Ms. Pac Man was released in 1982, 2 years after Pac Man hit the arcades. As a 12 year old girl, it was great for me to be able to play a "girl." Few games allowed me to do this. Ms. Pac Man's lipstick and bow signified her femaleness. However, these two signifiers did not represent who I was. I distanced myself from what I called the 1980's "bowheads" -- young women, many of whom were very popular, who wore huge bows in their hair and who often played dumb. I was also not a lipstick wearer. The image above, where she's not even wearing pants but has high heeled shoes on, makes me wonder if there was ever a similar kind of image for Pac man (I don't think so). Where are her clothes and why is it ok to have this provocative image for what originally was a circle with some triangles on top?
Corinne |
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