counterparts via visual properties, narrative connection or occasionally through promotional materials.
Links, resources and full transcript available at:
http://www.feministfrequency.com/2013/11/ms-male-character-tropes-vs-womenCaptions and Subtitles Coming Soon!
GAMES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Pac-Man (1980)
Crazy Otto Enhancement Kit Prototype (1981)
Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
Bubble Bobble (1986)
Adventures of Lolo (1989)
Super Monkey Ball Series
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (2012)
Where's My Water Series
Where's My Water: Allie's Story (2013)
Giant Boulder of Death (2013)
Rogue Legacy (2013)
Ms. Splosion Man (2011)
Ice Climber (1985)
Sonic the Hedgehog CD (1993)
Bit.Trip Runner Series
Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (2013)
Bomberman Series
Super Bomberman 2 (1994)
Mortal Kombat Series
Super Mario Bros. Series
New Super Mario Bros. U (2012)
Bare Knuckle III (1994) [Japan only]
Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario Bros 2 (1993)
Kirby Series
Kirby's Return to Dreamland (2011)
Super Punch-Out!! (1994)
Scribblenauts Series
Scribblenauts Unlimited (2012)
Army Men: RTS (2002)
Left 4 Dead 2 (2009)
Sonic Lost World (2013)
Bully (2006)
Mega Man Series
Mega Man 9 (2008)
The Wonderful 101 (2013)
Gauntlet (1985)
Crazy Taxi (1999)
EarthBound (1989)
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies Mode (2012)
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures (1994)
Donkey Kong Series
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (anticipated 2014)
Angry Birds Series
Angry Birds (2009)
Angry Birds Seasons - Hogs and Kisses (2011)
Mario Kart Wii (2008)
Mass Effect Series
Mass Effect 3 (2012)
Thomas Was Alone (2012)
TowerFall (2013)
Knytt Underground (2012)
ScaryGirl (2012)
Ittle Dew (2013)
Lili (2012)FAIR USE
The multimedia clips included in this video constitute a 'fair use' of any copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of U.S. Copyright law which allows for criticism, comment and scholarship.ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Tropes vs Women in Video Games project aims to examine the plot devices and patterns most often associated with female characters in gaming from a systemic, big picture perspective. This series will include critical analysis of many beloved games and characters, but remember that it is both possible (and even necessary) to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of it's more problematic or pernicious aspects.This video series is created by Anita Sarkeesian and the project was funded by 6968 awesome backers on Kickstarter.com
COMMENTS: We have been forced to close comments on YouTube due to continued harassment of this channel but please feel free to post and share this video with your own social media networks to facilitate discussions.
OTHER TROPE VIDEOS:
Damsel in Distress Part 1: http://youtu.be/X6p5AZp7r_Q
Damsel in Distress Part 2: http://youtu.be/toa_vH6xGqs
Damsel in Distress Part 3: http://youtu.be/LjImnqH_KwM - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Feminist Frequency
- Duration:
- 25:02
Retired user edited English subtitles for Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games | ||
Daniel Dromboski edited English subtitles for Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games | ||
Daniel Dromboski edited English subtitles for Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games | ||
femfreq edited English subtitles for Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games | ||
femfreq edited English subtitles for Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games |