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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsOpening a dialog about sexism in World of Warcraft
by Amanda Dean 
Feb 11th 2008 at 1:00PM
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges of being a gamer girl is learning to deal with rampant sexism, without becoming defensive. Just like racism, sexism should not be tolerated, but how do you address it without making the problem worse? Smurphy from Burning Blade brought this up in the forums. Nethaera's response was to shut the thread down before a dialog could really begin on the subject.
Although the majority of WoW players are men, there are a number or women who do enjoy the game. Women are often important contributing members of guilds and raids. Perhaps a little known fact about gamer girls is many of us don't like to be hit on or given special favors like spots in raids. Nor do we like to be called honey, baby, or sweetie by complete strangers. We would very much like the same treatment given to our male counterparts. Women do truly enjoy the game, and should be able to feel safe and comfortable in the online environment.
Personally I live and die as a lady in game and in life. I believe that if I act as lady, I should be treated as one. One of my favorite books, The Art and Power of Being a Lady, has some excellent social advice that translates well into the WoW environment. The authors insist that modern ladies do exist. Ladies display grace and dignity. We win gracefully and lose gracefully. No whining, crying, screaming, or carrying on. Another important characteristic of a lady is true friendship. In game, we can come to the aid of our friends and should feel comfortable asking for help when we need it.
The Art and Power of Being a Lady has a chapter dedicated to relationships. Discretion and respect should carry over into the online realm. Ladies should refrain from excessive flirting and behavior that makes those around them uncomfortable. A lady knows that someone who is currently in a relationship is off limits, even online. Gentlemen, please heed this as well. We do not all appreciate your overtures and please respect our existing commitments.
As long as we do our part as ladies, we should be able to expect other stakeholders to do theirs as well. Guys, have a little respect. I'm not here to be a feminist, and no bras were burned in the making of this post. We may be girls, but we are gamers foremost. That's why we're gamer girls, not girl gamers. We can be powerful associates. We can heal, tank, and dps as well as men can. There's no difference in our character stats or ability to mash buttons. Although our armor appears to only cover about half as much as our male counterparts' it still blocks the same amount of damage.
Females do not have to tolerate sexual harassment. Blizzard's terms of use indicate that in-game chat may not be used to "Harass, threaten, stalk, embarrass or cause distress, unwanted attention or discomfort to any user of the Program." Ladies, you have the right and responsibility to report behavior that makes you uncomfortable. Since we all agree to this code with every patch, everyone has the responsibility to avoid making any violations against this code.
I don't know where to start immodest armor choices and model. Personally I'm not bothered by it, but some ladies are. Is it degrading to women players? Maybe, but it seems to fit the standard for previous video games and the overall fantasy genre. Perhaps an option to display non-hoochie-mama versions of the armor (the same as displayed on male toons) might be an acceptable solution. I don't see that happening, just throwing it out there.
The first step in resolving issues of sexism is to stop ignoring the problem. I understand that it is difficult to be proactive and Blizzard's main recourse is to take action after-the-fact. Cutting off any mention of sexism only serves to encourage it.
Readers, I do very much appreciate your comments, but please make them productive. Things like "don't play the game" or "there, there sweetie" would not be helpful. What I'd like to know more about is your experience with sexism in the game and any suggestions you may have for resolving the issue. Do men also experience sexism in WoW? Thanks!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Blizzard, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 10)
Lucas Feb 11th 2008 2:46PM
Strange, seems to be alot less sexism than homophobia yet we don't see WoW blogs about how the use of the word Fag is the exact same as the word nigger yet its still accepted... strange.
Havitech Feb 11th 2008 5:56PM
@Lucas: I could say the same about racism. My realm's forums are filled with disgusting, bigoted posts targeting Brazilians (otherwise known as BRs... racists are so clever these days). The amazing thing is, a lot of the topics are very active and very large, yet the blues have done nothing about them.
Danikah Feb 24th 2008 4:30AM
Hehe....the answer to trampy tight fitting armor: a lovely tabard of your choice, your guild or your favorite faction or battleground. Not much skin can be seen under that. Or, you can wear a shirt under your armor. Its our choice how sexy we want to look in WoW. Usually I can spot a male playing a female toon pretty quick :P
Rainblossom Feb 11th 2008 1:23PM
I'm a female and I almost never run into sexism in-game. I'm just as competitive and hard-core as the guys and they respect me as a gamer because of my skill, not because of my gender. I'm not treated any differently than anyone else. Maybe I'm just lucky to run with decent people though. :)
Spinster Feb 17th 2008 6:45PM
I hear this pretty often from women, that if you are hardcore and competitive like the guys you don't have issues with sexism in-game. Well we all have both "masculine" and "feminine" personality traits no matter what our gender, but why do I have to squelch the behaviors most people call feminine in order to not get crap from guys in WOW? Because, actually, many of the traits we think of as female are USEFUL in WOW.
Lexemom Feb 11th 2008 1:23PM
I'm a gamer girl too, but I certainly wouldn't take any of this to the extreme. My guild No eXcuses on Mannoroth has very few women in it, but that hasn't ever bothered me. I don't mind when they call me sweetie or hon, because we're all just a part of the same WOW family!
In fact, I have to say that the players on my server go out of their way to help me out. They've helped me max out my stats, quest/raid for gear, farm for mats, as well as just be there beside me to heal me in Gruul's! I don't think it's really special treatment, since we try to help everyone improve. It makes those end-game instances and raids FUN! Just my two cents though.
Arabelli Feb 11th 2008 1:59PM
I'm the same. My raid group is great, and the teasing is just that; merely teasing.
My server in general has a weird attitude towards it all, since it's sort-of unofficial motto is: "Argent Dawn: Where the men are men, and so are the women." It's assumed that player = dude until proven otherwise, and even then people get dubious. Most people are just cool about gender regardless.
That being said, you have the bad apples, just like in real life. You ignore them, you sail through fine.
Idu Feb 11th 2008 1:21PM
Everything you say about being a lady isn't at all exclusive to females - males should act exactly the same. Therefore I find your post sexist - you talk about things that apply to every player regardless of sex! You make those things a gender issue, when it should be an issue of common behaviour.
About armor - you will always have the choice of wearing a shirt under your armor. If you choose not to ccover your boobs, it's your own fault, not Blizzard's.
As a female myself I find your post most ignorant.
Daruntis Feb 11th 2008 1:35PM
She was talking about both men and women being respectful and it's not the same for both sexes. I, as a guy, am not patronized or treated differently for who I am. People who don't see differences in how the sexes are treated are really trying to remain naive as there is both sexism and racism rampant in the world. It may not be quite as obvious or done as consciously but it's still present and can have a large effect on peoples lives.
Idu Feb 11th 2008 1:44PM
Of course it's the same. Nobody should tolerate sexual harassment, feel unsafe, whine, cry, scream, carry on, be unhelpful or unrespectful to others. Gender simply doesn't matter in these cases, and yet she is referring to females only! Like said, sexism is ultimately treating the other gender different than the other, in good or bad - true equality is to be blind to gender. The original poster is suggesting women are the only ones who face harassment, as she is talking about women only, and ASKS if the guys face the same kind of fate. If this would truly be a post about sexual equality, it wouldn't dwell upon the wrongs that WOMEN face nor give preference of how WOMEN should act. Being a minority gives no excuse to exclude the other gender.
hal Feb 11th 2008 2:57PM
"Like said, sexism is ultimately treating the other gender different than the other, in good or bad - true equality is to be blind to gender."
This is not true equality. what this argues for is for everyone to (in an argument of sexism) to be come like men, in racism it is to become white (what about about people who are differently able and can never be accepted "blindly").
Rather then being blind, and becoming bland. True equality would aim at accepting and celeberating everyone for the differences they bring to humanity.
Men and women can/ should be equal in many things, i.e. work, social status... but they can not be equal in biological ways, i.e. giving birth. We are inherently different, and that should be celebrated.
jr Feb 11th 2008 3:38PM
"...sexism is ultimately treating the other gender different than the other, in good or bad - true equality is to be blind to gender."
I think you are wrong, sexism is not about treating people differently and the solution is hardly treating people the same. Fact is all people are different and have varying sensibilities and abilities.
Men and women ARE infact different. They ought to be treated differently, each in a way that celebrates thier contributions.
Idu Feb 11th 2008 3:42PM
Being blind to gender does not mean everyone is the same. We are different, but rather by personality than gender. Not all women are the same, nor are all men the same. You can't treat people somehow because they are men or because they are women, you have to consider their personality. Being blind to gender is to treat people as they are, not by their gender.
Idu Feb 11th 2008 4:04PM
And actually, I have something to add.
"This is not true equality. what this argues for is for everyone to (in an argument of sexism) to be come like men, "
You have no basis to make such a claim. Why would it mean to become like men if we don't care which gender you hold? Like I said, being blind to gender is to treat people as they are, not by their gender. Or do you feel you should be treated differently because of your gender? If you do, it's fine, but it is sexist and there is no way for you to escape that. That kind of thinking is what leads to problems with equality, the thought that the other faction should be treated differently than the other, no matter is it in bad or good. Think about it.
"Men and women ARE infact different. They ought to be treated differently, each in a way that celebrates thier contributions."
See, THIS is sexism, you decide to treat women and men differently because of their sex. Would you treat black people differently than white people because of their skin color? It doesn't matter if you want to celebrate their sex- or skin color -related contributions, it is still sexist (in skin color issue, racist). If you don't want to be sexist or racist, rather celebrate the factors they bring in as human beings, not men, women, white or black.
Idu Feb 11th 2008 4:20PM
AND you should also check what sexism actually means. It's not to treat others badly because of their sex, it is to treat them differently because of their sex at all.
Zegim Feb 11th 2008 5:01PM
sex·ism /ˈsɛksɪzəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[sek-siz-uhm] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles.
2. discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities; esp., such discrimination directed against women.
[Origin: 1965–70; sex + -ism, on the model of racism]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Switch4475 Feb 11th 2008 5:16PM
Two things: While you can wear a shirt under your chest armour, you cannot wear, I dunno, a pair of leggings under your skimpy plate bikini bottom.
And true acceptance shouldn't be about homogenizing everyone. That's almost the opposite - like proposing that ignorance is bliss. We are different on an anatomical level at the very least. While I agree that males can suffer gender-based mistreatment, the vast majority of gender discrimination is against females. This post dwells on the wrongs done to women as opposed to the wrongs done to men because, quite frankly, the wrongs done to men are dwarfed by the wrongs done to women. I have never seen a female act in an abusive manner towards a male in-game. The opposite, however, is much more common.
Switch4475 Feb 11th 2008 5:24PM
What we are arguing against is degrading sexism that could potentially hurt people.
However, if we accept that sexism means acting differently towards people depending on their gender, then if we treat men and women completely the same, that would be defying the genetic urge to procreate, which surely isn't the point at all?
I agree that we can't be sexist in a detrimental manner, but I don't understand what treating everyone as if we didn't have gender differences would accomplish. You said yourself that we *are* different. Completely disregarding gender differences would be willfully ignoring these differences, in my view.
I can grasp the reasoning behind the point you're trying to make - I just think you're taking the idea of gender equality further than it needs to go to eliminate its harmful effects.
Daruntis Feb 11th 2008 1:34PM
The picture was to emphasize a point I'm sure and as I guy i think it's stupid the massive differences in models. I understand where you're coming from and that you would simply want to get this out into the open to be discussed but i personally try to treat everyone with respect, man or woman. This may mean I'm one among many but I personally thing it's good practice much like using punctuation and full words.
Chee42 Feb 11th 2008 1:24PM
Brian has somewhat of a point, though putting it crudely doesn't really help. Women do have to understand the issues with double standards. Often times males will talk to each other crudely and this is acceptable. Though often times a male will talk to his male friends crudely, he may not speak to someone he knows is female the same way, at which point the female is being treated differently. I think this is a huge issue that both sides need to understand, and females need to stand up for themselves when they thing they are being treated wrongly. This is a lot harder when dealing with random people, but I think a standard can be set in the confines of a guild.