Originally posted in:  “MindCrafted: from Character Development to Student Development”

As a kid in the 80s, I remember the first time I heard Mario and his signature jump. Like a middle school crush finally saying hi to you in the hallway, I was immediately drawn in and mesmerized with wonder.  Growing up lower middle class, quarters for the arcade were hard to come by so the idea of having a free, visually stimulating game that I could revisit time and time again in my own living room enticed me to spend my youth staring at a TV screen, a screen that showed and taught me so many lessons and behaviors.

Level 1:  Gender and its Binaries

Gender is such a layered topic, especially when it comes to video games.  In this post, just to be clear, we are talking about gender expression. Gender expression is the “external appearance of one’s gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine” (Human Rights Campaign, 2017).  Another good resource to expand your knowledge on this topic can be found here:  http://www.transstudent.org/gender. While the gender unicorn helps describe gender as a continuum, most people have been taught and constructed to think in binaries: man/woman, right/wrong, black/white. Here, I challenge you to look at these binaries as fragile, like an unsupported orange elevator in the game, if you stand too long on it, its base (in this case its meaning) falls out from under you.

This binary is even evident in the world in which Mario lives.  There is an overworld and an underworld. The overworld has joyous, rambunctious music while the underworld is dark and foreboding.  This binary of place also determines the enemies in which exist in that world and the abilities attributed to Mario.  Immediately we are confronted again with more binaries; those of above/below, hero/damsel in distress, and good/evil.  Ask yourself these questions: what from above can be used below, does the damsel in distress have agency (the ability to act on her own behalf), can she be a hero herself, and even think about Bowser, is he all bad? Or misunderstood?  We find out later that he has a family of his own. Does that make stealing the princess, right? Points to ponder…

Level 2:  Masculinity(ies)

Masculinity is a type of gender performance.  So many representations of men in video games display large, grandiose, muscled, generally white men usually ready to kill at all costs.  It didn’t used to be this way.  Mario was an 8-bit construction of an Italian plumber, hopping two inches here and there avoiding turtles and goombas (problematic name, see a future post to learn more), all the while punching bricks and winning coins.  Through these actions, Mario’s gender was performed and performative, meaning that he physically acted masculine, proscribed to societies ideals of manhood, and in the end conformed to the prescription of the hero fighting to save the princess.  Performativity is different, though. In an interview, Judith Butler, a renowned researcher/professor said, “For something to be performative means that it produces a series of effects” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo7o2LYATDc).  What effects do you think that Mario produces by “performing” or presenting as male and masculine?  Another point to ponder.

Masculinity itself is constructed by what society deems masculine.  If society changes, so does masculinity. An Italian plumber, maturely mustachioed reaching for the spotlight of being a hero and saving the damsel in distress drips with traditional masculinity.  While not bad or negative, this still represents only one view. But let’s play with this: what are the masculine qualities that Mario portrays that are worth constructing in ourselves? What are the qualities that may be problematic? Any in between?

Don’t get me wrong, I love and adore Mario.  He was a true companion many-a-summer teaching me the binary of winning/losing.  Having said that, some of Mario’s endeavors are less than positive. Always having to save the princess, showing prowess against Bowser through violence, and displaying the intersectionality of his ethnic heritage, being male, and his appearance in conjunction with a lack of ability to complete a task.  If this is attached to Mario in the 80s, take a second to think about Nathan Drake, Kratos, Master Chief, and Agent 47 in other games.  How is their masculinity portrayed?

Level 3:  Growth and Understanding

Now, gamers, let’s breakdown the monolith of masculinities into easily digestible parts. Perhaps let’s eat a yellow and white mushroom to grow in our understanding.  There are many masculinities and intersections that always need to be remembered and included. First, intersectionality as a term that comes from Kimberle Crenshaw.  Intersectionality, or the theory of how different areas of discrimination interact (Crenshaw, 1991), plays a large role in masculinity in opening our minds to multiple understandings of the concept.

So let’s take my identity:  white, hetersexual, Christian, male just to name a few.  With this combination comes a lot of instant privilege (meaning just walking into a space before opening my mouth to speak) as society and the systems that we work within everyday have deemed me to have.  I may not see this in my every day but the system works for and benefits me, simply because I hold these prominent identities. This holds up systemically, relationally, and hegemonically. But wait, what does hegemonically mean? Let’s jump and punch a question box to figure that out.

Hegemonic Masculinity:  Warp Zones and Invincibility Stars

I remember the day before a family picnic at a local park when I discovered warp zones.  I refused to leave my TV screen and join my family.  I was mesmerized that I could skip worlds along the process.  I was struggling in Level 1-2 and for some reason decided to use the orange elevators to ascend above the upper brick border and ran as fast as I could.  At the end, I found three pipes. This warp zone allowed me to skip to a place farther along in the game. This, as a metaphor, is hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is defined as a practice that legitimizes men’s dominant position in society and justifies the subordination of women, and other marginalized ways of being a man (Connell, 2005).  Our (as men) warp zones allow us to advance in our careers faster than others who may identify differently and our invincibility stars allow us to not be held accountable to certain laws and behaviors in society the way others are held accountable, all because of how we identify.  But remember, this is not the same for all men. At all of those intersectionality interaction points, the experience would be different for Black men, Gay and Bisexual men, Trans men, Latino men, Muslim men, men of Native American and First Nation descents, as well as many others.

In the end if you understand that Mario is an intersectional, masculine, euro-centered, man, maybe you could see where his identity may be seen differently by men in other categories?  If so, then you can see that Mario’s experience is different than others, but by his mere walking into a space, expressing his gender the way that he does, his intersections of identity may play to the majority more than others so in turn will advance through the “warp zones” of life possessing the “invincibility stars” of not being held accountable for his behaviors.

The Final Boss:  Mario’s Internal Growth and A Hope for the Future

Having said all of this, what I want to focus on here is his desire to change the world, his leadership, and courage to break out of his comfort zone.  These are all masculine qualities that need to be fostered, repeated, and examined throughout the rest of his Nintendo career.  But, let’s again break the binary.  Are all of these strictly masculine qualities? Or should they be qualities of all genders? I say all.

Flashing back, in the 80’s gamers were men and only men.  At least that is what society told me. But, I had to beg to differ when my sister and my mother railed on games that I found very difficult.  Remember gamers can be of all ages, all genders, all identities, just like the many paths that one can take in the game.  And in the fight to change the world to be a better, more inclusive place, to fight the Bowsers trying to harm so many people, wouldn’t you want to include more not less?

Thanks for listening and diving deep,

Matt

P.S. Here is a little postscript for you:  Sometimes, you may not notice where hegemonic masculinity is favored.  For instance, even though Princess Peach now has a rich history in the game, her story was rarely, if at all, told in the beginning.  Also, I purposely chose to never mention her name in this article, thus subjugating her presence.  She is merely something acted upon by Mario in order to meet his goals, not a fully developed character.  I did this to make a point:  language and representation are powerful.  How would you have included her differently in the article?

P.P.S.  Also, we will leave Mario’s cultural appropriation of the Mexican sombrero and serape from Super Mario Odyssey for my next post.  What the heck was that about?

References

(2011, June 06). Judith Butler: Your Behavior Creates Your Gender. Retrieved May 4, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo7o2LYATDc

Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins:  Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review. 43. 1241-1299

Human Rights Campaign. (2017). Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Definitions. Retrieved September 09, 2017, from https://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-terminology-and-definitions