preview

Hegemonic Masculinity In The Legend Of Zelda

Good Essays

Across all media types, women are frequently displayed in a stereotypic manner. However, the type of stereotypic manner has shifted from a traditional sense to one with an emphasis on sexuality. One can examine this shift most saliently in video games through the observation of the change from “damsels in distress” to sexy, often aggressive “visions of beauty”. These “damsels in distress” were often princesses who were dependent on a prince or hero to come and rescue them. This depiction of female characters as victims needing saving was exceedingly common, such as Princess Toadstool in the Mario Brothers franchise and Princess Zelda in the Legend of Zelda franchise, and perpetuated the concept of women being submissive and unable to save themselves. …show more content…

However, there are certain characteristics for men that are more ideal than others. Wade and Ferree describe this principle as hegemonic masculinity, which “refers to a type of man, idealized by men and women alike, who functions to justify and naturalize gender inequality”. They expand this concept and explain that “the hegemonic man is the “real man” in our collective imagination who theoretically embodies all the most positive traits on the masculine side of the gender binary” (2014:124). Other researchers examining hegemonic masculinity concluded that this concept supports a “social hierarchy where masculinity is hegemonic: where men dominate and women are subjugated” (Dill, Brown, and Collins 2008:1403). This dominance is particularly salient in gaming culture, where most, if not all, of the characteristics of games are geared to appeal to men. From the portrayal of men as strong heroes to the violence and aggression they are free to engage in within the game, these games are created with the hierarchy of men in mind. This hierarchy is “a rough ranking of men from most to least masculine, with the assumption that more masculine is better” (Wade and Ferree 2015:125). In order to perpetuate this hierarchy, men react negatively to anything that threatens their position. Researchers Michael Kasumovic and Jeffrey Kuznekoff explained this phenomenon of male reaction as evolutionary theory because by threatening the position a man holds in the hierarchy, one threatens his access to potential mates. They further expanded on this theory to “predict that a male’s behavior should be moderated by status and performance, such that only lower-status males that have the most to lose with a hierarchal reorganization by the introduction of a female competitor will be hostile towards female players” (2015:3). This theory explains why men tend to

Get Access