Dating as far back as Greek mythology, the trope of creating a “perfect woman” is one that has pervaded all types of stories and mediums. Within this trope, one will often find a man who is unsatisfied with the manner in which real women treat him, and decides to create his vision of a woman out of different materials. This inanimate woman will usually come to life in some miraculous manner, bringing endless joy to the creator, who now gets to live and interact with his “perfect women”, one that is often devoid of any real personality, but is also unnaturally beautiful. This concept has continued to make itself present throughout human history, and, as our technological abilities improve, has even managed to become a partial reality to those who desire such an idea. The rest of this piece will explore the theme of the “perfect woman” in both a number of fictional mediums as well as today’s modern society.
One of the earlier examples of using androids as the replacement for a human woman can be found in Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam’s 19th Century novel, Tomorrow’s Eve. Within the book, a fictional version of Thomas Edison creates a female android for his friend who is depressed due to the many issues he has with his wife. During his tirade against his wife, Edison’s friend states that “Believe me, if she was nothing but the prettiest of women I wouldn’t pay so much attention to her, not for a minute” (pg. 40). So, to counteract this, the android which Edison creates and brings to “life” shares similar physical features with his friend’s wife, but has a much more toned down personality. Edison’s friend is initially suspicious but becomes very pleased with the android. By having a character reject his human wife and replace her with a robotic replica, l’Isle-Adam takes full advantage of the “perfect woman” trope, paying no regard to the numerous gender and social-political problems that the trope raises.
The video game industry has also had its fair share of dealings with the “perfect women” trope, especially from a behind-the-scenes perspective. While most other mediums give their creators the freedom to depict their characters however they please, video games push that freedom to new heights, with the ability to create human bodies and personalities completely from scratch, and display these choices in a visual and interactive manner. This incredible power has, since the industry’s inception, been granted mostly to males, who have often used these abilities to depict women from a more male-centric viewpoint. Video game franchises such as Grand Theft Auto and God of War, among others, tend to feature women with minimal personalities and unrealistic beauty standards, supposedly for the sake of the player’s enjoyment, despite the continuously increasing number of women video game players. By creating these virtual “perfect women”, game developers are only furthering the problematic nature of the trope, and, in doing so, pushing away potential audiences from playing their games.
The concept of creating a “perfect women” is one that has begun to become more prevalent in modern society as well, as is explored in the documentary The Mechanical Bride. The film shows an informative perspective on artificial women, those who create them, and those who purchase and live with them. As the documentary showed, artificial women have the ability to be depicted and used in numerous ways, and are loved by their owners not in spite of their inanimate nature, but primarily because of it, as they provide opportunities that real women might oppose. As technology continues to progress, the fictional concept of creating a “perfect women” is one that is increasingly becoming closer to a reality, virtually or physically, and, as this happens, one must question what the increasing relevance of this trope means for gender, sexuality, human nature, and numerous other aspects of life that affect us on a daily basis.
To Play or Not To Play? Video Games in Contemporary Society 