#and so at first I was so happy in totk!! I thought the bunker would truly be off-limits

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Haven't seen anyone talk about this but it's been on my mind. I loved memory #6 I just genuinely enjoy the Gerudo and adore when they appear. I noticed a couple things about their appearance. Some have shaved hair and Mohawks, they also seem to be wearing war makeup? Also they can control moldugas?! I loved it and it kinda got me thinking... why don't we see Gerudo's with shaved hair? or why does no one mention the fact they can control moldugas. The Gerudo now present more feminine attire; from hair to makeup. Sooo did the Gerudo just phase out of this style? did they forget how to control moldugas? Or did they stop theses traditions because the association with Ganon? or were they forced? idk I just really wanted someone else opinion on this because no one really seems to care. I feel as if it's important to understand tradition and how and why we celebrate it or how or why we stopped celebrating it.

Hellooo sorry for the late reply to that super interesting ask!!

I think it was actually a pretty clever way on the game's part to show (with a bunch of visual shortcuts) that gerudos used to be more warlike under Ganondorf's command, and then phased out of this after the whole Demon King situation --though it is worth notice that the Thunder Sage in the past already looks very much like a modern gerudo, and seems to align with the way they present in the current age.

So this could suggest a split already between the gerudos; either a deep-rooted one that pre-existed the zonai kingdom, or one where gerudos intending to betray Ganondorf perform a more "acceptable" version of femininity to better integrate in hylian society and make themselves less threatening overall. I doubt this version of Ganondorf would value a lot of traits hylians seem to associate with the feminine; it could be either about diplomacy or as an act of rebellion.

But, on a more meta level: I think it still pretty much aligns with every previous discussion about how gerudos softened for the benefit of hylians --or at least, for the player's sake. I don't know if my thoughts diverge enough from the original text to warrant a Gerudo Post 2 post-TotK, beyond moping the puddles of my brazen optimistic approach and meditate on how so much more... on target I was than I ever wanted to be in regards to their developement, but if it doesn't, I want to at least add this: the fact that we get introduced to Gerudo Town from the Bazaar by a bunch of weirdo creeps that want to try the limits of how much they can get away with pushing against the gerudos' boundaries and get inside their spaces because (and I quote, I took the screenshot how could I not) "Keeping us shut out only makes us all the more curious though! I mean, that's just common sense!" (guess who I then left stranded in the desert on purpose by refusing to complete his sidequest :) ), and then... *immediately* forces you, as the player, to act *in the exact same way* by refusing to take no for an answer and busting through the literal floor --like... is Link supposed to be morally different here because he has a better reason than them? Is the parallel meant to be made? I don't know, but it's less about Link than about the player, and I think softening the gerudos so they can be seen in a positive light in contrast to their more warlike ancestors is an interesting conversation to have in parallel of how devoted the BotW/TotK gerudos are to make themselves as palatable as possible to hylian males (= the player).

Again: I loved the scenes involving them, I adored!!! defending the town by their side this was one of the highlights of the game for me. But... Yeah. Yeah.

It's hard not to see the gerudos gradually stripped of their cultural autonomy, presenting their hard boundaries as just a cute thing when you kind of know there was probably a war fought about that at some point (at least in part), and not think to myself that there truly might have been something worth fighting for since devoured and lost.