Does WoW influence perceptions of negative stereotypes such as gender, age, sexual orientation etc?

Beitrag von 832585

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Beitrag von Toldu

If (and that's a big if) WoW does do that then a majority of games are just as responsible as WoW would be. Having said that though, I don't think so.

Now, you did say "certain elements". Do you care to elaborate on what those certain elements are that you have noticed?

Beitrag von 109094

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Beitrag von hymer

Even if this isn't a troll post, it lacks specificity. It's a sort of "be your own troll" post.

Beitrag von Dragalthor

Unless you can be more specific the answer will always be that it does this no more than any other game, book, movie etc. etc. etc.

Beitrag von Ashelia

Beitrag von hymer

Ah, now we may be heading for some actual discussion! :D
Would you care to name some of these interesting attitudes and give a short analysis?

Beitrag von Meggie

I think WoW got an influence. There's less stereotypes than in your average sitcom. I deem this positive. But if you are a security seeking, religious juvenile this may be disturbing.

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Beitrag von 824659

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Beitrag von 59384

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Beitrag von ElhonnaDS

I don't think that WoW enforces negative stereotypes. In NPC's, you see a large number of soldiers of almost every race that are female. There are strong frmale leaders on both sides. I actually miss some of the more attractive female armor that they stopped implementing- I don't personally think it's a stereotype to have attractive outfits for your avatar (and I am a woman). The majority of women who would think to complain (not all, but most) that their neck line is too low on their armor would show twice as much skin when going out on the weekend.

The issue of sexuality doesn't seem to come up in WoW at all. As far as I know, there are no characters that have been acknowledged as non-hetero, but to be fair other than knowing that certain major NPC's are married to certain other major NPC's, or occasionally running into a husband-wife pair because of a quest, MOST NPC's don't seem to talk about their personal lives much.

Again, the issue of race relations (among real races, anyway- I guess it could enforce negative stereotypes about orcs or gnomes, but I don't think that it's something that will cause you issues IRL). The only thing that could even remotely relate to real races or nationalities is the choice to use real accents for certain races in the game: Generic American accent for Human, British for Worgen, Russian/Eastern European for Draenei, Jamaican for Trolls, Brooklyn for Goblins. Honestly, I don't think it's meant as or portrayed in a way that is negatively stereotyping any of those people- they're just trying to add diversity to the races.

I don't really think that religion comes up in a way that at all relates to the real world. They acknowledge several major religions in the game that don't really exist, and even then they seem to treat all of them as being valid. The in-game holidays do correspond to major real-world holidays, but I have never seen anything that I would note as being a negative stereotype about one of these religions, based on the holidays.

I am personally of the opinion that many people are looking for a reason to be offended. Maybe they want attention, maybe they like drama, or maybe they have this inbred victimization complex that they are constantly seeking validation for. If you try hard enough, you can find something to be offended by anywhere- I had a friend once who got lectured by a co-worker for calling a power outage a "blackout". I don't think wow is very high on the list, though, of offensive material.

WoW PLAYERS, however...that's something else. I have never seen more disgusting displays of ignorance than I have in trade chat. But that's something that the real world is bringing to the game- not the other way around.

Beitrag von Adamsm

As the others have said; the game itself doesn't influence any real negative stereotypes, it's all about the players.

Beitrag von xaratherus

WoW - MMOs in general - only reinforce negative stereotypes to those people predisposed (typically through their own ignorance) to buy into stereotypes in the first place.

In fact, I think the only stereotype that might hold true is that people who consistently buy into stereotypes are ignorant*; the ones who cling to those stereotypes even when shown that they do not hold true are willfully ignorant*.

*Note that 'ignorant' is not necessarily an insulting term. Someone can be ignorant of something simply through lack of exposure. It just means that they lack that knowledge. Now, being willfully ignorant is insulting, and rightfully so - it means that you've been given a chance to correct your lack of knowledge, but refuse to do so.

Beitrag von 803615

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Beitrag von ElhonnaDS

I cannot prove it, you are correct...mostly just offering anecdotal evidence as a female, who has often prepared for a night out with other females, and gone to public places where there are even more females. What is generally considered acceptable for social occasions for females are skirts that stop well above the knee, V or swooping necklines, bare arms, etc. You don't HAVE to wear clothes like this, but most people would not consider it at all inappropriate to wear a classy dress that left shoulders, legs, cleavage, etc. exposed. I have played through the vanilla content a couple of times- there isn't a whole lot of armor that does expose anything. I stop getting shorts on most toons after level 10, and was lucky to find a pair for my pally at level 60, and my hunter in MC. The mage robes are beyond modest, and to even find one with a neckline is rare. I spent most of Wrath in a turtleneck, and Cata looks about the same.

I just haven't see much armor that would even qualify as "exposing" in WoW. There are a couple of pieces here and there, but not too much, and nothing you can't cover with a tabard and a cloak. So, if the argument is that EXTREMELY revealing armor is sexist, then yes- if all we were given was chain-mail bikinis and lingerie-styled mage gear, it would be sexist. But the OP asked if WoW was sexist- and out of hundreds of WoW armor models I have seen, I can think of maybe 5 that are as revealing, or more revealing, than your average pair of shorts or fancy dress. So, no, I don't think that is sexist. And, if someone thinks the fact that ANY of the armor is revealing, and that people even have the choice to show skin, is sexist...then I don't know what to tell you.

Beitrag von OverZealous

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Beitrag von Nipah

I don't think it does through its characters and their appearances--more than any other medium.

However, I do think the social aspects have negatively portrayed women and there are some interesting attitudes regarding WoW females that have spawned from the MMO culture and the WoW raiding scene that are reinforcing negative stereotypes.

This just makes me think about the whole "Women do not exist on the internet" meme, which is something that I think started well before we were playing games online...

Also, it's not so much that they're reinforcing negative stereotypes, its that the environment allows people to do whatever they want, regardless of how if effects those around them .

This leads to people not caring/believing that there is another person attached to the avatar they're interacting with, and then we go further down the spiral, until we're all either complete jackasses or so desensitized to the crap people spew that we don't even notice it anymore.

... in the end, its a pretty crappy future we're looking at on the ol' internetz... Here's hoping that enough of us can step up and hammer home the point that being a complete asshat to anyone and everyone is not acceptable, and will not be tolerated.

Huh... how did this soapbox get under me?

Beitrag von 824659

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Does WoW influence perceptions of negative stereotypes such as gender, age, sexual orientation etc?

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