You've made some interesting points. I would be interested to see what Ashe's personality was like before Rasler's death, and how she changed in the years she had to live among men in the sewers. I think she would have been determined to learn how to wield a sword, and she would have also learned to conceal her emotions. She wanted to earn the Resistance's trust, and she probably felt that she had to acquire more masculine traits like aggressiveness and reason in order for them to respect her. I wonder how she will adjust to life in the palace once again.
The point of my essay was trying to show that a woman doesn't have to have typical "masculine" traits to be strong or a good leader (just look at Lucil).
I've noticed that magick does seem to be typically a feminine trait as far as FF is concerned. The only exceptions to this are Vivi and Arc. Perhaps this is because magick=mystery, and females are considered more mysterious and spiritual than males. Ashe does seem to rebel against her feminine aspects. Maybe she sees feminity as weakness, or gained that view from living with the Resistance for so long. Or she may feel that she must be masculine so men will admire her, because leaders who show feminine qualities are not considered as capable. Perhaps by adopting masculine traits she is renouncing her role as a sex object, so that she will gain respect. It's easier to be "one of the guys" when they no longer see you as sexually desirable (though I still believe the words masculine and feminine are obsolete because I don't feel the sexes are born with inherent traits
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Yes, and it is interesting that Vivi isn't very human looking either. Instead, his appearance is very cute, small, and childlike.
I definitely think Ashe sees femininity as a weakness (more about that in a comment below). I'm not sure that adopting masculine traits is something she did to renounce her role as a sex object. Heck, some of those men strike me as sex objects from my female point of view. Basch, either button your shirt or start dancing as you strip! ;)
I think that Ashe decided that being "feminine" is a weakness. When the game opens, she is presented in a very feminine light: a beautiful glowing bride dressed in soft, light colors and her facial expressions are very sweet and soft. After Rasler died, her father died, and her kingdom fell she might have decided that everything about being feminine was bad and weak. In doing such, she tossed out both the weak and strong parts of femininity.
Going well beyond the FF series and games in general, I think it would be pretty easy to make a case that modern media (TV, movies) are more likely to attribute magical powers to women and physical powers to men. We know that trend exists in the FF series. That said, I'm not entirely convinced that the stones in FFXII can be fairly categorized as "feminine/magick." Based purely on the storyline, the stones were cut by the Dynast King (male) and passed down through royal lines (presumably men and women). Perhaps we can say that the stones are still cryptically a feminine symbol because male characters (Vayne, Ghis) want the stones so they can gain their magick powers and that they fail miserably at using the stones correctly. Yet, for hundreds of years, male (and presumably female) descendants of the Dynast King kept peace with the stones. I worry that equating the stones with feminine/magick (or not) gets into circular reasoning that isn't easily resolved.
Excellent quote. Basch and Vossler are even vaguely feminine in their 'sacrificial' saviour roles. Even with the side-play of Vossler's being seduced to the 'dark side'...
Ohhh, so many topics that need seriously constructive research and referencing. It's been years since I've had to construct a logical argument. Right now I'm talking too much off the cuff. I'll get back to this.
One of the more interesting things I've read was a gender switch, with Ashe as a male prince and Basch and Vossler as female knights. Very psychological an' all. ;)
For someone who is billed as the manly heroic knight in shining armor, Basch is Mr. Sacrificial. My guess is that he buried his ego somewhere in the squalid dirt floors of Nablina dungeon. Out of the entire FF series (which I have nothing but love and more love for), FFXII really caught my imagination because I thought the script did interesting things with gender roles and bending certain character class stereotypes (the princess who is a hard ass and is never saved by her knight, etc.).
OOOOOH! Psychological gender switch fic?! Sounds very interesting. Can you post a link to it?
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The point of my essay was trying to show that a woman doesn't have to have typical "masculine" traits to be strong or a good leader (just look at Lucil).
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I definitely think Ashe sees femininity as a weakness (more about that in a comment below). I'm not sure that adopting masculine traits is something she did to renounce her role as a sex object. Heck, some of those men strike me as sex objects from my female point of view. Basch, either button your shirt or start dancing as you strip! ;)
I think that Ashe decided that being "feminine" is a weakness. When the game opens, she is presented in a very feminine light: a beautiful glowing bride dressed in soft, light colors and her facial expressions are very sweet and soft. After Rasler died, her father died, and her kingdom fell she might have decided that everything about being feminine was bad and weak. In doing such, she tossed out both the weak and strong parts of femininity.
Reply
Going well beyond the FF series and games in general, I think it would be pretty easy to make a case that modern media (TV, movies) are more likely to attribute magical powers to women and physical powers to men. We know that trend exists in the FF series. That said, I'm not entirely convinced that the stones in FFXII can be fairly categorized as "feminine/magick." Based purely on the storyline, the stones were cut by the Dynast King (male) and passed down through royal lines (presumably men and women). Perhaps we can say that the stones are still cryptically a feminine symbol because male characters (Vayne, Ghis) want the stones so they can gain their magick powers and that they fail miserably at using the stones correctly. Yet, for hundreds of years, male (and presumably female) descendants of the Dynast King kept peace with the stones. I worry that equating the stones with feminine/magick (or not) gets into circular reasoning that isn't easily resolved.
I'd argue that Basch detests ( ... )
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Ohhh, so many topics that need seriously constructive research and referencing. It's been years since I've had to construct a logical argument. Right now I'm talking too much off the cuff. I'll get back to this.
One of the more interesting things I've read was a gender switch, with Ashe as a male prince and Basch and Vossler as female knights. Very psychological an' all. ;)
Reply
OOOOOH! Psychological gender switch fic?! Sounds very interesting. Can you post a link to it?
Reply
And I totally can't find it. Gah. It was in quite a formal style too.
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