Is ff 14. Too feminine?

[Gramul]

Oh no.
Flowers and pink.
How ever will I survive.

I'm assuming your nephews are children. And it's normal for kids to assert their gender. But there comes a point where you realize there's not much point to it. There's no objective definition to what's girly or masculine really other than how you pee. It's all based on cultural development. Hell, a hundred years ago, many people considered pink to be the masculine color and blue the feminine color. But that's going on a tangent.

Basically, it boils down to personal perception.

[Eloah]

...Hell, a hundred years ago, many people considered pink to be the masculine color and blue the feminine color...

Actually, it hasn't even been 100 years, the color dynamic of, pink for boys, blue for girls, shiftered around the 1950s. And the reason for pink for boys is because, and most people forget this, pink is just a light red. And since red was/is viewed as a male color, a lighter red, ie pink, was used to represent young boys.

[Risvertasashi]

Actually, it hasn't even been 100 years, the color dynamic of, pink for boys, blue for girls, shiftered around the 1950s. And the reason for pink for boys is because, and most people forget this, pink is just a light red. And since red was/is viewed as a male color, a lighter red, ie pink, was used to represent young boys.

Hah. yeah, not only that, but names can (and often do) genderflip too. eg, "Lindsay" was once a boy's name (still technically is, though I hope no guys here are named that XD)

[Eloah]

Hah. yeah, not only that, but names can (and often do) genderflip too. eg, "Lindsay" was once a boy's name (still technically is, though I hope no guys here are named that XD)

That's true, and again it's more of an American concept, names like Shannon, Ashley, Kelly, Michel(not michael), Rene, etc, are all still as equally as popular with boys as weel as girls.

[Risvertasashi]

That's true, and again it's more of an American concept, names like Shannon, Ashley, Kelly, Michel(not michael), Rene, etc, are all still as equally as popular with boys as weel as girls.

Are you in France? Anyway, I don't know France's (or your country's if my guess is wrong) culture specifically, for every culture I've learned the language of... there are names that clearly fall into the masculine and feminine category, as well as those that could be both.

You're right that those names are considered feminine in American (And probably British?) culture, at this for this century so far. But I'm going to bet your culture has names that fall clearly on one side or the other, all the same... I've yet to find a language that doesn't have gendered names.

[Kosmos992k]

That's true, and again it's more of an American concept, names like Shannon, Ashley, Kelly, Michel(not michael), Rene, etc, are all still as equally as popular with boys as weel as girls.

Edit : I had the wrong quote, my apologies, here is the thought (by the same author) I was replying to...

I know you said you didn't read the entire thread, but, you have to remember, that your view on the game is skewed by your country and culture, I would assume most males who find the game feminine are Americans, while many Europeans might not view it as badly. I'm not saying Americans can't view it as not feminine, and Europeans as feminine. Just a more general concensus

No offense to Americans, and I count myself as one, but our culture is overtly macho to the core. Everything is about assertiveness to the point of aggression, confrontation rather than conciliation, winners and losers, and other overtly macho concepts. It pervades everything here, everything is a competition that must be won.

Elsewhere in the world, this is not always the case. I'm originally from the UK, and although they are influenced by America, they still reflect a more moderate European outlook that is not nearly so overtly macho.

It's funny though, some people seem to assume that in Japan all men are somehow feminized, and yet this is a country with Sumo Wrestlers and Samurai - among other things.

Personally I consider that the Japanese & European concepts of gender and depiction of gender to be closer to a balance point and for that matter more honest. The overtly macho culture of the USA feels like it's trying so hard to be macho some times, almost to the point where I wonder if at the heart of the phenomenon is a fear of being perceived as feminine. Which brings us back to the reasons that the OP's nephew shied away from FFXIV, he fears being perceived as feminine because he plays this game.

[kyuven]

Japanese culture lesson time!
1) Yes, there IS a boy's day, but it's called "Children's Day" and is part of the Golden Week celebration. Golden Week itself is subject to a lot of PR things.
2) There are a lot of holidays in Japan on repeating numbers (1/1, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, etc.) and Hinamatsuri is one of them
3) Valentine's Day is about women giving things to men, but the aesthetic and advertising is squarely aimed at women (since, y'know, they're the ones buying things)
4) Japan is far more accepting of a feminine aesthetic than the west is. There's a reason they added lipstick and eyeshadow for males yet have a very limited number of beards. Even Yoshida himself dresses more "feminine" than most video game developers(note his scarf in the PAX East video). It's also why there really are a few more female options in game than there are male.
Not to say they don't have a concept of masculinity, they definitely do, but feminine men aren't that unusual and they don't even think of themselves as being feminine, it's just the West that thinks so (for example, you'll have a guy who goes through nearly the exact same "make-up" procedure as his girlfriend before they go out on a date.) The line between feminine and masculine is just a little more blurry over there.
It's actually funny, I've seen some Japanese guys have the exact same complaints the OP's nephew does about the "macho" aesthetic American games seem to have.

[Xenosan]

Japanese culture lesson time!
4) Japan is far more accepting of a feminine aesthetic than the west is. There's a reason they added lipstick and eyeshadow for males yet have a very limited number of beards. Even Yoshida himself dresses more "feminine" than most video game developers(note his scarf in the PAX East video) ... The line between feminine and masculine is just a little more blurry over there.

^ This

It's not just FF14, or the FF franchise. Look at all JRPGs, anime, w/e. In the west we are built off John Wayne archetypes, but over there it's not about the grit and age. Like they also got this thing for young male protagonist too (a grip I have their fiction, teenagers saving the world or like the Squall/Rinoa romance [they're friggin teenagers! they gonna last 2 months at most before breaking up!] etc etc >.> ) .

It's a valid argument/debate to have, and maybe it's something SE needs to consider if they want to push for stronger profits in western markets (altho they seem to have done the opposite, pushing FF as a jp cultural pillar)

edit:

Let's consider some of the big US/Euro Developer games

MassEffect/DragonAge, CoD/BF IPs, Witcher
--
Really the question shouldn't be is FFXIV too femine; but should SE and other Japanese developers try to jump the cultural gap, or should they stick to their guns?

[SpiritMuse]

It does also happen that boys refuse to play with "girly" things not because they think "girly" is a bad thing, but because they think it means it is for girls and therefore not for them. Not sure if that is the case here though.