To "flip the script" is to take an existing story/franchise with a male hero and a female Damsel and switch their roles. The male character becomes a passive Animus and the female Damsel becomes an active Heroine.
However, this tactic runs the risk of "men with tits" syndrome. Swapping the Mario and the Princess Peach often results in female protagonists that are male in everything but appearance. They act like men, they talk like men, they dress in short skirts and bodices. What is the point of a female protagonist that is essentially a man?
This sort of character is also problematic in that they are still intended as a stand-in for male players. Why else would game makers avoid showing their female protagonists kissing (or indeed, fucking) men?
And while this problem is something feminists love to point out, it also illustrates something that many feminists are not comfortable with: men and women act differently. Some of this is cultural, some of this is practical, and some of it may indeed be biological. The question is not whether or not this is fair, but when we complain about female characters with no discernibly female characteristics (save tits), we acknowledge the difference.
It's also why simply flipping the script and slapping tits on a male character fails psychologically. If only unconsciously, we know there is a difference between how men behave and how women behave. We want our female protagonists to act like women.
Now, there is a difference between saying female protagonists should act like women and that game mechanics should reflect this and saying that female characters should always be passive objects. The Heroine is a different creature from the Anima. She is the one on the quest to liberate the soul, not the soul to be liberated. But creating active female characters starts with creating female characters, not with stapling female bodies onto male characters.
Later on in the series we will look at some ideas for games that are both psychologically satisfying and provide roles for women beyond passive Damsel/Riot Grrrl/Man with Tits.
But first, I want to delve further into what defines a Trope, and why that definition is the hamburger instead of the cow. Look for it next time.
[AVW006] Tropes – Clichés that Keep Getting Used
This sort of character is also problematic in that they are still intended as a stand-in for male players. Why else would game makers avoid showing their female protagonists kissing (or indeed, fucking) men?
And while this problem is something feminists love to point out, it also illustrates something that many feminists are not comfortable with: men and women act differently. Some of this is cultural, some of this is practical, and some of it may indeed be biological. The question is not whether or not this is fair, but when we complain about female characters with no discernibly female characteristics (save tits), we acknowledge the difference.
It's also why simply flipping the script and slapping tits on a male character fails psychologically. If only unconsciously, we know there is a difference between how men behave and how women behave. We want our female protagonists to act like women.
Now, there is a difference between saying female protagonists should act like women and that game mechanics should reflect this and saying that female characters should always be passive objects. The Heroine is a different creature from the Anima. She is the one on the quest to liberate the soul, not the soul to be liberated. But creating active female characters starts with creating female characters, not with stapling female bodies onto male characters.
Later on in the series we will look at some ideas for games that are both psychologically satisfying and provide roles for women beyond passive Damsel/Riot Grrrl/Man with Tits.
But first, I want to delve further into what defines a Trope, and why that definition is the hamburger instead of the cow. Look for it next time.
[AVW006] Tropes – Clichés that Keep Getting Used
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