I’ve heard sly speculation that boys playing the part of Lara amounts to digital cross-dressing, and that this was a reason for its success. I wish it were that interesting, and certainly it could be subverted in this way, but I suspect that it has far more to do with the way that the player controls Lara. There’s a critical distinction to be made between a first-person perspective (i.e. where only the gun/knife/fragger is visible) and a third-person perspective like Tomb Raider — the latter allows something academics call the Male Gaze.
Powerful women are used all the time to sell us stuff. I’ve been noticing the dominatrix image used a lot, and it’s not being used soley to appeal to those with a submissive streak; it’s because the leather-clad, conventionally sexy woman has a broad cross-gender appeal. Her power makes her appealing to women; her kinkiness makes her appealing to men who figure her dominance is a pose.
Sobre Lara y otras hero