Damsel in distress in ‘Legend of Zelda’ irritates my 5 yr old daughter

My three kids see the Mario Brothers everywhere, but I dislike this pair of brothers for  obvious reasons (but pointed out so well by Anita Sarkeseesian in this video about the perpetual damsel in distress trope played by Princess Peach.) Last night, I decided to let my kids try the also highly advertised  “Legend of Zelda.” Both shows/ games are created by the same guy, Shigeru Miyamoto, and often appear together in marketing. Today, while I was making dinner, my 5 year old daughter went on rant about how disappointing “Zelda” was for her. One reason I created Reel Girl, to rate kids’ media for girl empowerment, is because titles can be so misleading to parents. I’m posting this video so that you can be more informed than I was. I’m listening to my daughter and staying away from “Legend of Zelda.” I hope you do too.

Just looked it up, here’s the diamond she’s talking about:

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Reel Girl rates Legend of Zelda ***SS***

4 thoughts on “Damsel in distress in ‘Legend of Zelda’ irritates my 5 yr old daughter

  1. I’m a huge Legend of Zelda fan, but I really do get pissed off with the damsel in distress trope. In that regards, I highly recommend the game Legend of Zelda – Spirit Tracks, that is super cute AND (best part!) Zelda and Link unite forces and work together to save the world.

    Also, although there still is somewhat a damsel in distress feel, I feel like Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess is an improvement because both Zelda and Link’s cool sidekick, Midna, era powerful and help him in his journey. They should just be more in the “center” of the story, but you get the point. But the game is for teenagers, so I would really recommend Spirit Tracks.

    Also, have you seen there awesome video on sexist tropes in videogames?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6p5AZp7r_Q

    (I think you have, but still worth mentioning!)
    Cheers!

  2. People still watch that godawful Zelda TV show from the 1980s?? I would have thought Nintendo would have had all the episodes of that show nuked by now.

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