I am a gamer. I don't discriminate by race, sex, creed, or any orientation. We are brothers and sisters through fandom. What happens when someone uses their fandom to perpetuate their own personal agenda? Well, that would be Feminist Frequency's new, too-long lasting, $160K series, of devaluing females in video games into what she perceives as the patriarchal utopia that is Tropes vs Women in Video Games.

I begin by asking you a simple question. Anita's point to hit home was that It's the developer's fault for the Damsel in Distress trope gaining headwind in the media. My question to you is Who's fault is it? Is it the Devolper's fault for using the trope at the media's early ages, or is it the player's fault for having the power fantasy over the female at the end of the game? At the end of this you will clearly see where Anita and I differentiate in opinion.

In this video she makes clear that she does not appreciate Shigeru Miyamoto's introduction of having the end of a game have a woman to save. It is something he used from his atari days and famously translated to his two video game bench marks, Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda. These games have had one hell of a run. Her claim as to why it's bad is two reasons. One, it reduces the princess to object status. In her interpretation of these games (by the way I'm going to use the phrase "Her interpretation" a lot) The princess is meerly a ball that gets passed around between protagonist at game start, to antagonist. Then back from antagonist to protagonist at end of game, only to repeat at each squential game. "In the game of patriarchy women are not the opposing team, they are the ball." I will get into how disgusting this is to me as a fan of both Peach and Zelda, but her second point is that the princess being captured stifles them from possibly being their own rescuer to accomidate the hero's story. There are plain eamples of her theory being flawed I will also cover later. On to that first point... the one that enrages me beyond not being able to let off steam over this. (sorry baby. I just had to.)

In her interpretation of the games It would seem that Link and Mario have personal ownership of Zelda and Peach respectively. The only reason for their adventure by the way Sarkeesian spins the story is to reclaim the prize which was theirs and was stolen from them. Those being the women. I.E. That bitch is mine, and I will get her back so she can come back home do our laundry and make us men folk sandwiches... or maybe cake. This concept of ownership is translated to the player. The player then recognises her as his. I won the game and the girl is now mine to fulfill all my power fantasies over women that the games told me to have.

Gamers of all colors. You tell me in your honesty... how many of you got to the end scene of Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Brothers and got that. How many of you felt ownership towards Zelda or Peach...? Pretty much none of you? Yeah... that's called actually understanding the story of Super Mario Brothers and the Legend of Zelda instead of altering the continuity of the games to serve your own selfish wants. Two type of people will do that to the story. One is the grimey man or woman who expects that upon saving the life of the fair maiden she will become his or hers to have and do his or her will. The second type that defiles the story to their own selfish need are people like Sarkeesian who make it into a statement to fulfill their already predetermined conclusions. There are two very destructive forces that do this to already existing media to serve their own selfish needs. These are the Westborough Baptist Church and the Ku Klux Klan. That have taken significant parts of the bible and twisted them to devalue same-sex relationships and to prop up the dominance the white race should have over all other races respectively.

Am I saying that Feminist Frequency is as bad as the WBC or the KKK? No... at least not yet. She wants to bring about her gospel of how the patriarchy in the media is brainwashing everyone into compliance. Doing this by releasing video about how to teach her ideals in classrooms across the globe. I don't know about you, but in ten years time I want my son and daughter to know about Peach and Zelda as strong women, who have equally as strong personalities and capabilities as the male counterparts. I want them to know that Peach can save Mario. That Zelda is a weilder of magic of the three goddesses and is rightful holder of the Triforce of Wisdom because of her strength. That holding a sword or gaining fire power is only one way to save a kingdom. When they aren't doing that Princess Peach and Princess Zelda are keeping balance to one as royalty. Their subjects of the Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule love and respect their Princesses. They make conscious decisions for the good of their respective kingdoms to keep peace and prosperity that the Italian Plumber and Hero of Time could never do. I will show them Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl. Show them that yes, Princesses too can take care of themselves. If need be they could defend themselves. I will show them Super Mario Adventures and how Princess Peach does not weap and panic when Mario is turned to stone. She goes after Bowser, and she does as is needed for love of her kingdom and care of Mario and her subjects. In this story she escapes capture on her own. I will do all of these things to make sure my kids know of the glory of Princess Peach and Princess Zelda... which I doubt Sarkeesian sees. People who will eat up her story will see Peach and Zelda as "the ball being tossed around in a game of Patriarchy." You tell me who you see Peach and Zelda are. The Princesses of two Kingdoms who do everything in their power to rule justly and care deeply for those under her royal command, or just that thing for Mario or Link to save at the end of the game. Completely helpless and pointless except to be a plot devise for some Man's story. Which do you see them as? Because it's clear to me which I see, and clear by the way Sarkeesian sees them which they are to her.

To kill the Second point, dead in it's tracks here are a set of games that have Once captured women in games taking up the mantle of Heroine. Peach is a playable character after being captured twice in Super Mario Brothers RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. She defies the Mushroom Chancellor who demands of her to stay in the Castle to join Mario in his quest. Peach is also a major playable character in her own game where Mario is captured by Bowser, called Super Princess Peach. So for all the Sarkeesian followers who cry "Why can't Peach save herself?" When Mario is captured he can't even save himself. Zelda is the main character of two CDI games Zelda's Adventure and The Wand of Gamalon. Not to mention as Sheik and Tetra she fights along side Link in OOT and Wind Waker. I implore you to play as Peach and Zelda in Super Smash Bros. Melee or Brawl. As for Krystal in Starfox Adventures, I would like to add that Krystal actually has a great following in the Starfox fandom. She is set to replace Wolf McDonald in the next Smash Bros. game. In Chrono Trigger, my Favorite RPG, Marle goes from Princess to be saved to incredibly, important, team member. She isn't captured for a large chunk of the story, maybe 5% of it and then she is fighting right along side Chrono for the long haul, even part of his own rescue later on. In Final Fight you play as Haggar, Cody, or Guy to save Haggar's daughter from city thugs. In Final Fight 2 she returns as a playable character. In Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3 Dixie Kong works along side Diddy in 2 and Kiddie in 3 to save Donkey Kong in DKC2 and then both Donkey and Diddy Kong in DKC3. In Persona 4 you save four women in the TV world who all become team members with incredible abilities that are valueable to every aspect of the team. One in Particular, Yukiko Amagi, actually dons the Damsel in Distress princess trope as part of her shadow self. It becomes the theme of something for her to overcome and you establish an entire social link with her to help her realize how much more potential she has. She overcomes her want for some prince to come and take her away from her responcibilities and grows to take head on what she was so afriad of, inhereting her family's business. These are just a small set of examples that I personally have played.

In conclusion I want the reader to know one more thing. In the end it's not even what the story tellers who constructed the characters that make them who they are. It is you the player that will determine who the characters are. If the Princess is a damsel in distress to accomidate your need to be in a power fantasy it's only because that's what you made her into to facilitate your need. If you want them to be strong in their own right that's because you have hopes that they are being so, because with no real way of knowing what is going on anything could be happening with them while they are away or in between games. Or a lost option... you save the princess and at the end just go "Ok... whatever that's about." And not even care that you saved a princess, you were just into beating the bad guy and winning the game. Whatever you do just remember that it's your opinion. You should not do as Sarkeesian is and forcing YOUR opinion to be looked at as the end all of all opinions. It isn't enough she is putting it in public and devaluing women in video games for her own gain and noteriaty. She wants people to pick up her mantle and teach it to others, especially people who don't have a better understanding of the media. Lastly... you might be asking me what's the harm in what Sarkeesian is doing. One day we could see Super Mario Brothers taken away from children because of a misinterpretation of the story. I, for one, will not stand for that. This is not Tropes Vs Women as Sarkeesian claims it to be. This is One Woman Vs a Media that let her down in her own expectations in life. She is now taking something she claims to love and is using it as propaganda to expand her own agendas. It's not only selfish of her to do this, it's downright disrespectful to other gamers. People who know the games as much as she claims to, know what she is trying to do and we all can't stand her for it.

30 days