The Ms. Male Character and other Female Gaming Characters

Anita Sarkeesian, host of
Feminist Frequency (Image Source)

The video I watched this week was Ms. Male Character - Tropes Vs. Women in Video Games. In the video, Anita Sarkeesian speaks about the concept of a "Ms. Male Character" and how often they appear in video games. This concept came about due to a need for female characters in games, but these specific types of female characters are essentially female stereotyped clones of their male counterparts. In gaming, this began with Ms. Pac-Man, who is basically just Pac-Man with a bow, eyelashes, and lipstick. All of these things are what people identify as female, but Anita points out that these are things that are completely superficial, created by society.
There are examples of female characters in games that don't fall into the Ms. Male Character trope, such as Claire from Thomas was Alone (see left) and Ellie from The Last of Us, but unfortunately, most female characters will end up being created using this exact trope. This trope also tends to mean the characters have very little depth or personality, outside of being a female version of their male counterpart, like Ms. Pac-Man.

Claire from Thomas Was Alone (Image Source)

As an avid gamer, this makes me think a lot about what makes a female character in a game. Is it for the sake of having a female character? How were they created? Why are they dressed the way they are? I then realized that some of my favorite female game characters avoid these tropes, at least mostly. A recent favorite of mine was Lara Croft in my personal Game of The Year 2015 pick, Rise of The Tomb Raider. Lara is the central character, and has no male counterpart. She doesn't display many of the stereotypical female attributes, and in fact displays herself as one of the most bad ass characters around, male or female. She's tough as nails, doesn't wear pink, but she does have a bow. Only this one isn't the kind you stick in your hair. This is a total change from her original character's portrayal, who was a hypersexualized woman with large (albeit polygonal) breasts and long legs. The new Lara, which was changed for the 2013 reboot of the Tomb Raider series, removes this hypersexuality, going for a far more subtle look.

Zelda and her disguised persona, Sheik (Image Source)

Princess Zelda of The Legend of Zelda fame allows us to take an interesting look at this trope. Zelda herself, while not a "Ms. Male Character", does have some of the stereotypical female attributes. She has long hair, wears purple, and has a tiara. However, in one of the greatest games of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, she disguises herself as another character named Sheik, who displays none of the female stereotypes we're used to seeing in games and pop culture in general.

It's important to look at female characters in gaming and understand where they come from. I believe more of an effort needs to be made in order to change the Ms. Male Character stereotype, but we seem to be well on our way, especially thanks to characters like Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot.