Thursday, June 07, 2007

Pygmalion

[posted by Callimachus]

Interesting exploration here of some of the permutations of the MMO world, especially the MMORPG subset, including games such as "World of Warcraft."

Individuals who have experience of playing both male and female avatars often describe how their female characters are offered considerably more help and gifts than their male characters. Men who choose to play female avatars can, therefore, be driven by rational, economic logic just as well as by the willingness to construct a new, social identity—as the opportunity of advancing quickly and becoming successful is greater in the role as a virtual woman. It is three times more common that men choose to play women than vice versa.

Well, I've made two WoW characters, and both of them were female. And it has nothing to do with seeking a competitive edge or unleashing my inner femininity. The plain fact is, if I'm going to be looking at a toon's ass for hours on end, I want it to be shapely and feminine, not some big buff male warrior.



'Course one of my toons is, like, a half-horse or something, with hooves and a tail, sort of like the picture above, so I don't want to push that explanation too hard.