You are shitting me. You have got to be downright shitting me. You know that test I like to apply to see if something is acceptable? That if it is ok for men it is ok for women, and if it is ok for women it is ok for men? That thing called egalitarianism, that actually promotes an equal platform? Lets just shit all over that, who needs it? We have feminism...
Its ok for the male damsel to be knocked out, thrown about, whipped, crushed, blown up and replaceable with a dog because he is a guy. That is totally unacceptable for a women, right?
Lets just ignore the fact that zooming in and isolating the damsel is hardly a 'systemic, big picture perspective' and not at all representative of how spelunky portrays women.
Once again, in Anitas eyes we can't portray women as weak, dependent, enfeebled, inadequate or incapable despite the fact that they often are. This is an inherit property of being human and typical of any sample population. We need weak, helpless females, just as much as we need weak, helpless men, and strong women and strong men. The only examples Anita gives that she deems acceptable were all of stronger women, implying it is unacceptable to be otherwise? Does this really send a much better message?
The problem is not at all with these portrayals, but rather a lack of examples showing women in a more empowered role, something Spelunky actually does. Spelunky puts both men and women on a pretty much even platform... yet still she has a problem with it. Because Anita hates the idea that women could ever be portrayed as weak, ever, in any case. And it is stupid.