photo by juanpol
Given that World of Warcraft (WoW) now has over 12 million players worldwide (myself included) I suppose I should not have been surprised at the scholarly attention given to the game (don’t believe me?). However, Jessica L. Beyer‘s article, “Women’s (Dis)embodied Engagement with Male-Dominated Online Communities,” in Cyberfeminism 2.0, was the first such scholarly examination I had read.
While I have played WoW, I would consider myself a casual player (though not with the negative and perhaps sexist connotation that phrase sometimes entails). This means that I have not experienced much of the “use and acceptance of language in WoW that reinforces the subordinate status of women in the game” firsthand (since I didn’t use the forums or voice chatting), nor have I reached high enough levels to experience blocked access that made participation in valued aspects of the game more difficult. Despite my lack of personal experience, I wholeheartedly believe Beyer’s claims. In fact, sexism in in-game voice chatting has been quantitativly documented by this very recent study.
Like most women, I joined WoW due to the presence of men in my life that play the game.
I’m not endorsing this ad, and it’s gotten quite a mixed reaction. But it’s the only WoW ad featuring a female spokesperson.
Though I have not personally experienced the way “‘woman’ becomes temptress, sexual object, weak, and sensitive,” in WoW, I do not doubt that this is the experience of many female players. In fact, in reflecting on my experience playing WoW, I realized in using in-game text chatting I had never revealed my gender to players I did not know in the physical world, and thus, avoided opening myself up to the sexist treatment and rhetoric documented by Beyer and others. I did this unconsciously, as in general, my interaction with players I didn’t know in the physical world was very limited. However, this is a prime example of the main “coping mechanism” Beyer identifies female WoW players use to deal with the sexism within the game and community of players: finding an enclave. I had formed an enclave with the few players I knew in the physical world, who I know would not define my ability or identity based on my gender.
My WoW enclave!
Beyer sees this as a negative trend. As Beyer points out, though there are increasing numbers of women playing WoW (and such games in general), and she documents opposition to the dominate culture of WoW, no one is protesting it or fighting it aggressively. Why? “Once these people exist in theses ‘bubbles’ of shared values, they are less likely to engage in political activism.” Yet I wonder if there is a way to spin the profliforation of these “enclaves” positively – as an example of women forming empowering online communities. And perhaps the size and presence of these enclaves will begin to infringe on the larger, sexist community. One can hope.
Ultimately WoW is reflective of much of the sexist gaming culture and hegemonic patriarchial discources of society as a whole. But this doesn’t stop the game from being fabulously fun. What’s a feminist to do?
Wear a badass mask.
My main WoW character.
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