Sexism in WoW: man-made or inherent?
This entry was created by a student in Stanford's Rhetoric of Gaming class. For more about the class and the assignment, click here.
My research addresses the factors contributing to the prevalent sexism in the MMORPG World of Warcraft. First launched in 2004, World of Warcraft’s rich graphics and detailed story lines have captivated countless gamers, promising new goals to attain, new gear to acquire and more content to see with each of its two expansion packs. In the game, the player is able to choose their faction- Horde or Alliance- their race, their appearance, and their gender. Though members of both genders of any given race are placed in the same starting locations upon creation, the player is made painfully aware of the discrepancy; starter gear looks different depending on your gender.
Wow Insider, a popular site dedicated to gamer run discussion about World of Warcraft, hosted a particularly poignant blog post by Amanda Dean entitled Opening a dialog about sexism in World of Warcraft, found here . From her own perspective as a female gamer, Miss Dean focuses on how the individual is largely to blame for the lack of “a little respect”. “As long as we do our part as ladies, we should be able to expect other stakeholders to do theirs as well” Dean proclaims, neglecting the responsibilities of Blizzard, the game designer, until the very end of the blog post. Dean similarly champions the equality of skill in female gamers, boasting that “although our armor appears to only cover about half as much as our male counterparts' it still blocks the same amount of damage” without addressing the true issue of whether or not Blizzard condones and perpetuates these stereotypes.
The affects of gear graphics and frequently portrayed gender roles in World of Warcraft advertisements and within the game will be the end focuses of my research; as one commenter on Dean’s blog post so eloquently put it:
“Like we have a say on how the armor looks on a toon? Or should it be ‘Sorry, I can't take the awesome epic loot because it makes me look like a tramp?’”
Does Blizzard intentionally create a “tramp” image for female gamers to further entice male gamers, or is it merely a question of individual men going beyond the scope off Blizzard’s master scheme to degrade their female associates? In either case, the blog entries of real female gamers about their feelings on the issue and the backlash from the largely male gaming community will prove irreplaceable in my search.
Other sources for promotion of stereotypical sex roles could be the use of oral communication software which Blizzard only recently included in game play. Numerous female gamers on Dean's blog mentioned the inability to "hide" their gender, or avoid sexism, because higher end raiding requires the increased coordination of the entire raid. To get more information on this I could potentially survey female gamers on my own server in game about their vent experiences and how their peers reacted to their clearly feminine voice.
Comments
I find this topic quite interesting. I think the ideas you brought up about the items and armor being a designer-made stereotype is quite plausible. The designers have full control to do whatever they would like. Like you mentioned I would expect a lot of backlash from men expressing these appearances of women to be an intrinsic part of the game. Yet, it seems the true depth of the claim comes from the womens' comments about their own feelings. A blog and surveys seem like great resources to explore this topic. Also, I really enjoyed how you touched on voice programs needed. I think there is truly something great here to dig into.
Posted by: Ben Funk | April 30, 2009 10:49 AM
For some context, you might want to look at this book:
Porn & pong : how Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and other sexy games changed our culture
http://searchworks/vufind/Record/7775904
Posted by: Chris Bourg | April 30, 2009 06:00 PM
Dear Alex,
I really think this topic has a lot of potential to grow. Also, I feel that you believe it is an important issue and will handle it appropriately and in a scholarly manner.
The blog post you chose to analyze is quite interesting because although she tries to portray women in a positive light she still reveals how women are placed in a seperate category by calling them ladies. The term itself suggests that women are kind and meek however if I was playing WOW I would want to be portrayed as strong, independent, and useful to the group.
The issue of female voice recognition is tricky because you have to think of what the alternative would be to having a feminine voice. Would you be playing a female character with a male voice or no voice at all? If so, why wouldn't the female gamer switch to a male character. This is another interesting point. Is the difference in gender so prevalent that a female gamer would actually chose to play a male character to do better in the game?
Hopefully I have given you something to go off of.
Love,
your female friend, Mary Beth
Posted by: Anonymous | May 4, 2009 05:23 PM
Dear Alex,
I really think this topic has a lot of potential to grow. Also, I feel that you believe it is an important issue and will handle it appropriately and in a scholarly manner.
The blog post you chose to analyze is quite interesting because although she tries to portray women in a positive light she still reveals how women are placed in a seperate category by calling them ladies. The term itself suggests that women are kind and meek however if I was playing WOW I would want to be portrayed as strong, independent, and useful to the group.
The issue of female voice recognition is tricky because you have to think of what the alternative would be to having a feminine voice. Would you be playing a female character with a male voice or no voice at all? If so, why wouldn't the female gamer switch to a male character. This is another interesting point. Is the difference in gender so prevalent that a female gamer would actually chose to play a male character to do better in the game?
Hopefully I have given you something to go off of.
Love,
your female friend, Mary Beth
Posted by: Anonymous | May 4, 2009 05:23 PM
Well first of all, let me start by saying i have been a WOW addict for the past 4 or 5 years ever since the beta came out and still am. I have to admit i have never noticed degrading towards females in wow and after reading the article flashback of armor sets or other "missions" or semi-like does degrade women. However, i do not see where this is going. Since there is so many different perspectives and WOW was not all created by men.It is really a much complicated and big issue that should be narrowed down. i feel like I'm thinking about a lot of different things that are related but still different
Posted by: Mohamed labib | May 10, 2009 05:06 AM
Dear Alex,
i find your topic very interesting and your points are very elaborative. The fact is that male audience wants to see gorgeous female toons when they’re playing a game. That’s why game developers create unrealistic, fantasy women to populate their worlds. the fact of the matter is, Video games have taken plenty of steps backward when it comes to sexual equality.
But lets face it, this stereotypical sexist image also applies to men; men are sexually objectified in video games as well. The ideal man, as it turns out is tall with well defined features, generally broad shoulders and a muscular body. Each and every one of the male options in any game, much like the female options presented to players, was some kind of version of this ideal man.MY point is still a pretty solid one; sexual objectification goes both ways.
Posted by: Engy Al Garf | May 10, 2009 11:45 AM
Hey Alex,
I see where you’re coming from, but I have to disagree. Characters in RPG games have always had some kind of differentiation. This makes it easier for game designers to diversify initial skills such as speed, strength, mana (if available), and endurance. Sometimes it is race, others it is the background of the characters (such as a warrior monk and a novice magician), and in some cases it is gender. My point is it is not sexism per se; it’s just another way to differentiate.
I do agree with the costume thing, however. A lady warrior doesn’t have to look like a hooker to kill the bad guys (or the good guys, depending on which side you choose). After reading your article, I did some research and I found out that 90 percent of lead female characters in games always have something unexplainably revealing on at some point of the game, whether if it’s the permanent costume, or a purchasable one, or even the cut scene.
Posted by: Salma Gaber | May 13, 2009 11:25 AM
http://spooky.ms11.net/pages/p2.html
http://www.techdigest.tv/2006/08/tuesday_top_ten_1.html
http://www.helium.com/items/965374-assessing-sexism-in-gaming-is-it-still-a-boys-world
Here's a few interesting sites that I found that might be helpful.
"It's awesome," said James Parker, 27, a Washington computer network administrator. "You can carjack any car, go to the seedy part of town, beep the horn and pick up a prostitute. Then you take her to a dark street and the car starts shaking. When the prostitute jumps out, your money is down but your energy is full."
Interesting. Within some video games, women are simply protrayed as vulgar beings, and it'll be interesting to find out how game developers will explain that sort of scene and what they think it'll implement on the mindsets of the youth.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 13, 2009 01:03 PM
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Posted by: live naakt | August 22, 2009 08:06 AM
very interesting post!
Posted by: Free Online games | September 4, 2009 05:15 PM
practically all girls are the same, materialistic. they gotta look their best whether its ingame or in real life.
Posted by: wow gold | September 22, 2009 08:29 PM
interesting post, and sexism is a mannerism and impersonation by persons as they develop in their own cess of cultural ethos,thats why there is none in yogi life,
speeding fines
Posted by: speeding points | October 13, 2009 11:54 AM
This is very interesting. I had never really thought of this before.
Posted by: Sex Toon | October 16, 2009 06:26 PM
Hey, if your playing a role, make the life you want!
Posted by: lora | October 24, 2009 06:32 PM
It's interesting but true for most online MMORPG's that the male and female characters are distinctly different in dress. The use of sexism attracts many male players. Look how the new Evony mmorpg is dominating online advertising with scantly clad females. Those females are nowhere in the game itself but their use has drawn thousands of new sign ups. Right or wrong, it's all about getting traffic.
I write about these free online mmorpg games on my website: freestrategygames.us
Posted by: Richard Bivins | November 2, 2009 07:42 AM