In response to "Female Stereotypes in RPGs"

by Magical Esper 

I found Shayera's editorial on female stereotypes interesting because I could see multiple sexual and racial stereotypes in RPGs and in video games in general. Often in RPGs, it is the intrusion of a glaringly obvious steroptype that pulls me out of the gaming experience. That being said, I'd like to refute some of the points made by Shayera. I must say right now that I do agree with her, in that there are too many stereotypes in games, but I must play devil's advocate here because while I stand on one side of the river, I can also see the other shore. I feel there are valid reasons for the existence of such stereotypes.

Before I continue, I must warn readers that I am probably going to say few things that will offend some people with strong feminist beliefs, but seeing as how this is an editorial on female stereotype, I can't see how this can be avoided. I apologize in advance.

Firstly, to deal with stereotypes in general, we live in a world of stereotypes. Society is founded upon the opinions of the few, carried by the thoughts of many. A society as a whole is defined by its stereotypes, and its occupants adhere to these stereotypes with startling stubborness. You need only to look at a teen magazine (which in it of itself implies stereotype), movies, or television to see the stereotypes prevalent in society today. Thus it is no surprise that video games contain many of the stereotypes shared by its society. Female and male stereotypes are probably the most common, in that the male is usually a father figure, and the female a mother figure.

The first of the stereotypes brought up by Shayera is the "gentle healer". I think that this stereotype arises from the subconcious image with which most people portray a woman: the maternal-caring-child-nurturer. This is the most prevalent stereotype, not only in video games, but in generic society and the media as a whole. The mother figure needs to be gentle in the care of a child, and her job is in essence to "heal" a child; that is, to nurture a child into full health. This coincides nicely with the understood concepts of white magic, which deals with nourishment (replenishing HP) and the healing of ailments. Further tied to this is the fact, as Shayera mentioned, the stereotypical character is "frequently the girlfriend or love interest of the hero." The love interest needs to project motherly characteristics more than anything else, as she is the primary love interest in the game. We see this in literature and movies all the time; The women stay back home, radiating a sense of domesticity, taking care of "family affairs" as the men go off to war.

>From this stereotype arises directly the second mentioned by Shayera: the "strong" type. Phyiscally strong, independent, and acting as a counterweight to the "healer". To explain this stereotype, realize that the use of "counterweights" is very common; these counterweights are commonly known as character foils. These are characters with the same developmental dimensions as its counterpart (they are as "deep" as their foil). The character directly contrasts its foil in order to accentuate certain aspects of the foil's character. The "strong" type is a heavily prevalent stereotype, not only in female characters, but also in male characters as well. Steiner of Final Fantasy IX, for example, mirrors Ayla of Chrono Trigger as a stereotype. Steiner is the male version of the "strong" character, and he is a character foil for Zidane: He takes a direct approach to obstacles, and is stubbornly narrow-minded, contrasting with the thief characteristics of Zidane. Characters like Steiner and Amarant emphasize Zidane's intellect, wit, and cunning.

Ayla is a female version of Steiner, though I'd say she is less of a stereotype than he is. She is, after all, strong by neccesity. Her character would have been the same (in terms of characteristics) even if it'd been replaced by a male. It is generally understood that in the "dawn of man" (to borrow from Kubrick), brute force was what was needed to survive. Thus it is not surprising that the leader of a tribe would be physically strong. It is interesting to note that the leader of a prehistoric human tribe should be female, implying a matriarchal society rather than a patriarchal one, conflicting with western stereotype.

Of the list of "strong" characters given by Shayera, I would say that the only shallow character (in terms of character dimensions) is Tifa. But then again, she is a direct contrast, a character foil, for Aeris, who fits the "gentle healer" stereotype better than just about anyone else. They are both decidedly one dimensional, and purposely so. Tifa is a foil; foils are used to accentuate certain aspects of a character. She is used to emphasize the fact that Aeris is an allegory for healing and life (It is Aeris that Cloud finds in the Life Stream). Crymsun's editorial on Symbolism in FF7 and FF8 explain this detail very well.

The final stereotype mentioned is the "perky/cute" type. Quite frankly, I as well find them annoying and inexcusable, so I must concede the point :).

The most important aspect of stereotypes to consider is the fact that while female stereotypes exist, male ones are just as prevalent. Shayera mentions several herself in wishing for a greater range of roles for female characters: the "cool", etc. Solid Snake is just about the most stereotypical, chilvarous yet reluctant, male hero you could possibly think of. Edgar and Sabin from FF6 are practically taken straight off the stereotype printing press. Squall, Cloud, and Zidane all fall into the same category as Solid Snake. Nearly every character I can think of, whether a she, he, or it, is some stereotype. To say that there needs to be less female stereotyping would not be fair, since there are just as many male stereotypes out there.

Video games in general will always carry stereotypes. They are exaggerations on reality, and exaggerations as a neccesity require stereotypes. It is not so much a problem with consumers wishing for female "eye candy" (though that is certainly part of it) as it is a predefined ideal, subconciously hardwired into us by the society in which we live. This society, however, is dynamic; it is constantly changing, and constantly changed are the people within them. In fifty years we will still have the same problem of over-used stereotypes, but the stereotypes will probably have evolved and changed. Who knows: maybe in fifty years I will have to write in to complain about too many male healers!