Gaming and Sexism

[Mutsukki]

Does it not also happen to male characters though? Think about it... The over-feminine looking guys for the fangirls to go wild over, guys that hardly wear much of anything as well, and etc. I'm aware that the role reversal of that is far more prominent, but this is an additional point that bothers me; many activists make it sound like it doesn't happen to male characters at all, which would be untrue. The thing is, though, even when games like that are made, they probably don't sell as well as the reversal. The most important thing to remember is that, above anything else, the gaming industry is a business designed to make a lot of money. They're obviously going to choose the route that nets them the most income.

So you're saying that it's alright to continue with this conservative view and backwards market because it "makes money"? I know it's the reality, which is why Anita is making these videos and trying to change things, so we don't have this horrible type of thinking that shouldn't be enforced at all and people would be more comfortable with female leads and stuff.

The point of complaining that "oh but there are male characters that suffer that too" is completely irrelevant, as because of now, there's no balance in stuff focused for man that put women in a powerless role than the opposite. A few examples do not make the injury less important, actually, if anything, it makes it worse, because there are fewer than it should. The thing is, the damsel archetype is only negative and awful because there's nothing to counter-balance it. It enforces values that can keep being repeated over and over. If you closely watch the videos, you'll see that it also shows a HUGE lack of creativity in games development and plot. It's the same story over and over and that's horrible not only for women but for basically everyone.

As far as I know she really likes Peach and Zelda, but these traits given to them, prevent them from being fully enjoyable characters, because they're bound to cultural stereotypes that (rightfully) offend her. She as a gamer has all the more reason to complain and want change on this. I'm not relating each actions but, I think that Peach now being playable in the new Super Mario 3D World game and Britanny being marketed as an interesting character in Pikmin 3 are some results of this experiment.

Also, she says something really important that I think everyone should take into consideration: that it's very important to enjoy things, while being able to criticize them for their faults (and cultural impacts).

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I didn't know overly-feminized male characters were pandering to a female audience?
I don't really think they are?

Also, while this is besides the point, they actually are ahahah. Girls tend to like overly-feminine guys in media, manga and anime that have that proeminentely are a huge hit with women. Women authors (in manga and anime at least) tend to draw overly-feminine guys too.