Hale to the (feminine) Queen

In response to this:
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/allegations-misogyny-gaming-community

Jennifer Hale had an interview. It's fairly innocuous.

Except this paragraph:

"I myself would love to see more equal representation of women in games, more empowered roles. Let's remove gender from casting everywhere we can and play around with it. Let's do the same with race. Let's go on and create the next level. We can't do that right now. I'm nervous about what this piece of the community is going to do to me for speaking up about anything, and that's not OK. We can't do anything until we deal with that."

Jennifer, we love you. But let's take this paragraph apart.

"I myself would love to see more equal representation of women in games, more empowered roles."

No problems so far.

"Let's remove gender from casting everywhere we can and play around with it. Let's do the same with race."

Wait.

Now, if she's just talking about voice acting, and that voice actors should be able to pull off male/female voices, okay, I can see her point on hiring the most skilled, ranged person for the job.

But if this translates to actual game characters...

...didn't you just want to see more equal representation of women in games, more empowered roles? What's wrong with having empowered women, in any role, as a gender, and a producer looking for a specific type of male or female voice actor? What's stopping a writer from writing a man or woman as either gender? (note: sex=male/female, gender=masculine/feminine.) Why would you want to make masculine and feminine roles completely ubiquitous, or, irrelevant? And then do the same with race? Why can't we just play around with these concepts, without removing them?

Shall we, too, forget our Katherina's and Tamora's, our Lady Macbeth's and Ophelia's, our Juliet's and Desdemonas?

While games like Mass Effect 2 had a series of racial issues with the mono-gendered Asari to deal with (pure bloods, xenophobia, etc.), all within a future setting, what would happen contemporary settings with no gender roles?

Why can't writers create a villain who was sex and gender specific, who may even be likable/detestable because of their pro/con attitude to gender and race?

So we shouldn't tell stories about a character who has different racial and gender qualities or issues, (i.e. a strong black female hitman)? But we can only tell stories where characters are all one generic race, or in fantasy/future/science-fiction settings where either isn't an issue? This might be the case in some examples of various Japanese games -- which, largely based on their manga culture, themes like gender-bending are present -- where it's hard to determine the sex of the character (e.g. fashion), but why eliminate the issue entirely (this is, arguably, part of their culture)? Isn't more conflict and diversity good?

What's wrong with telling the story of characters who do have issues with sex and sexuality? (See Naoto Shirogane and Kanji Tatsume of Persona 4 fame.) These concepts of fashion, high/low pitched voices, expected gender job roles, inheritance, rebellion, sexuality, and sexual attraction are key to their character, and some main plot points, and I imagine a major component to the hiring process for voice acting. Would these characters still work if (American) Valerie Arem/Mary Elizabeth McGlynn or (Japanese) Nomi Park were overlooked for being too feminine, or too masculine, for Troy Baker/Matthew Mercer and Tomokazu Seki? I imagine the producer would be looking for a specific kind of actor/actress to play such roles, with such ranges.

I'd love to see characters with a myriad of specific gender, racial qualities and issues, within a setting where those are conflicts to deal with. Even as a main theme to a story. (i.e.. Only women can use magic.) But you can't get there when you eliminate it entirely.

"Let's go on and create the next level. We can't do that right now. I'm nervous about what this piece of the community is going to do to me for speaking up about anything, and that's not OK. We can't do anything until we deal with that."

Sublime, sultan of Shepard: the next level of what, genderless, raceless stories, prithee?

What's stopping an author, game designer or developer...from telling any story they want...right now? While "Remember Me" is a telling and economic example of the current reality, if a game is good, isn't that what matters to the game developer? Planescape: Torment met with the same poor sales figures, but is a timeless classic. As for gender roles: a torch carrying lovelorn spirit-damsel, and an anti-Diablo succubus of the mind simply wouldn't exist in Hale's future.

I'd rather have a hundred (unattainable) Deionarra's and Fall-from-Graces than any of your genderless, raceless characters in a game, your Grace.

Dear, sweet Ravel Queen  Hale: Stop being nervous and scared. Stop caring what other people think. You are the person lady we want. But not at the expense of your capacity to express yourself, even if you have such ambitions, even if you think that is the future.

Gender roles and race are a very real thing (as every communist-feminist will remind us of.) I imagine such issues will always be, just like how racism is.

But there's nothing wrong with having positive gender and racial roles, just like the negative ones you might consider to the flames. Frankly, I like my women (and very talented voice acting male manly masculine-men) to have lots of layers, much like your talent.

Please, Lady Hale: don't diminish it. Be as masculine and feminine as you like. Just take it easy on "mixing up" the baritone. Such roles might not work out in your favor.

"I believe there is a truth to the multiverse... even if that truth is that there is no truth at all. I believe that the Planes are meant to be experienced, and the more one experiences, in traveling, in joy, in pain, in merriment or in suffering, the more the multiverse reveals itself to you... And the more you are revealed to yourself."