I'll state my opinion briefly, while it is overused I think it's used for a reason. I think the damsel in distress concept is so ingrained in society from the beginning of time that there's probably no getting past it. I think it's worth debating whether or not Mario would have been as successful of a series if it was Peach trying to rescue Mario from a castle, or Pauline trying to save Mario from Donkey Kong. I don't think it would have made as much sense... maybe I'm wrong, but men have never really been known as "trophy husbands". World War 2 was a great time for strong women and I think the strong woman movement should have continued to expand from then, but it didn't seem to. I think to some extent it is gender roles dictated by nature which is why rescuing Pauline from the giant ape seems more natural than the opposite of Pauline rescuing Mario. That's how I see it sorta.
I really want Tomb Raider and I like the idea of stronger women characters in video games. I think we're far enough along as a society that we could take it and embrace it and nobody would have to be butthurt about it. Though, no offense, I think men would be a lot less outspoken about it if men suddenly became the feminine characters in games. (I mean in terms of Maninists speaking in front of Congress ) Gamers are gamers, we don't typically think of these things when we play.
I liked Jansen a lot from Lost Odyssey even though he was quite feminine, and I did hear a lot of people make fun of that character, so obviously my view of that is wrong and I never said I was right, I was just sharing a view.