Knights of the Old-fashioned Republic

My boyfriend and I have been playing KOTOR (well, mostly he plays it while I cook and bake in the adjoining kitchen- a very extreme role reversal around our apartment, actually). We had gotten about 16 hours into the game when I remarked upon the amusing dialogue choices available to his male avatar when speaking to female characters. My boyfriend then informed me that the suggestive lines of dialogue are available to the male main-character if you so choose to be male. When I inquired about the female avatar I was told that if you choose a female character you will get hit on.

Hold the phone! You mean the Old Republic of Star Wars has the sexism that we have here on Earth? Though the concept of such an element of male-character gameplay probably had the intentions of humor and fun, it was a bad decision to implement it in the game as it can only be executed poorly under the circumstances. Here are some reasons why it was a bad decision:

1) It reinforces the idea that suggestive language is acceptable and useful for men in any situation. Sure, a female character may quickly dismiss your suggestion that she feels "tingly" when thinking about all the ways you could "misuse the force", but you never get a light saber through the chest or even a force slap to the face. Hell, you are even encouraged to hit on women- one of the missions on the volcano planet requires you to tell a woman she's beautiful before she allows you to join her on a mission to retrieve an artifact to bring to the leader of the Sith Academy. Normally I wouldn't invite you to hit on a female warrior unless you wanted some vibroblade decapitation with your swift kick to the balls- reducing powerful women to sex objects denies them their position and accomplishments and can make then rather hostile. Why the women in this game put up with it so well is beyond me (methinks this is the fantasy of some Star Wars nerds who ended up planning this game and always wanted to engage in sexual innuendo with Princess Leia).

I also fail to see any consequences of choosing the inappropriate lines of dialogue, which is the real kicker. Such language is then insinuated to be acceptable because there is no backlash for making a bad decision about what you say to women in casual conversation (granted, what you say to a member of either sex can have bad consequences in places that actually relate to missions, though you can often just restart conversations if necessary and choose different options). This would be all fine and dandy if all people were sensitive to sexist language and the power/privilege that comes with being male in this society, but alas that is not so. I can't imagine this game makes people any more sensitive to such power dynamics.

2) It reinforces the idea that suggestive language is intrinsic to and expected of men. I don't know, but I might find it a little insulting if I were a man and learned that the male character would automatically be the one getting all the suggestive dialogue. It seems to suggest that men are the only ones who have such banter or that they are inherantly sex-crazed maniacs who can't have a conversation with a woman without making reference to someone's naughty bits at some point. Men are fully capable of restricting their language to reduce offensive comments, and indeed you are given that choice in the game, but isn't it a little unfair that only the men are allowed or expected to use the suggestive lines of dailogue? It's not a frat culture where all the male padawan learners are required to down a keg, sleep with women, and catcall outside the OWK house to become indoctrinated into the Jedi army, but there's a certain expectation that men are the only ones who can and will make snide sexual comments to women and treat them disrespectfully based solely on their biological sex and physical appearance.

3) The game does not show any affects at all of sexist attitudes, thereby removing all context of and responsibility for sexist behavior. Your female party members never talk about past sexual trauma, assault, or rape; being afraid to walk the streets of Taris late at night; the discomfort of gawkers and fondlers on the public transit system in Dantooine; or the conscious decision to wear their Jedi robes loosely around the middle and cover themselves up to the neck because they do not wish to invite unwanted advances. If we're going to make the Old Republic so much like sex relations here present-day America, why not go the whole nine yards? Deciding to include sexist behavior and language in favor of men without having any sort of societal context displaying the environment which results from and allows such behavior and language is irresponsible because it reduces and eliminates the concerns and grievances real women have about sexism in real life. If the people in KOTOR run around doing sexist things without the women having to suffer any repercussions from it, then what are all these real women complaining about? I know it's unfair to relate gaming behavior to the gamer, but you have to wonder if sexist people don't enjoy sexist media. We all know they do, and KOTOR doesn't do anything to change anyone's sexist inclinations because they still aren't forced to see the faults and consequences of sexism.



These things are by no means limited to KOTOR, or video games in general for that matter. Honestly, though, the game is fun despite my beefs with the character personality stereotypes that got attached to the player-character in the design of the game (and trust me, that isn't even the beginning to my list of grievances with the Star Wars mythos). It still irks me that I can't play the character I want because KOTOR gameplay doesn't offer enough of an escape from the sexism that I experience in real life, but, then again, wielding two light sabers at once....