Fiora's New Lore Overdoes the Patriarchy

Dear Riot,

Previous to the new Fiora lore, female Demacian champions were all writen as admired and respected. They were acknowledged as competent and valuable members of the Demacian military and society, with jobs and lives of their own. Lestara Buvelle was the head of her house, and Sona and Vayne (as the last of their house) were presumed to also have that standing. When I joined the community there were (and still are) more female Demacian champions than male champions. The male champions were friends with the female champions and treated them well, without being condescending. Due to the example of Lux and Quinn, I extrapolated that women were not uncommon in the Demacian military. After all, only two of the male champions are tied closely with the army, Xin's job is in the palace and Lucian is a Purifier. I didn't envision a 50/50 ratio, but I at least thought it wasn't unusual or uncommon.

Given this textual evidence, I had assumed that Demacia had some form of equality. Not perhaps complete or total equality, but a certain measure of it nonetheless. And I was glad. Glad to find a fantasy realm where women were given admiration, respect, value, as if it were a natural thing. It was unlike the many patriarchal fantasy realms I'd seen before. I see now that I was mistaken. I'm sad for the loss, even if it was only my imagination.

The endemic sexism you portrayed implies a lot of things to me, and I'm not looking forward to them:

Kayle and Poppy are no longer honored guests and allies, but useful charity cases.

Lux is no longer a decorated war hero, but the army's mascot (in everyone's eyes if not in truth).

Jarvan and Garen are either sexist like everyone else, or despite being “The Exemplar” and “...the paradigm to which these leaders are compared,” they have such different attitudes from the general populace that nobody bothers to try and emulate them in this area.

Vayne is no longer a “grim warrior” with a tragic past, but a hysterical female driven mad by the deaths of her loved ones.

Lucian and Senna were not a team of equals, but a commander and his subordinate.

Sona is pitied for the lack of a man in her life to take care of her, and is constantly under pressure to marry.

Shyvanna is either seen as “not a woman” because of her draconic blood, or is seen as another charity case the prince took in out of pity.

Quinn's dream of becoming a knight was doubly impossible because she's a woman, and even now people think her advancement is due to something other than her skill and determination.

If you were attemting a societal statement, I applaund your effort, but I'm not such a fan of the execution. At this point the majority of people know that treating women as inferior is inappropriate, but not everyone knows how to treat them as equals. I found the silent example I imagined before Fiora's new lore was published far more powerful than the ham-handed cautionary tale it has turned into.

If you were trying to add a darker element to Demacian culture, I'd like to point out that Demacia already has many dark aspects without adding on a needless patriarchy. I quite enjoyed how Fiora's new lore touched on the harsh Demacian justice system. If the Demacian justice system is truly seen as crueler than even the Noxians', I would love to see that explored. Alternately there is the lock-step, hive-mind aspect of their culture where “Demacian ideals” are ingrained so firmly into each individual that diverging from societal standards is difficult if not impossible without some outside catalyst. Or the fact that they place duty above every personal desire, above the good of individuals (or even groups), above the good of their children (in the case of Lux). Lastly, we already know that Demacia is dedicated to erradicating “evil”, but what is their definition of evil? That alone could make for some horrifying territory to explore.

Thank you for your time.