Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Nov 16th 2007 at 2:00PM
(Sorry, I couldn't resist the terrible visual pun.)
One of the most common criticisms of fantasy games, besides "LOL games are for the nerds go outside", is that they perpetuate unrealistic stereotypes of female bodies. The typical fantasy girl, or so they say, is wearing about two pounds of chainmail, has a 20-inch waist and a DD-cup, and somehow manages to swing a sword that is taller than she is without messing up her hair.
But while messing around with the WoW character creation screen, I realized that WoW really doesn't hold up to that stereotype. The human and gnome females are average size (well, as close as a gnome can be) and curvy. Night elves, trolls and draenei are thin but toned, easily able to sling around a Thunderfury. Warcraft dwarves, orcs and trolls would probably be considered overweight by most societal standards, but their bodies are proportional and they're extremely muscular. In fact, the only two really skinny models are the undead and blood elf females, both of which are repeatedly referenced as being unhealthy in the game. The blood elves are thin because of their magic addiction, and the undead are thin because of ... uh, being dead.
In comparison, I took a look at the body types of the men. Human, dwarf, night elf, draenei, orc and tauren men are all ridiculously muscular, to the point where it looks like they've stuffed cantaloupes under the skin of their arms. Blood elf males are thin but toned, gnome males look about average (again, for a gnome), and undead and trolls are thin and hunchbacked. It seems that the men of WoW are the ones that suffer from an unrealistic standard of beauty.
So I ask you -- would you like the ability for your avatars to have different body types? Do you think that the men and womeny things of WoW are unrealistic, or do you feel that you have enough options?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Smurk Nov 16th 2007 2:09PM
u got pixx?
Flatlander Nov 16th 2007 2:12PM
I always thought that the body types should vary based on class, the mages should thin and weakly, while warriors should be muscle bound hulks.
rgirty Nov 16th 2007 2:13PM
Of course they aren't realistic, people play this for immersion.
If your char had to be some overweight guy in glasses and a suit that wouldn't be fun at all.
Bentley Nov 16th 2007 2:14PM
The ability to customize anything about your own character is welcomed. Hair, body, face (we only have a few ugly faces to choose from), dance, height, just to name a few.
Richard Nov 16th 2007 2:15PM
@2 Agreed.
From Conan the Barbarian:
"You're too big to be a thief."
Rogues should be small in stature and mousey in order to skulk around... not musclebound human bodybuilders.
Hunters should be.... well, who cares? :D
nerdyshinobi Nov 16th 2007 2:30PM
I'd love the option to fatten up my gnome chicks a little bit. Nothing cuter than a plump gnome rogue in stealth.
Freejack Nov 16th 2007 2:18PM
"fantasy games ... perpetuate unrealistic stereotypes"
Umm, well, it is a fantasy, right?
Anteia Nov 16th 2007 2:19PM
I don't find the female avatars really unrealistic- the breast sizes are usually fairly reasonable for their build. Humans aren't as thin as elves, etc. I wouldn't say the males are particularly attractive, though. As much as the men like to make fun of the blood elf males, they're the only ones I find remotely good looking as a female, with night elf males (depending on face) being second. The human males are horrid, the draenei are rather fascinately ugly (while I would say their female counterparts are the most unrealistic body type in game, but I accept that they're alien). The blood elf females look emaciated, but their general figure matches the stick-thin look.
I wouldn't mind some better looking male models for us females to admire as we're in groups, but overall, I like the fact that we're looking at at least 'reasonable' shapes. But what I do hate? No matter how something looks on a male, no matter how much it covers? On a female, it's going to show her breasts and stomach. The worse example of this is in Nagrand, I think, where it's an oversized ogre mail or something almost literally those words. When on a female? It's clingy, stomache-showing, fairly low-cleavage. It's for ogres and it doesn't even cover my human female's stomach? What kind of logic is that? As one of my female friends always asked while I levelled up my warrior, "So....is your method just to distract the enemy so they don't swing at your metal bikini or is that actually supposed to protect?"
Sedna Nov 16th 2007 2:22PM
...You know, that's true; I hadn't thought to focus on the male body types, but most of them are pretty ridiculously buff. I think the women got the better end of the bargain here (speaking as a chick); you can certainly find a gorgeous stunning avatar, but the selections are nicely varied, and I think the design does a good job of balancing sexual characteristics with muscularity and capability. Part of the reason I like my female Tauren characters as much as I do is that they're big, tall individuals with broad shoulders (like me; damn those defensive linebacker genes!) who can also be delicate and feminine.
Melf Nov 16th 2007 2:24PM
Yeah, I have to agree with #2 here. Make the class + body time match up. Either that, or make three types for each race/gender based on the ecto/meso/endo body styles
Ectomorphic body type is characterized by long arms and legs and a short upper body and narrow shoulders, and supposedly have a higher proportion of nervous tissue. They also have long and thin muscles. Ectomorphs usually have a very low fat storage; therefore they are usually referred to as slim.
Mesomorphic body type is characterized by a high rate of muscle growth and a higher proportion of muscular tissue. They have large bones, solid torso combined with low fat levels. It is also noted that they have wide shoulders with a narrow waist.
Endomorphic body type is characterized by an increased amount of fat storage, due to having a larger number of fat cells than the average person, as well as higher proportion of digestive tissue. They have a wide waist and a large bone structure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatotype
Though for the life of me I can't really envision a fat elf or a skinny dwarf . . .
xanik266 Nov 16th 2007 2:27PM
One thing I'm surprised no one has mentioned, is age. It would be nice to see some different ages: from kids to grandparent-types in the game.
Dierle Nov 16th 2007 2:37PM
at least for several of the races, you can make your character look older if you want to.
as for the "sexiness factor", one has to remember these are professional adventurers. maybe the models are unrealistic for some of the NPCs, but as far as player characters are concerned, think about it. at the very least, these characters are running all over the place all day, some of them in heavy armor. the melee classes are also engaging in the strenuous physical activity of hand to hand combat all the time. now true, maybe rogues and casters shouldn't be quite as built as warriors and paladins, but really, anybody who worked out as much as our warcraft characters do would be in excellent shape too.
Tiforix Nov 16th 2007 2:36PM
I do think it would have been nice if Blizzard could have included a few different body types for each race/gender combo, so you could pick one that suits your class. For example, it would be cool if I could make my Human Mage look like a frail old man (and where's my Gandalf beard!?)
I wonder how many people (other than myself) roll famale characters not because they think "OMG hawt female!", but rather because the male alternatives are simply so unappealing - not only in their visuals, but in the sound files as well.
Jay Nov 16th 2007 2:35PM
The male Humans trapezius muscles are WAY to big. I would also put the female Draenei into the more curvy section, since the female Draenai and female Humans have similar curves.
As long as big fat avatars aren't added into the game I'm fine. I'd rather keep my large muscular necked human then have fatties running around in my game >_>
@10: I'm sure if you actually scrolled through the first 2 faces on Humans you'd see there are in fact old faces.
Heraclea Nov 16th 2007 2:35PM
My humsn warrior would prefer to be in a female orc body model, only with human faces and skin colors, and better posture. Yes, I think that class should affect body shape, with warriors and paladins being robust, mages and rogues less so.
Then again, I still want Princess Theradras's bikini.
McKree Nov 16th 2007 2:36PM
I have to say, my Orc Warrior looks right for the job, with his arms being about the same circumference as his entire head, so for that kind of class, I think it's a bit exaggerated but okay. But Orcish warlocks...I dunno, I just don't think that somebody who spends his days trafficking with beings from the twisting nether and sacrificing various sentient beings while poring over ancient tomes would find time to train himself a pair of arms like a stevedore.
As far as females are concerned, the one thing I did most notice was on my friends Tauren druid. Or more, her rear end. Now, their behinds aren't fat, but large. And they run with that extreme hip-swaying motion that just makes the whole thing wobble like a lava lamp to the point where it's...mesmerizing. It's like a terrible car crash. You want to look away, but you can't...they always sway, and move...and sway, and and and...gaaah *shudder*
I-R-PALADIN? Nov 16th 2007 2:38PM
yes i would like to have more variety and character customization, who wouldn't?
bennet Nov 16th 2007 2:39PM
I've never noticed any of my female toons being particularly underdressed - but then, I have my tailor mail them shirts as soon as they can reach civilization and stay away from items like the Warbear Woolies (but male toons look silly in those too).
I don't mind the body types, but I do wish we could do more with faces in WoW. One of the few things I miss about EQ2 is my Kerra (think bipedal tiger) monk and my husband's Kerra fury. She looked distant and regal, and he looked very sad, as if he'd been through some great tragedy in his life, and people treated us a little differently because of the way our toons looked. Could be a real boon to RP not to have the same half dozen faces for each race...
Minibro Nov 16th 2007 2:42PM
I wouldn't mind seeing the interaction between the avatar and the world square up a bit. A 7-foot night elf can see over things a whole lot better than a 4-foot gnome, but the gnome can't fit thru a smaller space. Well, at least I don't think so anyway...
Khanmora Nov 16th 2007 2:47PM
If anything I would say my Dwarf females has the largest bust of any of my chars. You should have heard my husband the first time he saw her running /sigh.
I think it's interesting to go into CoT OH and look at the body models for the peasants there. It would be interesting to start out with one of the heavier models and see it start to take shape as you adventure.