Earlier this year, Ubisoft’s director Alex Hutchinson defended their decision to make the lead assassin in the Assassin’s Creed III game male because the American Revolution was “the history of men.” So are we supposed to believe that women had no place in this world? Were women so fragile that they did nothing back then but cook, clean, push out kids and faint at the sight of blood?
“There were a few women,” said Hutchinson, “like John Adams’ wife” (like she doesn’t have her own name or something??) “The TV series tried really hard not to make it look like a bunch of dudes but it really was a bunch of dudes.” Well maybe if you believe the hype… or maybe that’s just an excuse for not wanting to give the fans what they’ve been clamoring for, and that’s a lead female assassin. Hutchinson even went on to say that a female assassin in a crowd of guys just wouldn’t be believable. (As if the game is rooted so much in reality).
Now there is the Assassin’s Creed III : Liberation game whose lead protagonist is a female assassin named Aveline. She’s half-French, half-African and fights against slavery. That’s great and all… if you own the handheld Playstation Vita, that is. The game was made exclusively for that format.
Hutchinson’s actually got it all wrong, though. There were several females from the American Revolution who played a crucial role in the war. Here’s a quick look at some of those “fragile females” from back in the day…
Catherine Moore Barry – The Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina
Patriots’ General Morgan was outmanned by the Brit Cornwallis. Morgan needed an edge and found it in Catherine “Kate” Barry who knew all of the shortcuts and Indian trails in the area. She carried messages on horseback and spied for the Pats while rounding up more men to fight alongside them. With her help, General Morgan defeated Cornwallis causing his retreat to Yorktown, where General Washington was waiting. This was a decisive victory and a major turning point in the war.
Margaret Corbin – Fort Washington, North Manhattan
Originally, Margaret was just there to cook for and help her husband who was one of the guys who loaded the cannons. When the fort was attacked, Margaret went into battle mode and fought alongside her husband and 600 other soldiers. When her husband was killed, she took over cannon duties and kept firing until she was badly injured herself. An army doctor found her and nursed her back to health but she was permanently disabled. She was the first American woman to receive a military pension.
It should be noted that several women were put in charge of firing the cannons during the Revolutionary War. Another was Molly McCauley who was so good that she raised the morale of her regimen and was made a Sergeant by General Washington himself.
Nancy Hart – Herbalist, hunter and sharpshooter from the back country of Georgia
Known by local Indians as “Wahatche” which means “war woman,” Nancy is known for her actions one night when some British soldiers came looking for a patriot which she admitted that she had been helping. Before they left, the soldiers ordered her to cook them a turkey. After feeding them copious amounts of food and alcohol, she grabbed one of their muskets and shot two of them dead. She is also known for disguising herself as a man and going undercover in the British camp to gather information.
Martha Bratton – Arsonist, North Carolina
Martha and her hubby Colonel Bratton had a huge store of gunpowder which the British wanted for themselves. While her husband was away fighting in the war, Martha caught wind of their plan but didn’t have enough time to move the gunpowder. Not wanting to let it fall into the enemy’s hands, Martha poured a trail of the gunpowder from the store house off into the distance where she waited. When the Brits rolled up, Martha lit the gunpowder and in classic Roadrunner and Coyote style, blew up the place.
Sybil Ludington – Fredricksburg, New York
Sybil is known as the female Paul Revere. It is said that she rode twice as far yet somehow, Paul gets all the glory. When the Brits where on their way, Sybil volunteered to ride from village to village letting everyone know so that they were ready to fight when the British got there. Don’t believe me? Here’s a statue.
Prudence Wright – The Minutewomen of Proton, Mass.
Forget about those other guys, Prudence got together with a bunch of women from town and – wearing their husbands’ clothes – armed themselves with muskets, pitchforks, whatever they could get their hands on, and defended the one bridge leading into their town. They hid in the brush until a British solder rode up and they dispossessed him of the messages he was carrying, then passed them along to the local regimen. Then they went back home, made some tea, and sat in a circle giggling and knitting. Well, the first part is true, anyway.
Elizabeth Burgin – Jailbreak Queen, New York Harbor
Back in the day, the British had prison ships where they kept their POWs. Elizabeth Burgin used to bring the men food and such until one day a prisoner asked her to help him escape. She thought so much of the idea that she helped over 200 prisoners go free. Then she went into hiding, destitute and homeless, until the government awarded her with a pension in 1781.
Grace and Rachel Martin – The lady ninjas of South Carolina
After growing tired of the way the British treated women and children, two sisters dressed up in their husbands’ clothes and armed with guns, they ambushed some British soldiers and retrieved messages which they turned over to the militia. Later that night, they went home and found the same men enjoying a homecooked meal at their mom’s house. Luckily, it was dark out and the men didn’t recognize them in their womenfolk gear.
Deborah Sampson aka Massachusetts Mulan
Robert Shirtliffe was a soldier in the 4th Regimen of Massachusetts. One thing though, he wasn’t really a man. He was actually his sister disguised as a man. Deborah Sampson joined up under her bro’s name and fought in the Revolutionary Army for years until she was finally wounded in battle. Just like Mulan did, Deborah wrapped herself up to disguise her boobs and cut her hair to make herself look like a dude. A doctor figured it all out but never ratted on her, taking her to his house to recover. She later was given an honorable discharge and her husband was the first man to collect on a widower’s pension.
So it really wouldn’t have been that big of a stretch to have a female assassin from the Revolutionary War era as a lead character in Assassin’s Creed III. Considering the fact that 47% of all gamers are women, it might be a good idea not to ignore such a substantial portion of the gaming demographic.
[Source: Married Gamers, NWHM, THEESA]
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Game Raging Psycho
Nov 2, 2012 -
While I do agree that on a many levels males did indeed have a much larger influence during the Revolutionary war, I do think (especially after reading your article) that the game should have added some of these female, these unsung heroines of the war. Is the game sexist? I don’t think so; the music industry for me is the prime example of sexism.
All the TV spots are just mostly naked women singing about love and sex, while having borderline sex and orgies during the spot itself, no one seems to complain about this though…..
Some guy smarter than you
Nov 4, 2012 -
I’m sorry but this article is utter bullshit. The game was striving for historicle accuracy, and as you know, history is very sexist. It’s a fact. Don’t take it out on Hutchinson, when he aid that there are a few women, he meant it. Compared to the amount of men there was, your list of women is a few; also he is big going to name them off of the top of his head.
Overall, this article is just a bunch of feminists trying to get what they want, not what’s actually true.
Kuno
Nov 4, 2012 -
Well I obviously can’t name all the women who fought in the Revolutionary War. Plus, as in the case of Sybil Ludington, the female Paul Revere, there were probably so many that didn’t even get any credit for what they did … The whole world is sexist. That’s nothing new. Hutchinson’s comments were sexist as well. But historical accuracy? An Indian guy dressed in colonial garb walking around killing people? Not sure how historically correct that is. And there is also a lot of talk about the violence against women in this game which I didn’t bother getting into.
But try not to get too upset. I was merely broaching a topic, not making any definitive claims as like the OP said, sexism in popular media is rampant and has been for a long time. It doesn’t hurt to talk about it every now and then, does it? Thanks for reading!
Cricket
Nov 5, 2012 -
Nothing wrong with informing readers about the history of the American Revolution that most people don’t know about.
Also nothing wrong with feminism, plenty of kids are raised by single moms and that’s one example of girl power.
Miss M
Nov 11, 2012 -
I’m really glad you posted this Kuno, and I am sorry I am just now getting to comment on it. In response to a comment above, just because history may be deemed as “sexist” does not mean that the stories going forward have to continually push aside female voices and characters. After all, this is a video game we are talking about. I will not be getting my historical information from this game, it is meant to be fun. So as such, I think they could have included a main female character and done it in a way that would have created an interesting story. I mean history is not all about white dudes. I know it seems like it is, but I urge people to read books on women’s history. There were plenty of women who helped shape the course of history as well, their voices of course always end up unheard. A game like this could have brought some of that to people’s attention.
Do I think the creators of this game intentionally went out to bash women by not creating a character? No, but I do think there is a bigger situation here and that is this idea that female characters can only be included in certain regards. (i.e. getting rescued, beaten, or screwed.) I will probably never play this game, but with that said, had there been a main female character that was playable I probably would have given it a shot. As a female gamer, I want to see more games and stories that feature strong female characters too. And that is not meant to be threatening towards men. I have never understood why some (emphasis on some) men have to be so angry and terrified by anything remotely having to do with feminism. It just boggles my mind. Either way, excellent post Kuno! Keep doing what you do!
Jeremy
Nov 29, 2012 -
I just wanted to point out that, while lacking a female main character, Assassin’s Creed III does include several strong female characters. There is a lengthly series of missions working alongside the hunter Myriam, who lives on Connor’s homestead. She is a skilled combatant and confident in her abilities. She even has the opportunity to outperform Connor in a battle against a white cougar.
Then there is the series of side-missions involving the Boston Brawlers. After fighting up a chain of retired and current champions, Connor must face the best fighter of the entire group as the last battle of a tournament. This powerful enemy is “The Huntress”, a female boss. This is street fighting, which shows that a woman can be much more skilled than men in a field men had thought they dominated. Though a small aside in the game, this mission line could be Ubisoft attempting to demonstrate gender equality.
Then there is the female assassin recruit whom Connor meets in New York. Deborah “Dobby” Carter’s recruitment story is just as fleshed out as the other recruits’ stories, and I found hers to be more memorable, since she is the only female assassin in Connor’s following of 6. In an optional conversation with Dobby, Connor finds that she grew up fighting with men who attempted to demean her. She becomes very resilient through her development. Dobby does mention that she had to pretend to be a boy to be considered fairly at times, which is in line with historical accuracy. It’s unfortunate that Ubisoft is so focused on historical accuracy that they will perpetrate the sexist attitudes of the time in their game. On paper, Hutchinson’s responses do seem derogatory, though I can see how – when spoken – the whole quote was meant to be humorous. As for his not including John Adams’ wife’s name, most women of the time were more well known by their marriages than personal lives. On the other hand, it really wouldn’t have killed Hutchinson to say Abigail Adams, and have enough confidence in his audience’s historical knowledge to make the connection.
Khlorghaal
Jan 5, 2013 -
I think its more a question of statistics. Although there were doubtlessly women in battle and key events, there were very very few. The people in the article mentioned are only special because they are women, they did not much more to change history than the average revolutionary. It’s actually degrading to consider a woman historically important just because she is a woman…
Kuno
Nov 6, 2014 -
That’s the problem, though. These women aren’t considered important just because they’re women. They actually made outstanding and sometimes crucial contributions to the fight against the British. The fact that they are women only makes their actions that much more significant because of their limited stations in society back in the day.