(Week 4) Beware: “The Princess Peach is PMS-ING”

Beware: “The Princess Peach is PMS-ING”
(Playing with Fire: Trouble in Super Macho World?-Gonzalo Frasca)

While I don’t play a whole lot of videos, that is my son’s department and he does it so well, and I better mention that my daughter also plays them, just not a total die-hard like her brother. Even so, I do know some about Super Mario and Princess Peaches; I actually played it some back when I was younger. And it would be safe to say that my amount of video play time didn’t even come close to the time my brothers spent playing them.


I noticed while reading: Playing with Fire: Trouble in Super Macho World? –Gonzalo Frasca, that the article seem like it was mostly about the Author informing the reader’s about his dislikes (his opinions) of those “Fantasy centered Video Games”. And that he really seems to look forward to playing game: The Sims, when it came about. It seems that it likely because it had a more realistic touch-kind of feeling to it.


The games out there tend to make people either be that neat, outgoing, active and nice person (like the characters in The Sims game), and then there’s the games that take the opposite effect and make them seem more like Rambo (male), or look and like a Cyber-Bimbo. Which is not realistic at all, it seems like a never ending challenge to making the games lifelike (realistic) and fun at the same time. It must be a headache for the video game designers, I am glad that at this moment that this is not my job.


Now onto my Princess Peaches, what a gal dressed up in pink, looking so pretty and dainty like. But, watch out for the “Female Mood Swings”. And what a typical example of stereotyping of women, we are just a bundle of nerves and need some big bad strong male to save us from the evil out there. And Females get all emotional, pouting, all hell breaks loose, fire out her nose per say. But, Males don’t throw fits, or pout. They just jump up and knock their lights out.


That is such a plate of baloney going here. I happen to know a few female’s (one is my older daughter, who do not just pout and act all emotional when she upset or someone makes her mad, let alone try to hurt her. She will knock their lights out in a heart-beat, and she is a little short thing (5’2) but with a good right cross. So it’s not just Males who knock you out. Then there’s another interesting factor: They never mention that “Males” can have mood swings and emotional up and downs, and yes I did say (oh my, going say it again) “Males”.


And it shouldn’t be so shocking that we play Video Games, because hey we are out there working on cars, we like Sport’s Games (Boxing, Wresting, etc) as well as like to play them as well. What Males don’t realize and understand is that they Females play Video Games; just we’re more selective on what we play, how long and why. And it looks like the Video Game World is actually getting that.


With the number of Female who plays Video Games is increasing every day, spending money right there along with their Male counterparts, game designers have had to wake-up and get on the move. Start improving the games out there, especially female characters. Because as we all know, there is big money to be made here and let’s not lose a single dollar by being stupid.


And it seems like they are trying to do so because in Super Mario, Princess Peaches is being portrayed in her own video: “Super Princess Peaches”. Now while it’s great she has her own game to star in, they need to watch out the image she portrays to the public especially young children. They need to remember that children tend to imitate what they see and hear.


Because while “Pretty in Pink” sounds all sweet and great, it’s not the image I have in mind for Females. But, at the same time seeing Females portrayed as either a “Prostitute”, and it seems like these particular characters are strolling along and being beaten up when they Male character is mad or broke.


Then there are those videos games such as: “Tomb Raider”. Where they Females as lead characters who shoot, roll, jump and kick like their Male counterparts, except that they larger than life size breast and jump with every step that they take.


Until recently I hadn’t notice just how really sexism the games out there were. Then since taking this class I have spent more time watching the video games that my son plays, and have noticed just how the females were being portrayed. To be more eye catching to the Males playing them and so very outrageous stereotyping of a Female, as well as so unethically wrong to say the least.


Gaming has increased in the younger Male population and I pretty sure this is part of the reason as to way it has. This seems so disturbing as well as so immature of the gaming world (players as well as designers/inventors) out there. I can only hope that the children as well as adults who play these games remember that Females are not either one in real life: Pretty in Pink (helpless, dumb etc) or Cyber-Bimbo (prostitute, suppose to be beat etc).


Gender will be somewhat of an issue for awhile, but hopefully will start to improve over time as more and more Females are involved with gaming and such.