"Street Fighter"... For many people, even if you don’t play fighting games, you’ve most likely heard the name before. Well, I’ve been playing the series since I was a little kid, and to this day, I can say it’s one of my favorites in the fighting game genre. So when the fifth game in the main series was revealed, I was excited to hear about the latest characters added in, hoping some of my favorites from the previous games would be included. But instead of hearing Ibuki (possibly my favorite character) was joining the roster for this game, I hear the words ‘Street Fighter’ and ‘sexist’. Now I’m not going to lie and say "Street Fighter" has never had problems with its female audience and their characters before, but this time I don’t agree with the accusation that the character, Rainbow Mika was created exclusively for the male gaze
This is Rainbow Mika. She’s been around since the days of "Street Fighter Alpha 3," a side-story prequel series to the main SF series
If you can’t tell by her clothing she is a wrestler. She is not the first character to wear a leotard for a costume. While that privilege goes to Cammy, she has been met with more hate than her predecessor.
In fact Mika isn’t even the first wrestler in the game. Zangief A character that has been in the games for years, beat her to it, and wears much less than Mika does.
As a female and a fan of this series, I actually do not mind the character’s clothing choice. In my personal opinion "Street Fighter" actually has one of the best female cast rosters--it's diverse and the females actually wear more clothes than the males do at times. Not to mention everyone has muscles, not just the males, showing that yes, these women take their sport just as seriously.
Clothing and body image in games has always been a hot topic with the female side, mostly going towards the way of “she was created for the male gaze,” while characters like Gill wearing practically nothing, are either left alone or said to be "hyping up a male player's sense of masculinity."
While I do believe it is important for females to fight for female characters who are strong and whose features aren’t stretched to fit “the male gaze," we still have to think of the character. How should that character act outside of “not needing a man?” “What about her fighting style makes her unique from the other players? What should she wear to actually fit her personality and occupation? Well, Mika is a wrestler and thus she should dress like a wrestler. Even if she doesn’t fit your version of what a strong female could be, you have to remember there is more than one way to be and look strong. If you read her character biography she actually has an interest in psychology, thus proving she's not a dumb, ditzy character. After all, in a game where you have people fight by throwing blasts of light, beach balls, or just fighting with their fists Mika is a happy edition and I hope people give her a chance.
In the end, "Street Fighter," and pretty much all fighting games, have nothing to do with race, gender, identity, or anything like that. They’re all about two players using their skill and wits to outplay the other and come out on top.
