Men are from Earth, and women are from... well, also Earth.

There's a real trend at the moment that's drawing attention to the way in which women are portrayed in fashion, in media, in advertising, and in culture. This trend states something that we've all known for a long time: unattainable depictions of beauty and body have a negative impact on women's self esteem; there's a shortage of complex female characters depicted in film (check out Olivia Wilde speaking eloquently on this topic, as well as Natalie Portman); and girls' gendered toys move them away from gaining confidence in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and maths).

I get this outrage. I support it. I want to see more realistic depictions of women in the media and in the cultural artefacts that I consume. I'm tired of seeing women take a back seat in stories in video games and films because they are written as props for the male characters. I'm tired of women having their imperfections airbrushed out (as Cindy Crawford once said, "I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford."). I'm tired of there being so few women cast in stories that they suddenly find themselves having to account for all the variations of what a woman can be. And girls should be able to play with whatever toys they wish to play with, without having notions of what it is to be female foisted on them.

But I'm also tired of the way that men are becoming increasingly sidelined in this narrative. I'm all for equality. As long as it's not in the name of inequality.

If women are impacted by unattainable images of what the perfect woman should be, how are men impacted by the numerous images of toned torsos, bulging biceps, and adverts aimed at shaming men into being 'real men' for their ladies? If women are tired of being cast as the damsel in distress in video games, films, and books, how do men feel about being cast as playing the role of the knight in shining armour, albeit under different guises? And if women are wary of their girls adopting mainly nurturing and looks-based roles during playtime, should we not be equally wary of our boys adopting mainly hyper-macho and conflict-based roles? These are questions I'm genuinely interested in hearing a discussion about, but ones that I so rarely see.

I am, of course, putting forward an over-simplified, sweeping argument. There are countless children whose play doesn't conform to gendered stereotypes; there are cultural creations that aren't founded on gendered tropes; there are (increasingly) campaigns that give us alternative depictions of what 'beauty' means. This is all great and - even if some of the campaigns are driven by marketing goals - if it means we're seeing a greater variety of different types of people (male and female, as well as transgendered) then that is not a bad thing.

I am, of course, also aware that the reason there's such a focus on women is because it's been such a battle to get to where we are, and that there is still a long way to go. I am a feminist. I passionately believe that women can't be sidelined if we are to live in a rich society, and that it is dangerous for society if they are. The many development studies focused on the positive impact of educating women and giving them agency is testament to this fact.

But I also believe that, as we raise our voices against the way women are treated and depicted in the media we consume, we can't in turn sideline the other half of the population. Do we really want men and boys - who, believe it or not, also suffer from insecurities, who also constitute a whole spectrum of interests, sensitivities, neuroses, work/life concerns, hopes, dreams, and ambitions - to feel as though their voices are of any less value than women's, purely based on their gender? Do we really want to ignore how the mainstream so often fails to depict all the different nuances of what it is to be human, regardless of (biological) sex?

I don't know what the answer is. I do know that we could go for cries of boycott against that which we don't agree with; that the media delivers what it believes will appeal to the widest demographic; that we could create our own media to more accurately reflect the huge variations that exist within the experience of what it is to be human. I know that the Internet and user-generated content does a great job of serving 'The Long Tail' of niche interests and audiences.

But I also know that the issue isn't just in the creations themselves; it's also in the way in which we discuss those creations, and choose to shape our protests. Yes, we should speak out against one-dimensional depictions of women (as Neil Gaiman said, "...people say, 'Well how do you write such good female characters?' And I go, 'Well I write people.''). But in doing so, we should also encourage a discussion of one-dimensional depictions of men. Just because there are more of them in the media, it doesn't mean that those characters are always by default any richer. So, I'm all for equality. But not at the cost of equality.

Game Over. Reload.

"Insanity is repeating the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results."as

Narcotics Anonymous

As I head dive into the vast array of spikes ahead of me, dying instantly for what feels like the hundredth time, I am reminded of the above quote. 

Go, again. Dead. Again. Dead. Again. OH! OOHHHHH!! HOLY SHIT! I TOTALLY FORGOT YOU COULD DO THAT! I'M GONNA GE... Dead.

Right. Pause. Take a deep breath. Flex the hands. And... that's it, that's IT, just a little further, just - got to get - to the bottomofthislittlebitshitshitshitnonoYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! 

Right, from here on in, it's plain sailing. Easy. All I need to do is jump - up  - this - wall, and... Dead. Fuck.

This, my friends, is the world of Super Meat Boy.

There are all sorts of video games. There's the first person shooter. The RPG. The racing game. The strategy-based, the point-and-click, turn-based. On, and on it goes. For anyone that has ever played a game that involves manoeuvring an object or character around a landscape of some description, you will no doubt recognise the above feeling of being on the edge of sanity.

It starts off calmly enough. The learning curves on these games are designed to help you become accustomed to the controls, the sensitivity of response to different keystrokes (who knew video gaming could be so racy), and the different elements of the world you're moving around. You feel comfortable. You know what you're doing. You're the master of this. The pixels glide around the screen, bending to your every will, as if through telekinesis.

And then, before you know it, you're mashing frantically at the keyboard or the controller (depending on your platform of choice), swearing, wondering where it all went so wrong, dying every couple of seconds, any semblance of control a mere memory, left frolicking back in the earlier levels where everything was rainbows, fluffy clouds, and rabbits.

I was first introduced to Super Meat Boy while watching the documentary Indie Game. And you, out there, who so calmly suggested we watch it on a nice, quiet night in. I blame you for my current predicament. 

Indie Game is a great documentary, and I heartily recommend it (it's on Netflix). As the developer behind current mobile gaming trend Flappy Bird threatens to remove his game from the app market, this documentary provides a painfully intimate peek into the world of those who create the independent games we play. 

But what possessed me to think, after watching footage such as that below, that this was a game I wanted to master? (Hit 'Play' then click into anywhere in the middle of the video timeline.)

Just to give you some sense of scale, I am currently stuck on the level that comes in at 3 minutes 10. I've had the game since New Year's Eve (2013). Whoever has recorded the game play in the above video has made it look ridiculously easy. My own game play is far closer to these boys' attempts below. (Again, hit 'Play', click into anywhere in the middle.)

And yet, despite the Narcotics Anonymous quote, this isn't quite "insanity". It's close. Infuriatingly close. But there are a few little elements that, technically at least, save me.

While it feels like I'm repeating the same mistakes over, and over, and over again, I'm not. Through trial and error, working out how far you can push the character (and how far you cannot), you incrementally build up a bank of knowledge around how to complete the level. It may feel like you're playing in a totally unhinged way. But every fresh attempt carries with it the lessons from the cumulative failures of the past. And this is where the satisfaction comes from that drives you forward to continue. While you play, you are constantly improving, constantly learning. The feedback loop is instantaneous. The 'fix' is within reach, and is totally within your hands. These are things that we don't often get to experience in 'real life'.

So, manically but uncertainly slowly but surely, you finally navigate the various obstacles. By hook, crook, or pure gut instinct combined with that cumulative knowledge, you get to wherever it is you've been aiming for. In the case of Super Meat Boy, it's that most enduring of tropes, the damsel in distress. You are safe, Bandage Girl! you think to yourself, with a smug, self-satisfied inward grin, before she gets whisked away to the next level by a foetus in a jar, who happens to have also achieved a PhD.  

It's the same in a lot of other games. Most allow you to learn by trial and error, by regenerating characters that are inevitably going to die as a result of your painfully rookie attempts to lead them through the Dantesque worlds created for them. It's infuriating. It's heartbreaking. It's a black hole of time. It's fantastic.

Apart from XCOM. Where you need to become 'Save Scum' if you don't want to suffer the heart-wrenching experience of losing your most-lovingly trained and crafted characters to the 'Memorial Wall'. Goddamn you, XCOM.

I could pontificate on the benefits of gaming, such as how a well-designed game can provide a sandbox for exploring ethics, risk-taking, societal issues, an environment for real-life training. I could mourn a lack of well-rounded female characters within many of these games; how games designers often seem to be focused on appealing to a narrow demographic of a particular type of male gamer, instead of acknowledging that there are other types of gamers;* and the debate surrounding the way that women are treated within the gaming industry.**

But, screw it. The love of Super Meat Boy's life - Bandage Girl - isn't going to save herself from Dr. Fetus. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to killing myself over and over and over again, staving off insanity by just... trying... to make it past... this... rotating metal... Fuck.



* One of the reasons I loved being introduced to Fallout: New Vegas was that it lets you craft the type of character you play with, meaning you can play as a totally bad-ass woman of your own making. You can choose your sex, then decide to what extent you're brainy, lucky, charismatic, got the gift of gab, strength, and so on. And there's a great supporting cast, both male and female, with a whole spectrum of characters for both sexes. Take note, GTA ;-)

** A few articles / resources of interest if you are interested in this sort of thing:
Exploration of female tropes
A look at the evolving depiction of lead men;
A review of GTA V by a female reviewer and the video response created by her colleague to a lot of male fury to her review;
'What it's like to be a woman making video games'.