"Female protagonist" is not a genre.

[yanamal]

I shouldn't be getting recommendations (in the "scroll down" on the main page) based solely on the fact that I played a game with a female protagonist for 7 hours.
"it's about a girl" doesn't say anything about what type of game it is. MAYBE it might make sense to say "you *bought* a *bunch* of games with female protagonists, so maybe you'd like to buy some more", but hours of gameplay is not super relevant.

I'd also say it's actually mildly problematic from a gender equality point of view - "hey look at all of these special rare games we've put in their own special silo because they are about a girl and have nothing else to do with each other. This will definitely help us bridge the gender gap if we bunch all the women together."
Separate but equal?..

[dimmu1313]

Not sure if this counts as necro'ing, though i see there were no responses since the OP 4+ months ago, but I wanted to chime in rather than create my own discussion.

I came across this thread when I was searching the forum for explanation(s) on the meaning and relevance of the game tag/category/genre/what-have-you of "female protagonist". By and large I came across threads that quickly devolved into arguments about the legitimacy of this category and debates between those who feel the category's existence is sexist in and of itself vs. those who feel it is somehow empowering or even simply positive in the scope of gender equality.

Personally, I have some questions that I'm hoping will get some frank but honest answers:

What, in your mind, is the relevance of this category? Do you personally use this category in your seaches, and, if so, why? If you are a female gamer (I'm not necessarily asking you to provide personal information, but if you choose to identify as a particular gender here, i think it would be helpful), what does this category mean to you, and do you feel it's good; it's bad; or indifferent? I would ask the same of anyone who chooses to identify themselves as male, as well as anyone who chooses to identify as neither male nor female.

I think the reason all these questions came to mind was because, when I first saw this tag, I wondered whether there was a "male protagonist" tag; I then quickly realized that given the large number of games with a male protagonist that wouldn't make sense. However, I then started wondering why anyone would explicitly search for a female protagonist. My assumption was that, except for probably a very few games (yes, I am assuming), the fact that the protagonist was female would have very little impact on the overall gameplay, story line, experience, etc. I don't mean that as sexist in any way; I simply mean that, if any given female-protagonist game were played in first person perspective, how obvious would it be that the character you're playing is actually female, and -- again -- would it matter? That then leads me back to the questions I posed earlier.

[A. Red Drakaina Blaze]

Well as a female first of all dimmu1313 i cant speak in the name of all but chill :) you keep repaying that its not sexes and all, i never assume it is, and i assume most do not XD

Any how for my self i like the tag, i like to play a character that i feel its easier for me to connect with, just as much as when i play any RP game i most of the time pick a female, as i can relate to her, and feel more connected and as for that more in game with the character

I can only take a guess that there is no male protagonist simply as it will be over all pointless, it seem to be some what the default
And hi that is only my opinion on the subject :P

And i do not think Tags are really a "genre" at all there tags, set by the community for the community

[dimmu1313]

Originally posted by Red Dragon Blaze:

Well as a female first of all dimmu1313 i cant speak in the name of all but chill :) you keep repaying that its not sexes and all, i never assume it is, and i assume most do not XD

I'm not quite sure but it seems like you agree with me. Can you clarify? I'm not sure why you said "chill" but maybe you read some emotion that wasn't there. I certainly wasn't upset or anything when I wrote my post; I was merely trying to strike up a conversation on the subject.

[A. Red Drakaina Blaze]

Originally posted by dimmu1313:

I'm not quite sure but it seems like you agree with me. Can you clarify? I'm not sure why you said "chill" but maybe you read some emotion that wasn't there. I certainly wasn't upset or anything when I wrote my post; I was merely trying to strike up a conversation on the subject.

I did not mean chill as in if you are angry or sad or anything XD
I was meaning as in no need for all the "I don't mean that as sexist in any way" that is all of it really

Any how i am not sure were i agree or not XD
I think its a good tag, i use it my self
Also i say that i feel that having a female played character something that dose have weight on how the game feels for the player, even in first person view

[dimmu1313]

Originally posted by Red Dragon Blaze:

I did not mean chill as in if you are angry or sad or anything XD
I was meaning as in no need for all the "I don't mean that as sexist in any way" that is all of it really

Any how i am not sure were i agree or not XD
I think its a good tag, i use it my self
Also i say that i feel that having a female played character something that dose have weight on how the game feels for the player, even in first person view

Well unforunately on open forums i find it's usually necessary to spell out one's intent (or rather what isn't one's intent) when making potentially inflammatory statements. I find it saves a lot of trouble. It's very easy to offend people, especially on subjects as sensitive as gender issues.

Regardless, you answered my question as to whether there was any utility for certain demographics. I don't think we can say for sure whether your opinion is completely representative of all female gamers, but it certainly helps to get your viewpoint.

Also I think I misspoke as far as coming to some kind of agreement, as I realized I didn't really assert my opinion, other than to say I didn't really understand the tag. You certainly shed light on it from a particular perspective, so thanks for that :)

[A. Red Drakaina Blaze]

Originally posted by dimmu1313:

Originally posted by Red Dragon Blaze:

I did not mean chill as in if you are angry or sad or anything XD
I was meaning as in no need for all the "I don't mean that as sexist in any way" that is all of it really

Any how i am not sure were i agree or not XD
I think its a good tag, i use it my self
Also i say that i feel that having a female played character something that dose have weight on how the game feels for the player, even in first person view

Well unforunately on open forums i find it's usually necessary to spell out one's intent (or rather what isn't one's intent) when making potentially inflammatory statements. I find it saves a lot of trouble. It's very easy to offend people, especially on subjects as sensitive as gender issues.

Il note that, :) do not use forums commonly