Letters to the Editor

Griefer Nation

I am inclined to believe the latter, for a few reasons. For one, she has many of the traits that, from what I have read, women look for in a playable character. Secondly, I believe that any sense of "gender identity" is largely culturally-imposed. Red does not have any "distinctively feminine traits," yet I do not doubt that my concepts of said traits are a result of the culture I have grown up in. Finally, I believe that it would be impossible to give a character distinct gender-specific traits without sexualizing them to some extent.

Either way, when I play through the game as Red now, I am aware that she is in fact a she, and that does not change anything. Except give me even more respect for Treasure as a developer.

-Jason Begy

To the Editor: I would like to discuss a letter sent in by Jason Begy in response to my own article, "Women Monsters and Monstrous Women."

Dear Jason: I think the overarching question you're asking (i.e. whether gender neutrality is better than sexualized gender identity) is an important one, and your description of Gunstar Super Heroes' "Red" offers an interesting example.

It certainly seems that Red, as a woman who is never labeled as such in game, is able to sidestep many of the complicated gender roles discussed in "Women Monsters." She is a strong, capable heroine. At the same time, she avoids the possibility of becoming a victim of sadism and voyeurism on the part of players since, for the most part, they do not realize they are playing/controlling a woman. In these ways, she may seem to set a positive model for female characters, ones who do not need to be monstrous in order to maintain respect and avoid objectification. And as a fellow redhead, I can certain empathize with a fellow "fiery," "passionate" woman.

However, I would personally disagree with the concept of androgyny as ideal in representing women. It is, perhaps, the safest route, but it also circumvents the issue. For us, as members of a modern Western culture and a male-centered video game community, gender neutrality is never as simple as ambiguity. When we see a video game character who has not been officially assigned a gender, we rarely consider them to be androgynous figures. Instead, as in your personal experience with Red and Gunstar Super Heroes, we assume that they are male. Therefore, not offering an indication of a character's sex is, in effect, the same as hiding her identity, or denying her of it all together.

You mention that Red has positive, "masculine" traits, which women often seek out in a constructive female character. Yet, I would argue that not only do we need to keep in mind the precarious foundation of our understandings of "masculine" and "feminine" - as you note - but also our understandings of "positive" and "negative," "powerful" and "weak."

Perhaps women do not need to take on manly qualities in order to become worthwhile. Assimilation, in my opinion, is not the ideal. We shouldn't have to ignore the fact that women are different than men. Of course, this isn't meant as a universalizing statement; every person has individual tastes, habits, qualities, etc. But to subsume femininity, whatever it may mean for a particular woman, into assumed masculinity, is to give up.