I do like the point specifically about your character in Dragon Age. Though maybe you could guess that Ferelden is a more sexually-free nation and Lady Cousland straight up had a son from another country somewhere in Thedas. I mean, if you really really want to stretch it. It’s kind of a silly point, but I do think the larger problem is you can make an aged character and you’re made out to be kind of the fledgling in the family.

But then I made a dwarf commoner, so really whatever I could be I think would likely fit.

I’ll concede the point then! Thanks for correcting my mixup.

I often hear complaints about men’s clubs but rarely about women’s clubs. At the end of the day, most males aren’t bothered if women want a male-free club whereas the if men want a men-only club, it’s deemed to be sexist. I just find that completely ridiculous. What about our rights?!!

P.S. Quote: “Not only do players have to deal with the forces of the Horde and the minions of the Lich King…”

Now, who’s being biased?! Do you play Alliance, by any chance?!

P.S.S. For The Horde!

I can assure you we never had a no-female policy (though we probably should have :p). After talking to members of NA who were there prior to my joining [in early-BC], they said that there was never a no-female policy. They actually had many female gamers during Vanilla WoW (Cheyenne, Jitzgirl and Nearly to name a few off the top of my head) and as I said above, we had multiple females during BC until our disbanding.

Regardless, great article. Also, http://www.wow.com/2007/07/10/instant-karmas-gonna-get-you/ — NA’s greatest achievement.

While there may be some exceptions to this in my time in WoW, players over 50 years old are very slow at reacting to fight mechanics and changing targets.

Female players ARE mostly healers, but there are still an appreciable number of DPS and Tank.

If female players appear to generally be worst than male raiders my guess is because people notice the female raiders more. I know a lot of other guilds that almost instantly invite females, no matter how bad they are, and end up kicking them once they can’t take the fail anymore while they would just not invite a male equivalent.

Also, the vast majority of female raiders my guild has had over it’s 4 years have been stay at home moms.

Regardless, the drama surrounding female players contributed greatly to NA’s disbanding. We recruited a Paladin faction reroll midway through Tempest Keep, and to keep the story short, she caused an obnoxious amount of drama between officers and long-time members. Don’t get me wrong; all female gamers aren’t trainwrecks, we did have a very skilled female Shaman who kept to herself. Even the Paladin that was center-stage in the drama was a very (and I mean VERY) good healer. Since NA, I’ve played with a handful of talented female players, but the ratio of godawful girl gamers to decent ones is awful.

From my experience — and I’ve been raiding since Scholomance/BRS — females are generally not a good investment for a serious raiding guild. Let’s be honest, you’re throwing a vagina into a pool of greasy, fat, neck-bearded, basement-dwelling virgins. It’s bound to be a clusterfuck.

Their are many differences between men and women. Without these differences the world would be a very boring place.

Men have a chemical -testosterone- that makes slightle more agressive, dominant, and competitive than females. No, not all men act this way in every aspect of their lives, they are allowed to differ as much as women, but in an age where their is no longer an imediate need to protect and hunt for your family videogames give males a way to “conqure” over something and fill their need for competition. Therefor, male gamers may tend to take missions more seriously than a female might.

This is not to say that females are any less skilled than males, but as in any feild you are always going to want same minded passionate people around you. Now, I do not mean to say that a woman “Cannot think like a man” although.. if your so passionate about being female I dont understand why you would want to in the first place… Just that you are required to prove your self the same as anyone else playing the game. If, you can prove that you are like minded, skilled, and ready to co-operate without playing the gender card, you will be respected in which ever game you are playing.

The problem with most female gamers who are having issues is that you feelings are hurt to easily, you can not put up with the harassment male gamers constantly throw at each other and you let if affect your game play, you also hold resentment towards all male gamers after a few have made sexualy inapropriate comments, I gaurntee you that not all male gamers are sexist pigs, but by acting like they are is no way to win over their favor.

Let me sum this up by saying you cant have your cake and eat it too, you cannot be a “beautiful sensitive flower” of a lady while trying to kick ass. You cant talk about how its hard to move the joy stick because of your new manicure and expect men to take you seriously. From experience I can tell you the best way to get rid of these stereotypes is to prove you fit into the gaming social structure, you dont get a free invite because of your sex, and the rules dont change for you.