First came the history of the Damsel in Distress, now Anita Sarkeesian explores how video game developers have modernized this trope by stuffing damsels in refrigerators (a euphemism for killing them) or, worse, making the protagonist beat up or “mercy kill” his damsel to up the emotional ante and further the plot along. Of course, in many of these games the women are begging men to kill them off. It’s domestic violence as altruism!
Check it out:
As Sarkeesian notes, “The problem is not the fact that female characters die or suffer… but it’s important to consider the ways that women’s death’s are framed, and examine how and why they’re written.”
