I think society (or at least the media/entertainment industry) still conditions us to view male as the default and female as the exception. The main character is a guy who chases a girl. The hero is a guy who saves the girl. Normality is exemplified by the everyman (straight, white, middle aged, and middle class), not the everywoman. This suggests the ridiculous notion that men are inherently more relatable than women.
In cartoons, males can be, for example, cute, plain little blobs, but females HAVE to be variations on the stock. The girl penguin has eyelashes, the girl cheetah has a pink bow, the girl snake has hair, etc. It's insane. Why can't the girls be the blobs and the boys be blobs with goatees? Why does that sound more stupid to us than what already exists?
We have a long way to go. (Sorry for hijacking your topic, but it made me think.)
IIN that I prefer to play videogames as a male character?
← View full post
I think society (or at least the media/entertainment industry) still conditions us to view male as the default and female as the exception. The main character is a guy who chases a girl. The hero is a guy who saves the girl. Normality is exemplified by the everyman (straight, white, middle aged, and middle class), not the everywoman. This suggests the ridiculous notion that men are inherently more relatable than women.
In cartoons, males can be, for example, cute, plain little blobs, but females HAVE to be variations on the stock. The girl penguin has eyelashes, the girl cheetah has a pink bow, the girl snake has hair, etc. It's insane. Why can't the girls be the blobs and the boys be blobs with goatees? Why does that sound more stupid to us than what already exists?
We have a long way to go. (Sorry for hijacking your topic, but it made me think.)