Postby Nanirourou » Tue May 12, 2015 2:36 pm
I think Laylee as a female is endearing. She has that huge schnoz, but is proud of it anyway. I like that it goes against your expectations of gender without making an overt statement. Like how Kazooie was a girl...that made my childhood self so happy when I found out. She was a spunky, full of life, snarky, funny main playable that was actually a girl!! No other games we owned that let you be a girl. (Yes, it was a duo boy and girl, but that made it relatable for both me and my brother.) The only other girls around were princesses you had to rescue (I'm looking at you, Mario 64 and Ocarinan of Time), or else there was a character you hoped was a girl but came to find out wasn't (I'm looking at you, Tails in Sonic 2). It was belittling, like girls were not good enough for adventures. But then B-K came along and let me know I could be a dynamic, active hero, be rough around the edges, AND a girl. It was empowering. Girl characters can be more than soft, pretty pink princesses. It seems the same with Laylee. You don't need luscious eyelashes or a petite nose to be defined as a "girl."
I like Yooka as male, too. He doesn't seem like your standard macho, star-of-the-show either. He doesn't have to be tough and rude and muscly and rugged and belligerent and cool and impatient to be a boy. He can be comfortable in his abilities and own personal strengths, which seem to be that he is calm, passive, and collected.
My twin brother and I kind of had that dynamic as kids, too. I was the more forceful, stubborn one, and he was the kinder, gentler soul. We related a lot to Banjo and Kazooie.
I love the reversal of what are typically masculine and feminine traits, while also not making it feel like a stretch or forced. These are just characters with their own personalities, it just happens one is male and one is female. It makes them feel more real to me. In real life you have a spectrum of personalities in each of the sexes, why perpetrate only the stereotypes?
Last edited by
Nanirourou on Tue May 12, 2015 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
you kuh lady