I think a setting or game’s increased difficulty due to misogyny could be offset by giving a female character some other benefits. For example, say it’s a medievalesque setting. The PC could have access to a private conversation with an important noblewoman because it’s not viewed as improper for them to be seen alone.
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For me, at least, having to read through a bunch of misogyny is not really…equivalent? to a bonus scene with an npc, but ymmv I guess
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That was just one example. It could be access to a female-only space as well, such as say in a Chinese-inspired setting: the harem/inner court where the Empress, princesses, concubines, and ladies in waiting live. An entire hub.
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Apologies if I said this or something similar before I think I’ve posted in here before
I like the idea of if you’re playing as a male everyone is like “Look at Gaston the baddest of the bad when he says “jump” we say " how high” he’s the baddest"
If you’re playing as a female. " Wait Mulan is a woman what can she do?" * One epic badass world saving later * “apparently that”
Although I only ever play female if I have the option.
what if it was reversed , would you still play it ?
I’m going to play any game that let’s me be female.
lol that doesn’t answer the question though .
Personally , I would never play a game where the gender is : Female has to be a weakling and be saved at every turn , and male is this buffed dude flexing at everyone he meet .
If I ever write something where I wanna spice up thing by making gender different . I probably go at it a different way .
Often the trope that some writers fall into , is to go the cliché route . Ohhh Princess story? well of course she must be limited by that thousand pound dress and her best skill is screaming and fainting !
Or go the sexist route , where her biggest challenge is how long she will cry because of a remark toss her way .
Or worse , make her do impossible thing but everyone around her is an idiot . Making it look like the only way she can be smart is if everyone else is stupid lol I saw a couple of movies like that…
I like to think there is a better way to write two genders without putting one down . After all…every human is different . You have frail and smart , smart and buffed , buffed and dumb …etc .
The only…exemple I can think of for now , and I think this is an interesting question and I’m sure there is a way outta there for it . The only thing I can think of…is to use a system of class for gender . Say like DIablo 1 . You can play as a warrior , a rogue and a mage . They all go trough the never ending dungeon . The only difference between them is their skill and how challenging is their fights and the tactic they use to survive .
See the point isn’t that your character is frail because she’s a woman . She can be Xena the Warrior Princess but the townsfolk themselves assume she’s weak because they’re misogynistic assholes.
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I’m not in the mood for discussion, but the topic is interesting, so here are a few thoughts (not all that I have, but it should be enough):
Something, something...
- If it’s a hictoric setting, then the change in how female and male MC is treated is expected (same for LGBTQ characters treatment within the setting). As long as you are not restricted where it matters. Like romance or what you can achieve during the story.
For example, the MC needs to get into a male-only area in order to get a neat item that will give her an edge or meet a neat character and get a relationship boost… There are other places you can go and other items and characters you can meet that will also help to move the plot, but they are not so satisfying (the characters are unlikeable/wrong gender, the items are mediocre/useless for your chosen class - that kind of thing). One way the game can resolve the dilemma is by just locking you out of a gender-restricled option. Another (better) way is for MC to go in disguise or sneak around - so long as you can actually get in where you want to, it’s okay to have to take a different approach to do so. That would even make things more exciting. - Assigning unique classes to certain genders does not work. Mirror-classes for each gender that use the same stats - sure, why not. (But definitely none of “female mages, male warriors” or “male battlemages, female healers” bull)
- Sexism can be creatively written in a game, but unless the MC can effectively deal with arising problems that it brings instead of just bearing the abuse and giving a passive reaction or relying on male NPC’s help to be protected from it, I see no point.
- Male gender for MC is default in most cases, so I won’t focus on this. Though there can be some issues with expectations and gender stereotypes that are already outdated at this point…
- God, I completely forgot about non-binary… er, sorry, nothing to say here. I’ll leave it to those in the know.
In theory I’d be fine with it, but in practise it ends up being “now play again as other gender to see other content/ scenes”
Which I dislike, as I only play as male unless the game’'s good and gender locked female, and results in having played less of the game, based less upon choices (although you’re given a choice, many people play as their own gender) but more on gender.
And the fact unless youre trying to be historically accurate and have the game almost exactly like the past, there’s little point. I can almost promise the that you won’t get any hate from not putting in misogyny in your fantasy/ loosely based on real history game