2015, Summer Glassie, “"Embraced eternity lately?": Mislabeling and subversion of sexuality labels through the Asari in the Mass Effect trilogy”, in Matthew Wysocki, Evan W. Lauteria, editors, Rated M for Mature: Sex and Sexuality in Video Games[1] (Media Studes / Game Studies), Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 170:
While it is possible for two Asari to mate and produce offspring, there is the risk that their child may be born as something known as an Ardat Yakshi, which is a sterile Asari who will unintentionally kill any being she takes as a lover (Mass Effect). For every victim, the Ardat Yakshi grows stronger, as seen in the second game with the homicidal character of Morinth, which causes the Ardat Yakshi to be considered a danger to her people and to anyone with whom she comes into contact. The union with other species, then, is to limit the possibility of Ardat Yakshi and to “share the most basic elements of [other species’] individual and racial identities” that can be used to strengthen the Asari society as a whole (Mass Effect 1).
2018, Alexandra M. Lucas, “From Smoldering Justicar to Blue-Skinned Space Babe: Asari Sexuality in Mass Effect”, in Heidi McDonald, editor, Digital Love: Romance and Sexuality in Video Games[2], CRC Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 72:
Morinth is a powerful Ardat-Yakshi, a deadly type of Asari that can only be created from the melding of two Asari. In fact, it is the possibility of creating Ardat-Yakshi offspring that makes reproductive relationships between Asari a taboo practice in their society. Because all Asari present as female and use female pronouns, the deadly sexual nature of Ardat-Yakshi may reflect the continued fear of lesbianism that persists among many in human society.
2021 June 4, Jhaan Elker, “Every ‘Mass Effect’ squadmate, ranked from a storytelling perspective”, in The Washington Post[3], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 June 2021, Launcher News[4]:
The writers did Samara dirty in this game. First, they retconned her comments on how many Ardat Yakshi there are in the universe (Ardat Yakshi are diseased Asari who are basically vampires who need to be sheltered away from others). Then, they made Samara break her Justicar code — something she’s followed literally for centuries — by attempting to kill herself so that her daughter Falere can live.
2023, Sarah Stang, “Desirable and Undesirable Cyborg Bodies in the Mass Effect Video Game Trilogy”, in Julia A. Empey, Russell J. A. Kilbourn, editors, Feminist Posthumanism in Contemporary Science Fiction Film and Media: From Annihilation to High Life and Beyond[5], Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 107:
Banshees are created from the Ardat-Yakshi, meaning “Demon of the Night Winds”—a rare type of Asari whose unusual genetic makeup makes them infertile and unable to control their own biotic powers when mating, causing them to overwhelm and destroy their partner's nervous system. Most Ardat-Yakshi are given a choice between execution or being exiled to a monastery where they are kept as prisoners to prevent them from mating.[…]The true femmes fatales of the series are the Ardat-Yakshi, and one side quest in ME2 even requires the player to hunt down a serial killer Ardat-Yakshi named Morinth who tries to seduce Shepard and will kill him/her if he/she is unable to resist her.
