We’ve all experienced it in WoW. Whether we, ourselves, are male and have recognized/demonstrated those behaviors (as Theerivs at “A High Latency Life” quite honorably admitted in his post on “General Gaming: The Gender Wars“), have seen it in trade, guild, or raid chat, or have been the victim of it yourself, hypermasculine, homophobic, or downright rude conversation, comments, insults, or general behavior plagues WoW as much as it does our everyday lives–in general, though, I would argue that it does so to a much further extent than one normally encounters it in our day-to-day lives.
Before I get too far, I just want to remind everyone that the average playing population of WoW (that is social, at any rate) consists of those raised in Western or psuedo-Western environments. The game booms greatest in the United States, Europe, and Oceania, with some players (and, let’s admit it, farmers) in several Asian countries. Naturally farmers exist everywhere, but beneath every stereotype there is a grain of truth, even if that truth is the result of something entirely out of that groups control. Back to the point, hypermasculine behavior has been a staple of Western societies, especially since they were so patriarchal in nature. History is told mostly from the perspective of men, ABOUT men, and about what it takes to BE a man. A great one at that. As time went on, being a man became equivalent to being dominant in everything, and being the best, the strongest, and the most desired person around. I must point out that it’s obvious that capitalism was a system invented by and for men–generally, women care more about the well-being of others than just themselves (which explains why traditionally, women were more involved in volunteer work, religious missionary societies, charities, etc.) and men care usually just for themselves and their immediate family/friend circle. They advance themselves first, and everyone else…well, who cares about them?
I feel the need to point out that I am very well aware that I am speaking in some generalizations, and that there are probably exceptions to everything I’m saying. However, I don’t feel like going into them and for purposes of this argument, I’m going to continue to discuss them somewhat generally.
Anywho, we’ve now reached a point in history where being a “man” involves putting others down so that your status is elevated, flaunting off your money, power, and abilities wherever possible. You spend it on lavish things, you get lots of women and have power over them and everyone around you, and never show any behavior that could be considered “feminine” or portray you as “weaker” than someone else, either in terms of financial strength, intellectual strength, emotional strength, or physical strength. Only women are poorer than men, dumber than men, more emotional than men, and not as strong as men.
And if you are one of the small percentage of the male world born with an attraction to other men, you are therefore less than a man as well, just like women.
But if you’re not, good for you! Now it’s time to prove it to other people by buying expensive things, wearing the coolest clothes, bragging about your sexual escapades with women, and reminding women and those damned queers of their place in society.
Sound familiar? You mean to tell me that you don’t go off to get those achievements just to brag about them, buy expensive mechanohogs, pets, and mounts just to show them off, and rush through raids just to get those purples so you can show them off? Really? You mean you don’t often make jokes about the size of the elf/human breasts, or don’t notice that female armor is much more revealing than the male version of the same chestpiece/leggings? You mean to tell me you don’t make cracks about making a woman make you a sammich, or how girls are worse players than guys at WoW? You don’t talk about that girl you got with (or wish you could have gotten with) last night in explicit detail, knowing there are females in your guild who might feel violated by your lewd and crude language? You don’t say things like “that’s so gay” or “he’s such a faggot” knowing (or not knowing) that there are individuals on the queer spectrum who might take offense to you saying that their very state of being (of which they have no control) is somehow wrong or flawed and that you are somehow more perfect than them?
It’s a problem in the WoW world and in the real world. Many people don’t understand how damaging and destructive language can be. Many people don’t quite get that it was words–just words–that got so many Americans to believe that the Japanese were nothing more than the spawn of Satan during WWII, when just years before they were trading with them for televisions that they still watched. It was language that made people fear communism without knowing what it really was. It was language that allowed us to get involved into numerous wars that had as much purpose as success. Every time you make a gay joke, or a blonde joke, or a joke about women, you’re oppressing that group of people just by giving negative power to the words you use and the connotations associated with it. Even if you personally believe that women belong in the kitchen, and that blondes are really stupid, Muslims are all terrorists, and gays are causing soldiers to lose lives in the wars in the Middle East, realize that making jokes about and insulting a group of people always has, and always will be rude.
If you have a problem with the way someone is, take it out of the public. When in public, do two things: treat them as you want them to treat you, and then treat them how THEY want to be treated. And the only way you know how they want to be treated is if you ask them.
And don’t be a smart-ass and say “What if they tell me to treat them like a king? I don’t want to do that!” Obviously I’m talking within reason, and I’m trusting to the fact that you are a reasonable, logical person. Life is too short to hurl stones at others, when it is probably all to easy for someone else to hurl stones at you too.
