#particularly in american media which has an oversized reach and impact on the world

[awkward-teabag]

And by flipping the genders, it brings more attention to the characters, expectations, and tropes that the player may have become numb to.

How many shows/books/video games have an over-eager military recruit but because it's a man and a conventional army, no one questions it or considers the implications of what it means that this person is so obsessed with fighting, getting command, and looks down on people who don't have the same mindset?

How many shows/books/video games have a woman who is hyper-sexual and flirts to get information or what she wants and is later revealed to be a human trafficking victim who has been doing that for decades to survive, but now because it's a man and a fantasy setting, it clicks that it's a fucked up situation and people now engage with it?

All the origin characters have trauma and have fucked up pasts and gender has nothing to do with it. What gender does do, however, is hold up a mirror for the players and force engagement with media which people may no longer even think about because they're used to shorthand and familiar tropes to get across a character's personality, past, and motivations.

It's interesting that the female companions take on much more militaristic roles than the males.

Lae'zel is the gung-ho new recruit, Karlach is the seasoned but still rather young soldier, Minthara is the combat hardened old vet, and Shadowheart belongs to a shady mercenary group who has their own goals separate from the rest.

Meanwhile, the men are all dealing with abusive relationships, and issues surrounding sex and power imbalances.

It's an interesting dynamic.