I kinda want to elaborate on a thing brought up by @in-the-drowning-deep and @androidtrashfire on Dragon Age, specifically Origins, and how the Broodmothers relate to sexual violence. Because I think there is something related to this, that shows in so many contexts and is rarely explicitly mentioned.
A lot of Dark Fantasy deals with sexual violence. And in most of the cases the sexual violence affects women. Because even if the writer says that they do not want to write a partriachal world, somehow they tend to duplicate the methods of patriarchy. Which ends us with a lot of female characters experiencing sexual violence. And in many cases, such as the broodmothers in Dragon Age, this also goes into something else. A sort of voyeuristic exploration of how those women are destroyed by this sexual violence. In terms of the broodmothers this is quite literally, physically the case, but even in other cases and other franchises this is common.
Back when I read the ASOIAF books, I hated them a lot because of this. Because it felt to me as if Martin measured the women in his books by their ability to survive sexual violence without being destroyed. That was how those books read to me. And I hated that.
And once you realize this about Dark Fantasy, you will note how common that trope is. How often women are measured by their ability to survive sexual violence without being changed.
But here is the thing. Dark Fantasy does indeed also have male characters who experience sexual violence. Not as commonly as female characters, but it is a thing that happens. And... other than the female characters, this very rarely defines them. It might be part of their tragic backstory, but it is very rarely the main feature. And that speaks volumes to me.
Like, in Dragon Age, look at how the sexual violence that Zevran and Fenris have been confirmed to have experienced is framed, compares to the instances where violence against women comes up as a topic. Especially in Origins.
It really makes BG3 so interesting to me, because the game does indeed switch around the tropes in terms of gender so much. Because there is a character whose backstory is largely defined by sexual violence, and it is Astarion, a man. Meanwhile there is a character who has textually experienced sexual violence, but among the dramatic backstory this is a small aside, and it is Shadowheart, a woman.
A lot of people have talked about how BG3 does very clearly shift a bunch of character clichés with the genders, as seen in how the women all are way better physical fighters than the men. But in regards to this trope it is also very noticable.
Though my point in the end is not: "Give us more male characters of the 'rape as a backstory' trope." And more: "Stop treating female characters who have experienced sexual violence, as if it is the only thing that defines them."
