Masculinity in Video Games

[Dylflon]

6:23 PM, JANUARY 4, 2012
The main problem I see with this article is that the thesis has promise, but her supporting arguments are absurd. Yes, we have seen games recently move from a fat plumber, to a grizzled detective, to hyper-muscled killing machines… but the main complaint is that the author finds lots of muscles unattractive.
You could make the case that the popularity of video games has made male youth much more sedentary and apathetic to the real world, so the young male lives out their masculine hegemonic fantasies through digital entertainment instead of sports, etc. Also, the increasing gender-neutrality of society could be causing a subconscious movement back to more traditionally masculine ideals. But then again, how do you explain Angry Birds? Deep inside, do we all strive to commit swineicide via corpulent chickens?
The truth is hegemonic masculinity in fiction, regardless of medium, has existed for not a few decades, but THOUSANDS OF YEARS. The original angsty Max Payne was a glitch in the Matrix, not an example of it. Remember Arnold Swarzenegger in the 80′s? John Wayne before him? Horatio Hornblower? King Arthur? FUCKING HERCULES, SON OF ZEUS? Even Mario murdered thousands of enemies, bashed stone to cinders WITH HIS HEAD, and saved the poor helpless damsel is distress. All of these are exaggerated depictions of masculine fantasy, and all predate the modern trend back towards masculine fiction.
Reply
by Professor S

6:32 PM, JANUARY 4, 2012
Oh, and let’s not forget the giant monkey wrench that was 9/11. Who knows how that affected the psyche of male youth. They’ll be examining that impact for years.
by Professor S

12:59 PM, JANUARY 6, 2012
I fully agree that finding heavy musculature unattractive is not a sound basis for criticism, so it’s fortunate I never made that argument. I would, however, be very interested in reading your response to my actual theories.
Of course hypermasculine characters existed in fiction long before video games, which is why it is again lucky I never said otherwise. If Max Payne is a ‘glitch in the matrix’, then so were the hard-boiled detective novels/films he parodies. Arnold Swarzenegger’s contemporaries include Dave Lister, Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones – none of whom fit the hypermasculine games designs/characters I was criticising. John Wayne? Michael Caine in the Italian Job.
After those two actors you are conflating hypermasculine characters with heroic ones. Horatio Hornblower would be no more at home in a modern action game than Jonathan Harker.
You’re also connecting violence with masculinity. If Mario becomes an ‘exaggerated depiction of masculine fantasy’ because he kills things, then Chell’s wanton turret-destruction makes her a towering pillar of masculinity.
My issue is not, and never has been, with masculine characters. It’s with the extremely narrow range of hypermasculine character types and designs currently dominating mainstream games.
(Oh, and ‘FUCKING HERCULES, SON OF ZEUS?’. Fucking Hermes, also son of Zeus.)
by Mariel Hurd

11:04 PM, JANUARY 8, 2012
Mariel, if I didn’t respond to your thesis then it wasn’t presented as intended, either that or you don’t really understand what masculinity is or your definition is extraordinarily narrow. You thesis was about “exaggerated” or “hyper”(your words) masculinity and to think this simply involves bulging biceps is myopic at best and ignorant at worst.
Also, your argument presented these concepts as something new or modern, and I pointed out that they are anything but new. Whether Hermes existed with Hercules is irrelevant to the discussion. The existence of the Hercules myth is the only evidence required, and I could point out myth and folklore from any number of cultures that are similar from Paul Bunyan to Achilles to Samson to Gilgamesh.
Your entire article reads of someone who had a notion while playing a game and decided to write it based on your version of common knowledge. I just hope no one takes your opinions on this topic seriously.
by Kurt

10:56 AM, JANUARY 9, 2012
Except that, as I pointed out in my last response to you, my sole issue isn’t with ‘bulging biceps’ (although poor visual design is important to me). In fact, I addressed writing style multiple times but you’re consistently ignoring that. I’m sure levelling at your strawman is great exercise, but it isn’t much of an argument.
Could you please point me to where I presented this character type as purely modern? I said that it is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in video gaming, not that it has never existed in anything, ever. Subsequently, the fact that Hercules exists as a mythological figure is tangential to the point of irrelevance. Plus, you are once again conflating ‘heroic’ with ‘hypermasculine’.
Your opinions would be more interesting if you stopped frantically shifting the goalposts, and behaved more like the academic you originally titled yourself as.
by Mariel Hurd

Am I the only person who thinks these two are perfect for each other?

Her arguments seem very similar to the Professor S arguments we have grown to know so well over the years.