Princess Frankenstein Monster?

In Super Mario Bros. 2, it is hard to be compelling in stating there are obvious gender stereotypes that Princess, Mario, Luigi, and Toad reflect and complicate. However, there are a couple, if not a few. In the beginning of the game, you have to choose which player to start with. I always chose the Princess to play with. Is it because I relate to her because she is in fact female? Nah, I picked her because when making her jump, or run + jump, she could actually float, which is extremely beneficial in the game.
An obvious stereotype is how women are looked at to be these helpless beings, waiting to be rescued by her prince charming, or knight in shining armor, as she plays the victim. So the “strong” man goes through all sorts of hurdles and battles to rescue her.
Personally, I don’t believe this game offers multiple “gender-subject configurations”, but for the sake of argument, I guess I will pick a couple. Princess could fall under the “Lara as Female Frankenstein Monster”, although her pink dress and crown might detract from that, she is still a hard core fighting machine. But she is definitely not some mutant offspring, nor a vicious, combative force. So more realistically, she ensues the “Lara as a Positive Role Model” because she is the only female character or avatar amongst the male avatars. “Violent, sexy, and capable women like Lara Croft might be better role models for girls than the few games that have been targeted specifically at girls, such as Ms. Pacman, Barbie Fashion Designer and the nonviolent, social games produced by Purple Moon” (Schleiner, 224). This actually leads back to the stereotype of women. Maybe we would like to see Barbie kick some ass while designing fashion and still make it back home in time to cook supper.



Schleiner, Anne-Marie. "Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games." MIT Press. 34.3 (2001): 221-226. Print.