Current Event: Ms. Pac-Man

Current Event: Ms. Pac-Man

A Feminist Icon?

Ya, I KNOW, not nesessarily an event, BUT, it was a current article along with its question posted on the Huffington Post.   

The article is called:  "Did You Know Ms. Pac-Man Is A Feminist Icon?" This article was posted on 3/26/2014 written by Nick Stevens.  

Argument For

Stevens proposes the argument that Ms. Pac-Man is indeed a feminist icon.  Now I am personally mixed in response to the proposal and information entailed with this argument.  Stevens uses a video found on Youtube as the primary bulk of his argument.  Watch the video below:

Argument Against

Even after watching this video I am not too sure as to the argument.  As you watched in the video there are feminists that believe that even the name of the video game character does not best represent a true feminist icon.  They believe Ms. Pac-Man is no different than calling a woman, if she were my wife, Ms. Scott Goertzen (my name).  This could be interpreted as male ownership of his female counterpart.

In the comments section of this Huffington Post article a commentator named Genevieve made the argument that perhaps Ms. Pac-Man may not be much of a feminist icon.  Genevieve explained she would have been convinced by the argument above if she had not watched another Youtube video proposing a contradictory argument.  Watch that video below:

The video is titled: "Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games."

Thank you Genevieve for posting another viewpoint on Huffington Post.  I liked this video, very enlightening and makes for a really valid and good argument.

Conclusion

I will not propose here on the conclusion some profound statement in relation to the question whether or not Ms. Pac-Man is a feminist icon.  I will say however, that I agree with the last video on feministfrequency that women need to stop being considered as an after thought in video games.  Women are strong intelligent beings that must not be represented by poor stereotypical characters in video games or anything for that matter.  We must get beyond stereotypes and embrace a stronger future for humanity where women are considered as an "equal thought" rather than an "after thought."  That is all.

I would like to personally thank Huffington Post, writer Nick Stevens, and the creators of the video found on feministfrequency on Youtube for teaching me new stuff.