"Every female WoW player has healed at least once." This, dear reader, is something I was told in-game the other day. As a dedicated anthropologist, I balk at sweeping generalizations such as these -- such things are almost never true. And the person who said this didn't mean "used a healing ability" -- he meant "played as a dedicated healer."

Once I called him on his generalization, there was more back-pedaling than in the Tour De France. Of course he knows that not every female player has played a healer. Female players who have only played for a few weeks and chose a pure DPS class, he allowed, wouldn't have!

But of course, there is a stereotype in WoW that women heal. We've talked about it before, but it makes me wonder two things:

1. Do most women have a healing character?
2. If there's any truth in the stereotype (which I think there might be), why does healing appeal so much to women?

I have a theory, just a theory, if you'll allow me. I reckon it might be more that men stick to DPS and tanking, whereas women are happy to try healing. And once they start healing, they find that it's one of the more varied and interesting roles to play. Especially in PvE, where you learn fights by repeating the same actions over and over, healing is the one role that has the variety. So women stay healing once they start. But, like I said, it's just a theory.

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