Does Lara Croft wear fake polygons?
by Anne-Marie Schleiner

Video games as a medium of expression and play have developed rapidly, from pong to mario to full 3D immersive environments. During the first few decades of games, there was a noticable lack of female heroines featured in these games; most women were fought for and won like "battle trophies". Then came Lara Croft, a sexy, well-figured, woman with a British accent and wit for solving puzzles. I agree with Schleiner that although she's often thought of as a sex object, she is the first step towards seeing female heroines in games.

As for men embodying this female character during gameplay, well I've done the reverse all my life. In games I played through the eyes of a plumber in Super Mario Bros, teenage boys in the Ninja Turtles, and a cute adventurer in Legend of Zelda. Put yourself in the persona of another character, another person, and walk around in their life solving problems and reaching goals. A man puts on a female body, appealing to his hidden fantasy of being a woman for a while, excuses his urge by saying "I only want to play cause she's so hot". I like that Scheiler points out the lack of heroines in games and in films. And why are these heroines themed with fighting, sexy-personas, and intelligence? Xena, Buffy, and Wonder Woman are all lookin pretty while they go out and kick butt. What kinds of heroines do I need to create? What does an inspiring woman look like?