It's not that I don't understand things like "if all people were truly viewed as equal, they'd get equal exposure in things like video games & movies". That makes sense. But to get upset each time a video game comes out that doesn't at least offer the option to be female? That feels so foreign to me. Some people start acting like it's unhealthy for video games to feature males. To me, that seems backwards; the world isn't getting messed up because video games are that way, the video games are that way because the wo-- no, video games are that way for reasons involving the consumers, the market, lots of factors. So far, this marketing has worked for them. Anyway, I'm not going too far down that line of thought. Let's travel a different way. Video games have always been predominately featuring males. (That is, when they aren't about lizards or mammals or stars or marbles or... stuff like that.) & guess what. We turned out pretty much okay. I never gave a second thought to why the video games we had weren't about women. I'm not sure I even had a first thought about it. It really didn't matter. I'm not sure how much it ever matters. It's not like the video game is meant to be about ME. I was more interested in whether or not the controls would let me move diagonally, or getting frustrated by scrolling levels with tricky jumps, or laughing at The Cactus Dance. I don't start reading a book & thinking "well gosh, that character isn't at all like me, that makes me really upset". I don't walk out of a theater because a white guy gets the most lines. It's merely a story-telling choice when I come across it. The best characters do tend to be ones that I feel I can relate to in some way or another... but it is both more FUN & more MEANINGFUL when I can relate to them yet be different from them in many ways. When I play a video game, it's like I'm making friends. & what good would my world be if populated with people just like me? I get more excited to see exotic beings like Gorons than when I see a fellow female in a game, to be honest. I want to see creativity. I want to discover. I want my world & my mind to be expanded. I'd rather play a game as a weird androgynous naked fish-person than as a woman.
I'm all for better-written females. I would love to see more females. I also would like to see more people who like they're descended from, like, y'know, maybe Africa or Asia or something. A little more diversity would be awesome. (Even age-diversity. I want to play as an old person, that would rock my socks.) I just can't bring myself to take it personally.
That said, I've also never been persecuted for being a gaming female. I grew up playing video games with my brother, my mom, & our friends (guy friends, just to clarify that, in case it matters in any way). Nowadays I mostly play single-player. I'll play with my husband. Sometimes I play with my d&d group (yes, all those are guys too). I can't remember a single instance where my being a girl was ever even mentioned. Maybe if it ever had been an issue, I'd be more frustrated. I'd wish that more of those gamer jerk guys out there could see a female protagonist of awesome. As it is, I'm comfortable with me being a woman & most video games being about a guy. Most video games coming out these days don't interest me much anyway, because the big thing right now seems to be to make realistic shooter games. (&, to be realistic, most shooters are male. Just thought of that.)
To be honest... most of the modern games I own/play feature a female or the option. Portal 2... the Mass Effect series... the Dragon Age series... the Fable series... Rock Band & Guitar Hero series... Harvest Moon: Magical Melody... Pokémon LeafGreen... I would recommend any of those games. Admire the long hair of those females &, I don't know, do whatever else makes you happy. For bonus points, how about maybe supporting women in the gaming industry? Go make a change yourself, or support people who are trying. Really, just be you, the very best you you can be, whether you're a lady, a guy, or a weird androgynous naked fish-person, & I'll try that too.
I'm sorry if anyone feels judged by this opinion. It's really not about my opinion of you (I still rather respect all the ladies I know who have inspired this blog post!), merely my opinion of the issue.
