Shakes here...
Lance Mannion is a sexist. At least, he thinks he is, or suspects that he might be, because he doesn't like that, in one of his son’s video games, Batman beats up a girl. Batman does not hit girls, he says, but of course what he really means is that Batman didn't used to hit girls. Because, in fact, he does hit girls nowadays. And that’s the problem, as Mannion sees it.
…I don't think that showing the villainess being as kick-ass tough as the hero teaches boys and girls that women can be forceful and independent and that they have the strength to take care of themselves. I think it just teaches kids that it's ok to hit girls.
He's right. On both counts.
Kick-ass femme fatales are undoubtedly less a teaching tool than a reflection of game makers trying to expand their market beyond teenage boys, and, perhaps (less cynically) also the result of increasing numbers of women game designers, who, like the rest of us, want to have the chance to play the bad guy once in awhile, too. But just because showing the villainess being as kick-ass tough as the hero isn't teaching kids that women can be forceful and independent and in possession of the strength to take care of themselves, doesn't mean it's entirely devoid of purpose, either. And maybe hitting girls—in video games—isn't a bad thing.
