Breakfast Topic: Gender in WoW
by Eliah Hecht 
Dec 31st 2006 at 8:00AM
We've written about gender before, and it's an interesting topic that confronts one more frequently and more dramatically in WoW than it does in other parts of life. Azeroth is a sociologist's dream in several ways; I'm not even a sociology buff and I'd love to see some data on player vs. character demographics.Do you play primarily your own gender or the opposite gender from your own, or do you play both genders pretty equally? Personally, I'm male, but I mostly play female characters. My other two RL friends who play WoW are male and female, but they both play mainly female characters as well. Furthermore, why do you play the gender(s) you do, and do you find that you get treated differently depending on what gender character you are playing?
Filed under: Virtual selves, Breakfast Topics, Features
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Devynista Dec 31st 2006 8:13AM
I'm male, and mostly play female characters in WoW. For me, it's all about the character models -- simply put, the men of WoW are fug.
Elo Dec 31st 2006 8:55AM
I`m a sociologist and my most wet fantasy is to get hard data on gender membership into WoW!
Kamafnkazi Dec 31st 2006 8:57AM
I'm male and play all male characters. For some reason I can't see myself playing female characters espicially since female Taurens look retarded :P I have a few friends that play both male and female characters (They are all male IRL).
Keegan Dec 31st 2006 8:59AM
I usually pick a gender than suits the class I'm playing (a little gender bias, but it's just a game). The problem with the WoW models is that you can't change the "build" of a character, so every Male Night Elf is buff; while I imagine a caster being a bit more frail. Thus, my priest is female, and my druid is male.
(But I'd be lieing if I didn't say I'm rolling a huge male dranei mage the minute BC comes out : D )
Ravven Dec 31st 2006 9:08AM
I'm female, and always play female characters. The male characters are ugly, with musclebound physiques and faces that are either frowning, or wearing scary fixed smiles. I was looking forward to rolling my first male character in WoW, a Belf warlock...until they beefed them up. Ugh, no thanks. Too bad, as I was going to roleplay this one, and he would have been perfect as a languid, sarcastic cross between Lucius Malfoy and Cat from Red Dwarf. ;) No, grossly exaggerated muscles just don't work.
Geo Dec 31st 2006 9:12AM
Two reasons I roll female characters: I've always been very pro feminist and girls that kick butt RULE.
Second: I make a really ugly drag queen in real life. Better to play one in WoW. :)
Losic Jan 2nd 2007 7:45PM
I would have to agree with Ravven. I am female and almost always play female characters. The male models are just too buff and unattractive. The only exception is dwarves cause I dont like the way the female dwarves look and no matter how much I try I cant get any of the models to look reasonable.
The other reason I almost always play female characters is because I play horde and there are so few female characters on that side that its fun to be different. =)
Hugh "Nomad" Hancock Dec 31st 2006 1:33PM
The reactions of others to my characters are one of the main reasons why I play different genders and outlooks to my own.
I'm a long-time roleplayer, actor and writer, and I find roleplaying a fascinating way to find out what it's like to be in other people's shoes for a while. However, of course, in pen-and-paper roleplaying it's quite hard to play someone truly different - the other players know you, they can see you, they're never really going to react to you 100% as your character (although I'm lucky enough to have played in some really good groups where people got very close).
Hence, playing someone very different from myself in WoW is wonderful. I've learned a hell of a lot about how it feels to be a woman in a mostly-male environment, for example. (My, having men continually try to sexualise you whilst you're just there to hit something with a big stick is annoying!). I've played characters with outlooks very different to my own for the same reason - very prejudiced characters, very diffident characters.
Ahem. So, anyway - my characters are about evenly split between male and female. My two most-played characters are male, which I think is a coincidence, but may be because I can relate more easily to them. But I've also got a few female characters, whom I've played a fair bit.
Here's another interesting question for you, though - what *attitudes* do people play/have for their characters? I think that a lot of people project a different personality online to their "real-life" one - possibly as a way of "testing" personality traits they admire in others. And, of course, quite a few people roleplay a different character quite conciously - and it's great fun to interact with them.
I love playing my almost-racist (toward anything not human) warrior around equally-prejudiced Night Elves, for example, and it's an eye-opener for someone, like me, who's almost violently opposed to that sort of prejudice to be able to empathise with and understand the mindset, even a little bit.
So, a breakfast topic I'd like to see - how does your personality in WoW differ from your personality in real life? Do you adopt a different personality conciously, and if so why? Do you enjoy the results?
Shawn Dec 31st 2006 11:22AM
I'm a dude.
I go for looks, feel and distinctiveness. One of the things I hate most about WoW is that we all look alike. So I try to avoid the races that are overplayed (humans, night elves, and undead), and I often go for the females because less people play them. Especially for certain races.
shakalu Dec 31st 2006 10:58AM
hmmm.i always roll male characters...for some reason i find it gay to roll a female char..dunno. i imagine that a lot of the female chars are guys with a beer staind t-shirts. some of my RL friends play female chars and i always kinda make fun of that...its gay
Kelderek Dec 31st 2006 11:15AM
The best place I've found for demographics and analysis of player v. character stuff in MMORPGs in general and WoW in particular is Nick Yee's Daedalus Project:
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
The dude rocks. And his data is fascinating.
(Oh, and I'm a guy who has no interest in playing female avatars.)
blkmasta Jan 1st 2007 3:07PM
I'm male, and play mostly male chars, with a couple of females thrown in, because lets face it, nelf males look (and sound) like old men.
cloud Dec 31st 2006 1:21PM
I just play whatever looks better, and since none of the horde males can stand up straight...
Trudie Dec 31st 2006 11:50AM
I play Alliance only, and I'm a woman in real life. I've never consistently played a male character because I want my character to reflect my personality, which is inherently female. But I also get irritated the ZOMG SEX appeal in WoW. When I'm playing WoW, I'm not trying to hook up with anyone, so I never dress my characters in slutty armor and prance around Stormwind like some people do. Instead I play races that don't get quite as much sexual attention -- female dwarves and female gnomes. That way it can be more about my characters' personalities and less about their sexuality.
top Dec 31st 2006 12:02PM
of my 5 toons, 1 is male (my first toon) and the other 4 are female. I am male. My previous gaming was mostly NWN and I played both genders equally. There are a lot reasons most of my WoW toons are female, one - if I have to follow someone for 2-6 hrs at a time, I'd rather be following a female form...the other is I like the idea of say a little female gnome mage that can wreck havoc on some monstrosity 20 times her size. One of our guildies plays a female gnome warrior (he's male) and it is hilarious to watch her in battle.
It is mixed in our Guild, some guys playing only male toons, some playing only female and most playing a mix.
Oh, and I do notice a major difference in how I am received by others (outside the guild) who do not know me when I am playing a female toon. It is actually both funny and pathetic at the same time the way some male toons fawn over female toons, I love to show my wife when some lvl 30 Human Rogue Male is offering my priest gifts and making all sorts of "small talk".
I am also convinced that 90% of female nightelf toons are played by 13-15 yr old boys.... :D
White Rabbit Dec 31st 2006 12:36PM
My one character is a male orc
but come BC, I'm rolling a female blood elf priest or warlock. Why? Because cloth armor looks a lot better on a woman and just looks kinda silly on men.
(I'm a male, in real life)
Krianna Dec 31st 2006 1:17PM
Heh-- I usually play female chars, because I like the look; I also tend to play females in pen and paper RPGs, but that has more to do with my being female.
I'm making myself a Belf male when they come out, because that bow is just too sweet to pass up.
My boyfriend loves the RP aspect of most any game and almost always plays females-- it doesn't help that, as folks have mentioned, we don't like the looks of most of the male models.
I can vouch that at least one Nelf female was played by a human female in her early 20s. *raises hand*
Ged Dec 31st 2006 3:21PM
NE Females because they fire bows properly, not like some spazz with absolutely no control over the limbs whatsoever.
Daveti Dec 31st 2006 4:55PM
LOL @ 16. And I thought I was the only one who noticed the NE Female's proper bow technique. I'm a guy and I play a mixture of genders, but not because of some preconcieved notion of "casters should be frail" or "warriors should be buff"... Matter of fact, I violate those rules on purpose quite often. I match gender to armor type myself. All my cloth-wearers are female because, let's face it, they'll end up wearing a dress anyway so they may as well look good in it.
uncaringbear Dec 31st 2006 5:35PM
A lot of the posters make a good point about the character models. There needs to be more variety in the builds of the characters. It does get boring seeing the usual overly buffed male models who look like serious steroid addicts. I think if there were more variety in the male models, you'd find more men playing male characters. As it stands, the female models are simply far more visually interesting. I know it'd be technically difficult, but it would add to the game tremendously if the characters were physically more customizable.