Abstract
Throughout the Final Fantasy series, gender exists both as much as a rigid categorization for many central characters as a complicated, subversive dimension in the very same figures. This chapter examines several series characters in order to explore how these texts demonstrate a traditional performance of gender while also offering several moments and figures that queer the performance of gender. The series establishes traditional gendered types throughout, but these same texts include figures and events that deconstruct the very gender binary that the series develops. This chapter examines the interplay of rigid, traditional gender roles and the subversions of these roles.
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Notes
- 1.
Henceforth, I shall refer to specific titles in the Final Fantasy series with the acronymic FF followed by the number/subtitle where appropriate. For the series in general, I will continue to use the entire title.
- 2.
In role-playing games , rogues occupy a mechanical position within a support and offensive spectrum, either as ranged attackers or as fast and skilled warriors. Rogues are characterized by swiftness and deception and tend to be ineffective in direct confrontation.
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Filipowich, M. (2018). Maidens and Muscleheads, White Mages and Wimps, from the Light Warriors to Lightning Returns. In: Harper, T., Adams, M., Taylor, N. (eds) Queerness in Play. Palgrave Games in Context. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90542-6_7
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