Do you have the desire to save (or be) a damsel in distress? page 3

[Leida]

There is "free the slaves", the "save someone" and go recover and do fed-ex quests in the computer game. Well, sometimes it's 'solve the odd puzzle we stole from the puzzle book". (Shrug) I was always a sucker for a dark brooding male NPCs in the CRPG, that I just had my PC to save and romance. If they were outdoorsy, even better. My history was predictable; in every game I played, I zero'd in on the same type. Kivan, Valygar, Zu, Bishop... don't have time to play CRPGs since my baby, but yeah, used to love to save those dark brooding men in distress. Wrote and coded romances... duh.

[BestBetter]

I guess it's a common theme in older games (Mario games, Legend of Zelda, etc), but not so much in new ones. Well, unless you count Cortana (the "female" AI in Halo that you have to rescue from a Covenant ship in Halo 3). I'll go out on a potentially flame-igniting limb and make the observation that games where rescuing a "damsel in distress" tend to be produced by Japanese developers -- by people from a culture with a much stronger emphasis on the traditional roles of males and females in society. Though I guess Dante's Inferno might be an exception to this.

Funny, I didn't even think of those old school games, I was just noticing this in the newer ones i've been playing lately (Shadows of the Damned, Alan Wake, etc..) on Xbox. Can't believe I didn't think of those!

[wiltondeportes]

I don't walk around looking for damsels in distress to save. However, I'd help out a woman in a situation of legitimate danger. If they return the favor, I'll also do tasks that a man could complete much easier than a woman (like say, carrying a 100 pound sack). For example, they could make me a sandwich.

[VacillateWildly]

I recognise the damsel in distress in my life as she has made some grand entrances and exits. From a Jungian perspective, the 'damsel' is an archetype and she exists in many of us (males too, but less so) because she is an inherant part of human nature. I believe that we each comprise of a number of archetypes, many of these show up in the greek and Roman myths and also in fairytales too. Popular culture just builds on these, they are nothing new and they will always exist. If you have the damsel as one of your archetypes, embrace her. The danger for me with this damsel is allowing myself to become a victim and manipulating circumstances (and men) so I can be rescued. I need to check my motives, but the damsel is in my make-up and I acknowledge her and take the good from her.

There is a fantastic book on personal archetypes by Kate Altham, 'Who Am I? An archetypal quest'.

I'm an ardent feminist but it gets me nowhere to ignore this more fragile part of my archetypal being.

[valmason01]

I'm a strong female and can take care of myself but its nice to have a man step up and "rescue" you.

yes...

[valmason01]

I don't walk around looking for damsels in distress to save. However, I'd help out a woman in a situation of legitimate danger. If they return the favor, I'll also do tasks that a man could complete much easier than a woman (like say, carrying a 100 pound sack). For example, they could make me a sandwich.

Yes. You do. I do. We do. It is not about who is bigger, better, stronger, smarter..it is about relationships and society and culture and just being people. It doesn't have to be so damned complicated.

[sarasue624]

What it boils down to is a very fuzzy line between nature and nurture dosed with the fact that gender performance exists on a spectrum AND biological sex exists on a spectrum - and they are not necessarily the same spectrum!

This gives us a 3-D quadrant with a nature/nurture overlay in which people fall all over the place!

Gender studies is fun Anyone who can read Dante can also read Judith Butler.

[EyeOfRound]

I like to be in control and like making decisions, so the whole "damsel in distress" routine never appealed to me. On the other hand, despite my strong personality, I had a relationship with the male version of a damsel in distress and it wore me out, as much as I enjoyed being the decision-maker in the household.

[RitaRose]

Ex #2 met me at a really difficult time. I was living on my own for the first time (at age 38) and trying to take care of 2 kids on a crap salary. Then I got fired (not my fault - they wanted to hire a relative). Then my dad died. It was just way too much for me to handle mentally, and that's when he met me. He LOVED being the knight in shining armor, and I was fine with someone else handling everything. Later on, when I recovered and became my usual self, he couldn't handle being a partner. He wanted to still rescue me even though I didn't need rescuing, and he was pretty damn helpless, if the truth be told. I spent a lot of time rescuing him and then pretending he was the manly man. It sucked.

I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and I have to with my work. I have to deal with junkies and aggressive dogs and people screaming at me or threatening to shoot me... to be honest, I really do want someone to take care of me when I'm home. Maybe I'm a sexist pig, but I like that my boyfriend changes the oil in my car and makes sure I have a bottle of water when we go anywhere and lets me take his (safer) car when I visit my mom.

BUT! That same man knows I could do it myself and sees me as a partner with skills that complement his. He understands that we're a team, and he can rely on me for things as well, just different things.

[Chaohinon]

There is "free the slaves", the "save someone" and go recover and do fed-ex quests in the computer game. Well, sometimes it's 'solve the odd puzzle we stole from the puzzle book". (Shrug) I was always a sucker for a dark brooding male NPCs in the CRPG, that I just had my PC to save and romance. If they were outdoorsy, even better. My history was predictable; in every game I played, I zero'd in on the same type. Kivan, Valygar, Zu, Bishop... don't have time to play CRPGs since my baby, but yeah, used to love to save those dark brooding men in distress. Wrote and coded romances... duh.