The "Golem" Syndrome

Golem syndrome: “This is a man, who as a child has neither experienced nor been trained in the three ingredients of emotional life: Attention, Love and Affection. The word "Golem" in mediaevil Jewish legend, describes a sort of machine man, a robot. "

The Neurocritic: The "Golem" Syndrome

So, there actually is a specific Golem "Syndrome". The blogger 'The neurocritic' found a couple of odd definitions published in the 70s by the austrian psychiatrist Joshua Bierer and among them was the 'Golem syndrome'. Apparently it's a male thing. 

"Such men go from woman to woman and are often considered to be excellent lovers. These women do not realise that they receive not love but hate, not compassion but revenge, not commitment but a desire to escape, that it is not a mutual emotional experience of beauty but a one-sided desire to hurt, and even to kill."

This reminds me of Simon Baron Cohen, FBA, professor in developmental psychopatology, autism researcher and cousin of actor Sasha Baron Cohen and his empathizing–systemizing theory, where he proposes that autism is an extreme of of the male brain. Sounds controversial of course, but unlike Bierer, Baron Cohen is an acknowledged front figure in the research of Autism. I read his book and I will write a specific post about this in the near future.

These articles made me think of whether my Golemfigure is male, female or something in between. Until now he has certainly been a male figure, since in my narrative of the game, one of the goals is to conquer the princess. He is also created by his maker as a physical 'strong' helper and protector - attributes traditionally associated with the male gender. In my story, he probably can't be female since I'm working with the archetypes of a good fairytale, though he might be asexual to start with, developing a kind of sexuality as the game goes on. This way the player decides with his/her actions whether Golem will become the evil patriachal rapist, pure muscles, 'mjukismacho' (Swedish expression which means Softy-macho) or even a more or less female figure.