Constants and variables (and rule 63) - Bioshock

http://archiveofourown.org/users/Stoob/works

Recently saw a few vids on YouTube discussing gender and women in gaming, covering the usual topics of motivation and 'gender stereotypes' and so on.  I do wonder if the 'damsel in distress' figure that is becoming more prevalent in gaming must always be female and the protagonist hero male.  It has been said of Bioshock: Infinite that it is of its time, and so the former Pinkerton would obviously be a man, and some have gone as far to say that a woman wouldn't sell her child like Booker does (a key point of the tale).

I do have some reservations about using time-period alone to justify gender roles, as history shows us there are many strong successful, and even brutally minded women in the past.  So the Pinkertons were probably mostly men, I don't think that could be argued against; that said, I don't doubt that there were women in the ranks, at various levels of militancy.  The 'Pinks' infiltrated other organisations with moles, for example, so why not a woman for this role?  Also, just because female that doesn't mean they can't appear apathetic; not every woman has to gush their emotions all the time.

On the other side, could Elizabeth work as a boy, and so the 'damsel in distress'?  I don't see why not.  Being stuck in a book tower for his whole life, I'd doubt he's going to be the beefiest of young men, and he'd have the same level of naivety and innocence due to his isolation.  Motivations for Paris might be a bit different, though it's not stated categorically what Liz's fascination is beyond it being 'Paris'.  No reason why he wouldn't have a similar idealistic view of Paris, like we saw in Burial at Sea part 2.

The scene at Battleship Bay.  Hm.  You don't see too many lads dancing with so much glee, and this is quite a 'Disney-fied' scene, but again, stereotype is stereotype.  Though that did make me think, what song would Fink have stolen, instead of Cindi Lauper's 'Girl's just wanna have fun'?  I've gone with 'If I were a boy' by Beyonce.  It just felt right that the AU where Booker is Brooke and Elizabeth is Elijah, to choose this song.

So the result of all that was an exceptionally short scene with gender reversal, and a tune on the old calliope.
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