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The latest patch 5.4 newsWhy is Blizzard still OK with gender inequality in World of Warcraft?
by Josh Myers 
Apr 3rd 2012 at 4:00PM
In most games I play, from World of Warcraft to Star Wars: The Old Republic, I make an effort to play mainly female characters. Unlike other males who play female characters, this isn't for cosmetic reasons; I'm not one of those dudes who can't bear to stare at his male character's butt for multiple hours a day. (How this is ever an argument that makes sense to people, I don't know.) This was a conscious decision on my part a few years ago, when I started to become aware of the discrimination faced by female characters.
See, when you make the decision to make a female character, you're intentionally and unintentionally signing up for a number of things. First, you are intentionally signing up to play a female character. This could be because you identify as female, because you prefer the look of female characters, or any number of other reasons (including the butt one). What you're unintentionally signing up for goes further.
You're unintentionally signing up for jokes made at your expense in a raid, like when my priest hit 85 and did BH in leveling gear, and my low HPS was mocked because I was a girl playing WoW. You're unintentionally signing up for harassment, for the catcalls and people begging you to talk in Vent, like you're a rare species of bird they'll only be able to hear once. You're unintentionally signing up to be victimized by other players because you dared roll something other than male at level 1, and you didn't know there'd be consequences for that choice.
Those forms of sexism aren't anything new to the World of Warcraft, but thankfully they're largely limited to the immature playerbase and not the game's creators. Unfortunately, Blizzard has its own gender issues to work out, and some of them are made clear by just rolling a female character.
Gender inequality in my World of Warcraft? Can't be!
Yesterday morning, a forum post on the Mists of Pandaria Beta Feedback forum highlighted some of the sexism players are unintentionally signing up for when they sign on to their female character. Ji Firepaw, an NPC you meet on the Wandering Isle who goes on to become leader of the pandaren Horde faction, greets female characters in a very creepy way, saying "Hello, friend! You're some kind of gorgeous, aren't you? I bet you can't keep the men off of you! Join me! You and I are going to be good friends!" To men, he instead says "Hello, friend! You've got a strong look to you! I bet you're all the rage with the ladies! Join me! You and I are going to be good friends!"
What's worse is that these aren't the only problems foist upon a player for choosing to play a female character. The most prominent issue, as old as girls in games themselves, is the armor issue, where game developers turn a torso-covering breastplate into a chainmail bra when it's on a female character. In this case, women who didn't want their female warriors to tank in metal bras and panties weren't really considered. Likewise, for some reason, male characters were never forced to wear chainmail underwear when the same item appeared as pants on a woman.
Seriously, why does this still exist?
My question, though, is why is this a thing? Why is it that developers are fine providing women with an unequal and often worse game experience? Why are developers OK with allowing female PCs to be harassed by male NPCs or requiring them to wear totally impractical armor pieces? It seems easy enough to make a game that isn't gender insensitive -- all you have to do is treat female and male characters equally. If you want people to have chainmail bra and panties, make the same piece as objectifying on a male character as it is on a women. If you're going to have a creepy dude running the pandaren race for the Horde, make his interactions equally creepy if you're a male PC -- or better, don't make them creepy at all, and have him remark on how strong your female pandaren look.
Unfortunately, it's the best idea I have to go on, because I can't otherwise fathom why unequal gender experiences still exist and are still being supported in the World of Warcraft.
It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Mists of Pandaria
Reader Comments (Page 21 of 21)
Natala Apr 3rd 2012 11:11PM
Honestly at this point I think people are just skimming for key words and voting accordingly without actually seeing what order those words are in.
mrfusspot Apr 3rd 2012 11:09PM
So let me get this straight? A male character, in a video game, flirts with a female character, also in a video game. And this incites rage and "sexism" cries.
So sexism has become "this guy flirted with me! Sexist pig!" For shame, people. For shame.
kirkehoey Apr 3rd 2012 11:25PM
And to think that I go out of my way on my warrior to actively encourage the plate bikini... seriously, it took me weeks to put that transmog set together. True, I'm a guy - but that doesn't really mean anything. I've had female players compliment me on the hard work I've done putting the set together and asking me where I found the pieces so they can emulate it themselves.
Yes, I spent a great deal of time on assembling my plate bikini for a number of reasons. One of them might very well be a subconcious desire for female orcs manifesting itself, but that's not important right now. I did ir primarily to see if it could be done and also as a Red Sonja parody (female orcs CAN be sexy, not just blood elves). I've only ever been complimented on the set, and never been bothered by creeps or anything of the sort. Maybe stalkers are intimidated by my warrioress' phat curves and rockin' six-pack and assume it's a butch lesbian playing but who the hell knows?
My point being is that if plate bikinis and marginally sexist NPC dialogue (the only one I can truly think of is the female goblin NPC in Razor Hill that reacts VERY differently depending on your character's gender) offends your delicate sensibilities then... oh well.
Pheydra Apr 3rd 2012 11:24PM
I would argue that your milage may vary in regards to whether or not you are sexually harassed, objectified, etc. in WoW based on the gender you choose to roll and whether or not you speak on vent. I can't recall someone being hateful to me simply for sexism's sake in random groups, guilds, or ventrilo (though someone did refer to me with the name that Garrosh calls Sylvanas because I called them out on ninjaing all of the loot in a lowbie PuG), but if a girl does have to put up with that kind of behavior, I feel sorry for her. I also feel sorry for anyone who has to put up with any kind of harassment in-game; this is not limited to one specific group, and nobody deserves random hate directed towards them by other players.
With that being said, I can't say I agree with the author of this article's stance that Firepaw's gender disparaging comments make Blizzard sexist as a whole. Firepaw is but one of their characters in a busy world of moving pieces; personalities of all types live there, from the impetuous and rude to the benevolent and kind. Part of Ji Firepaw's character is that he makes such odd remarks to people upon first meeting them. Yes, some may feel offended by them, some may like or find his words funny, and others such as myself may just be puzzled at what he says, but we must keep in mind that these statements are the opinion of one character in an entire universe of others. If every character up and down the quest chain was making (what could be perceived as) passes at female pandaren, then we should throw up some red flags.
Ji Firepaw doesn't really come off as sexist to me, but I remember a male orc quest-giver in Orgrimmar who told my character something along the lines of, "I made two mistakes: first, I trusted a blood elf, and second, I trusted a woman!" Can you guess what race and gender I was playing? Yes, that comment is terribly offensive to women, but that orc told my CHARACTER (not my actual person) this sexist remark, and I realize that statement just reveals a notable character flaw in the orc. Do you think anyone was supposed to read that comment and see it as being an absolute truth? No, it was more likely intended to be something that caused one to scratch their head upon reading, and it certainly doesn't mean that Blizzard feels that women can't be trusted. On the grounds that Firepaw's comment ticks you off or gives you the jitters due to its creep-factor, remember that he's looking at your character when he says this comment, not you. Also I hope I can reasonably guess that any woman any day would prefer to be called gorgeous rather than untrustworthy.
As for the armor, I agree that there are double standards. I, personally, don't mind and sometimes enjoy sets that are less-than-covering to my characters (each one a female) because they can be fun and feminine, and some of them look damn good. Thanks to transmogrification, there are now options for every female character to look sexy, tough, majestic, natural, or largely whatever their heart desires in both revealing and covering forms. I'm glad for that because variety is the spice of life; I just wish that male characters had some of that spice, too (though I'm not particularly partial to many of the blocky male models)! We ladies, on average, could stand to be better at taking compliments; which would you prefer: Ji Firepaw tells your character that she looks gorgeous, or Ji Firepaw tells your character that she looks like she'd be good at making him sandwiches?
Shandeigh Apr 3rd 2012 11:34PM
Honestly... as a female... I've never understood why people get so bent out of shape over this issue. The gendre is based on medevil times... where women were little more than incubators for mens seed... so I think they've gone a long way in making it more "modern". Also, I personally like wearing bikini armor. It's something that I can't and wouldn't wear in real life (I'm fairly certain that would traumatize my son for life)... afterall.. this is a fantasy game... With transmorg you can look however you want... if you want to be some puritan with every inch of skin covered so people will "respect" you as a "woman"... then go ahead... but stop trying to take away my slutty outfits!!!!
kgay82 Apr 3rd 2012 11:39PM
this article is a troll right? or maybe he's trying to look sensitive for the ladies?
honestly, do you know how many women i've seen play the game and transmog their gear to the skimpy outfits? they make female armor look that way for the same reason they make comic book heroines wear skimpy clothing. because it's aesthetically pleasing to young males, and that is their largest target demographic.
plain.and.simple.
Eirgor Apr 4th 2012 1:50AM
Since when is simply complimenting a woman for being pretty considered harassment?
Alysandir Apr 4th 2012 3:29PM
i'm going to assume that this is an honest question and not a troll, and try to answer this.
The idea that complimenting women on their physical appearance being a good thing is predicated on the practice of viewing women as little more than man-chasers. Basically, that even a professional, educated woman holds as her highest goal landing a man to provide her with hearth and family, and hence, makes significant effort to promote her physical beauty in the hopes of attracting said man. So by making that compliment, you're saying, maybe without even meaning it, "Good job at making yourself up to attract a lot of male attention today!"
Blargh.
Look, there's nothing wrong with sincerely telling the special person in your life that they look great; if they're your special person, they probably *want* your opinion and attention, if not affirmation that you are attracted to them.
You could probably even go so far as to compliment someone on a choice of attire, an accessory, or even that they're looking really sharp or dapper, *if* you have an established casual relationship with the person (but even then, depending on the person, you might be crossing the line, so always err on the side of caution). But anything beyond that is an objectification of a person who has no idea what your intentions are, so by trying to be nice, you may be coming off completely creepy and making them uncomfortable.
Or put another way, let me assume for the moment that you are a hetero guy. Now let's further imagine that you're doing some casual activity, like grocery shopping, and some guy, let's say a big guy, tough-looking, muscles...Hell, let's say Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens is passing you by with his shopping cart. He stops, slowly looks you up and down, and says to you, "I just wanted to say you look really good in those tight jeans, mister." Now, how does that make you feel? You don't know what Ray-Ray's intentions are. Is he hitting on you? Why is he looking at you like you were a piece of meat, and he a hungry lion? Did you *want* this attention from this large man who breaks people in half for a living? Let that swirl around in your head for a bit and remember that this is how you can potentially come across to someone else.
mackitraz Apr 3rd 2012 11:46PM
Several points.
1. People see what they want to see. In the statements made by the Npc (yes, they are phrased in a socially awkward manner), he makes a statement regarding the physical appearance of the toon, then a statement as to their probable social success with the opposite sex, then an overture of friendship. Weird? yes. unequal? no. 'Strong' in this instance does not speak to the skill of the male, or their battlefield success (can that Npc have much knowledge of that anyway at that point?), it's a description of a male. Should be complain that his intelligence is being denied or that the Npc is superficial?? Sorry, I'm not crazy about the dialog either, but its a poor example of gender inequality.
2. Blizzard deserves some credit before we go off the deep end here. Their version of skimpy and armorkinis have been pretty tame compared to most mmo's (lineage comes to mind among others as way more risque). Is there room for improvement? of course, not everyone wants to be pretty, but some do! now we have transmog so you can look how you want. I agree we should bring on the bro's and mankini's so that all the guys and girls can get their Conan look on. But consider this: in a genre dominated by scantily clad beautiful people, blizzard gave us the option NOT to be a Barbie doll. And quite a few at that. Seriously, from a marketing perspective, can you imagine the person who originally tried to sell us on women who are Cows??
3. Please stop quoting what works in reality and keep this in perspective. This is a fantasy game in a world that is thoroughly unreal. Does that mean you should disrespect someone interpersonally? no. But some people fantasize about being desirable and not just a combat monster. These themes have been popular in many games, is there a way to tell someone they are attractive universally without offending ANYONE? you know that isn't possible.
4. As stated earlier, don't like it? you can always vote with your participation if nothing else.
5. Josh. I'm sorry but I don't see anyone including yourself talking about all the social inequality or negative stereotyping facing men either. Do I honestly expect it? no. But I could start pointing out how most male models are so insanely muscular, 99% of males could never possibly achieve it. Are we promoting unrealistic body image for men? No one cares. We are the problem apparently, and never the victim. My point is that if you want an egalitarian environment, you aren't going about it in a very productive way.
6. Wow, Blizzard, life etc. can't be all things to all people. EVERY facet of this game has its detractors, that won't change. I agree that we have to try to be as equal as possible, but I don't agree that blizzard has been egregious in its treatment of women. Too often that is up to players themselves. Should they be more heavy handed then they already are about abuse? I'm not sure.
7. For those bringing the history of the oppression of women into the game. Its. a. game. Female toons are capable of doing EVERYTHING a male toon can. Make the same amount of gold, run their own guild, have access to all the same opportunities. I admit they are outnumbered in total population but only women can solve that. I don't mean to say that those concerns aren't valid, but this is WoW, not Croatia, or Afghanistan, or Sudan. Some of these arguments are inappropriate for this context in the extreme. We're all here to have fun, not to play "who's the most oppressed?" Check your baggage at the door.
Ninjox Apr 3rd 2012 11:57PM
This article is dumb and is a shameless form of pandering. Gender inequality will always exist, you know why? because humans exist. Each sex from each species uses their strengths given to them by nature to get ahead in life. men use strength and women use sex appeal. I'm not saying women aren't smart, but no one is complaining that Firepaw just assumed the man is a strong warrior and not a brainy mage (because all men must be strong huh?) Sexism goes both ways but I guess the author was to busy trying to get the sympathies of the female player base to realize his argument could be construed in the other direction just as easy. Like I said dumb....this is all too dumb....it's a digital Panda! Wanna tackle a real topic? Write about the sexism that goes on in almost every states family court system. Look up some of those statistics and write something meaningful. Your views on sexism will drastically change.
Kadzeroth Apr 4th 2012 10:25AM
While I see both sides of the argument, I can only say:
People who get offended are basically saying this,
http://www.geekfill.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/offended-e1332447903904.png
StClair Apr 4th 2012 1:05PM
How about "I'm bullied", "I'm harrassed", etc? Do you place the onus for those on the person feeling and speaking as well?
Vandell [XBL: Keazra] Apr 4th 2012 10:43AM
Look, I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to other people's feelings. I try to think how the other person must feel, what they're going through, before I make any scathing comments.
But frankly, the disparaging against Ji is downright silly. For all you know, Ji is bisexual or gay or asexual. If you're female, he calls you gorgeous. If you're male, he calls you handsome.. would it be more 'fair' if the two terms were reversed? And since I'm gay, should I feel compelled to be creeped out? His words could be construed as hitting on me as well.
I hate to tell you this, Josh, but the genders are not physically equal. I don't have a vagina or breasts, and they don't have a penis or testicles. This relates to your other comments, because yes, harassment of females exists in WoW - but it exists everywhere else in the goddamn world, too. Men will be men, because that's how they've evolved. It's hardly Blizzard's fault that the playerbase acts the way they do.
c.t.gaughan Apr 4th 2012 12:13PM
You obviously haven't seen the gear that Bliz has my leveling priest wearing.
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/terokkar/Priestopher/simple
It's something a gay raver in Tankgirl would wear.
pelargonia Apr 4th 2012 12:15PM
I do think the article has a valid argument. I am a female and I have not found a great deal of sexism aimed at me or my female toons by the people I hang around with in game. Part could be the type of guild I am in and part could be that I always chose to hang out with decent people. I HAVE had creepy or offensive things said or done by strangers in game. Mostly I have put that up to the size of the player base. You cannot have that many people playing and not find jerks, sexists, or creepy people as part of the mix.
I do know that in PuGs I have been in and even some runs my son has been in where I heard his vent that there are sexists and a lot of profanity as well as just plain offensive stuff that goes on. While my son was underage I could monitor what he was exposed to and luckily he has always had a strong sense of what is socially acceptable.
The main point of this article, however, deals with how the game itself perpetuates inequality.
I was taken aback when Ji used those lines in the beta and did not even hear what he said to male players as I always roll female toons. I actually did think it seemed creepy. Like a boss or a teacher coming on to an employee or a student. Heck, if he was going to be creepy to my female toon he should be just as creepy to the male toons and call them gorgeous too. Better yet, make him not creepy at all. I have always enjoyed compliments about my strength or abilities, ever since i was a little girl. There is no reason not to compliment the female Pandaren the same as the male. There are both men and women that would speak that way to someone, calling them gorgeous when it is not exactly appropriate but it does not seem to be necessary to perpetuate it in the game.
Since vanilla I have complained about the armor inequalities. I felt it perpetuated old 1950s and 1960s style scantily clothed helpless women from the sword and sorcery novels. I do not see how a piece of armor is suppose to be functional when it does not cover you. One commenter claimed that players do not have to wear those pieces if they do not want to, but frequently, the best gear you can get, especially while leveling is just such gear. When I was leveling my mage I had weeks of her running around in what looked like lingerie because that was the best gear I could find without paying a fortune to twink her. I know that mages do not melee so armor is for stats not protection, so an argument can be made that it does not need to look functional, but really, running around in lingerie while questing out in the world? Come on. I had similar issues on my shaman, which I leveled as enhancement. She was melee and going into battle with her midriff showing. That just looks silly. A leveling toon is unlikely to be able to afford transmogging out of the bikini top if that is the best gear that has dropped for them. --Some of us like to feel that our armor looks more practical or more realistic in its ability to give protection.
If the female toons have to wear such silly armor then the male ones should too, regardless of "conventional" aesthetics that men tend to like to look at scanty clad women while women tend to like to look at well clothed men. This is not exactly the case. A woman browsing an online dating site is definitely going to go for a guy that is better dressed and thus seems less intimidating and aggressive. This does not mean those same women do not like to look at the swim suit clad gym guys in the appropriate setting. Heck, we all know that men like to see skimpy clothes on women, that is no reason to make female toons wear such outfits. I do know that some women (and men playing female toons) like to look risqué or have dominatrix type outfits and that is okay with me, I just do not think it should be forced on us. In fact with enough gold, people can change their armor to look like almost anything they want now and if they choose the lingerie style that is up to them but where is the same type of style for the men to wear if they want to? That is where the inequality comes in. Those 1950s and 1960s novel covers had scantily clad men on them too. In a way, they had more equality in wardrobe than WoW does now.
SamLowry Apr 4th 2012 12:48PM
If a male quest-giver told a male character "Hello, friend! You're some kind of sexy, aren't you?" would a male player be creeped out?
You bet!
Seta-San Apr 4th 2012 1:40PM
There's a simple reason why they make the women revealing. 9/10 female characters in the game are played by MALES! If i'm going to spend 5+ hours a day looking at someone's back side it's certainly not going to be a man's,
heatherbear714 Apr 4th 2012 1:56PM
I think this convo could become very tense....I dont know if you were all around and remember the ultra pc early 1990's,but it was not fun to be a white male.Even if you were full of self loathing at your male gender and pale skin it wasnt enough,we were vilified every chance the media got.I really dont this argument in World of Warcraft.I play both male and female toons..and honestly am kinda bummed when it comes to the same boring hunks of metal that my male toons have compared to all the nifty intrresting ones for females.I do see the authours point but lets not go the "evil white man" route please.
Jim Apr 4th 2012 4:40PM
The reason why women in the game still have "interesting" armor designs and guys (other than blood elves) have huge ripped chests and arms is because of one simple fact.
Not everyone agrees it is a problem, and some simply shrug off such offenses. I mean hell, some women like all the things you complain about and I'd have to think that guys wouldn't play women if they some how didn't like the attention. :P
I mean if you really want to start complaining about unfair stereotypes I can think of quite a few I don't like that women place on guys in real life... but anyways... I digress
and I have one very simple thing to say to all of this... if really offends you THAT MUCH...
Don't.
Play.
Loss in profits speak louder than the cries of the minority, sad but true.
StClair Apr 4th 2012 7:20PM
Don't play, yes, quite.
While you're at it, don't go out in public without head-to-toe covering and/or a weapon to defend yourself from assault.
In fact, don't leave the house at all.
See? Everything unpleasant, offensive and/or dangerous in life can be avoided if you just /keep to your place/.
:p