The accuracy of the common mantra “sex sells” is apparent in all forms of media: from movies and TV shows to magazines to video games. Sexy, scantily clad female characters in video games are widely celebrated, from Lara Croft to, well, the entire Dead or Alive cast. If you were to ask gamers who the most well-known Final Fantasy woman was, the buxom Tifa Lockhart would undoubtedly be a popular response. But these characters have also received criticism for their appearance.
Commonly, a female character’s outfit or pose is not out of any practical reason such as protection, comfort, or ease of movement, but to arouse the viewer. If video games were to be believed, skin-tight and revealing clothing is the most comfortable and practical clothing available for all circumstances, and that bending over sexily is the most natural position for a woman to be in. But if the male characters tried to similarly show themselves off, the results would be patently silly. Why is this any more tolerable coming from women?
If the men posed like the women in comics. "HULK GROPE!"
A common response to these points is that the game developers are simply giving the audience what they want, and that men enjoy looking at women. And there’s nothing wrong with that, by itself. But the sexist portrayal of women goes deeper than that. It’s not just the aesthetics by themselves, but the entire way women are portrayed in video games, from their appearance to their personality to their role in the story, that is sexist. The biggest problem being that this is not just in video games; this attitude towards women is indicative of a real-world sexism that pervades our entire culture.
I want to highlight two other types of sexism to you that are readily apparent in video games, and the Final Fantasy series in particular: the overwhelming use of stereotypical gender roles for female characters, and the common dependence that female characters have on more central, male characters to their relevance in the game.
As far as gender roles go, there are a handful of molds that Square-Enix has used for many of its female main characters. Women are typically seen as weaker and more nurturing than men. Is it any surprise then that women tend to be the physically weak healers and magic users in the games? The characters’ personalities are also commonly cookie-cutter: the demanding princess, the whiny brat, the damsel in distress, the passionate love interest.
The dependence on male characters is a more subtle sign of sexism, but equally important and just as pervasive. The Bechdel Test for measuring sexism in movies requires that there be two named women in the movie who talk to each other about something other than a man. A shocking number of movies do not pass this simple test, because too many women are either token female characters or their roles are almost entirely dependent on a more primary male character (such as the typical love interest).
Why do these matter? Because these types of sexism still exist in the real world. While society has improved a lot, women are still commonly viewed only as family-oriented nurturers who should prioritize having a family and raising children. Women are still underrepresented in many of the most respected professions such as doctors and scientists, and are culturally discouraged from putting forth the effort of seeking them. If you have any doubt that this is still a serious issue, just read this embarrassingly bad article about how women shouldn’t “compete” with men. Female representations in video games may be a pretty small issue regarding sexism in the scheme of things, but the larger issues cannot be combated until we recognize how sexism is guiding our culture.
To see how our cultural views of women pervade our entertainment, just think: how many stereotypically feminine male video game characters can you think of? It is generally acceptable in modern times for women to act stereotypically “masculine” and be strong fighters, but how many lead characters are feminine men? In this same vein, it is generally accepted in real life for women to be “masculine” and do male things, but it is still commonly taboo for men to act “feminine.” Only what is considered for men is an acceptable goal for everyone.
In the next part of this series, I will start going through the Final Fantasy games and highlighting some examples of sexism. Final Fantasy is certainly not immune from the types of sexism I outlined above, and some of the games in the Playstation 1 and 2 era were particularly bad examples of sexist portrayals of women. But not all of the games were bad, and I think some Final Fantasy games even deserve praise for their treatment of women characters.
Before I get into the specific games, I will close with a brief disclaimer. I am a Final Fantasy fan, and I enjoyed playing many of these games, even ones which are some of the worst offenders when it comes to blatant sexism. This article series is not about gameplay or plot or how fun a game is, but exclusively about how women have been portrayed among the playable characters throughout the main Final Fantasy series.
So what were the worst examples of sexism in Final Fantasy? Is the series now better or worse? Is sexism in video games even a problem? My overview of the Final Fantasy series will begin in two weeks, but feel free to discuss your thoughts in the meantime.
Other parts in this series:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
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