Curse

sariaru · Dec 01, 2010, 07:35 AM // 07:35

Dear GW Folk,

I am imploring you for assistance on a research paper for my women's studies project. Mainly, it's just answering a few questions about females and how they're perceived in online gaming. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

1. Are you male or female?

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

6. Any other comments?

Thank you all so much in advance for your responses.

sari.

TaeZ246 · Dec 01, 2010, 07:49 AM // 07:49

1. Male

2. Both, because id rather stare at a girl for hours than a guy.

3. I think a lot of them are played by men. No doubt plenty of women play women but i think a good amount are guys. I think they do it for same reason as me, to stare at a girl all day rather than a guy. No it doesn't bother me its a game.

4. The internet being the internet i think most guys think of girls online and they think of porn or stuff like that.

5. internet i would say about even. Online console and PC gaming i think men have a pretty large margin. I just believe that the games are very much geared towards men rather than women. Yes women play them i just think its targeting men as the main sales.

6. Men and Women are equally present in the computer world, its just whether they play games or sit on facebook. you get my point.

**cosyfiep** · Dec 01, 2010, 08:11 AM // 08:11

1. Are you male or female? female

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why? both, mostly female, because some of the female choices were just ugly...so I picked a few male choices.

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you? Quite a few, my husband plays mainly female characters because the male choices were horrible...guys would rather look at female characters (heck with some of the male choices I can completely understand!)...it doesnt bother me since its all just a bunch of pixels on the screen

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"? it depends on the part of the internet...some parts are dominated by women and that is understood, other parts have a higher male than female population...how its viewed is based on how the users of those site view it, which means, everyone has their own view and some may be a like. If you dont like it dont use that site, very simple (or get a thicker skin)....though there is quite a lot of immaturity on the internet (and not just from the kids, mind you)...so just like going to the mall--you have to be aware of your surroundings and plan accordingly.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?
women use the internet just as much as men. pc gaming...have no idea though I do know that quite a lot of women do play, just have no idea about the statistics, sorry, same goes for console games.

6. Any other comments? good luck

Rushin Roulette · Dec 01, 2010, 09:18 AM // 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by sariaru

Dear GW Folk,

I am imploring you for assistance on a research paper for my women's studies project. Mainly, it's just answering a few questions about females and how they're perceived in online gaming. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

1. Are you male or female?

Male

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?

Both, because sometimes the Female options are ugly and sometimes the male ones are ugly... thats the only reason

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?

I dont care if its women playing guys or guys playing women... its all pixels anyways.... if people try to hit up on me because I play a female char... then Id be more worried about them trying to hit on pixels to be honest (Same is true for women trying to hit on me if I am playing a male char).

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?

Women are equal as I see it bar a few exceptions where most sane women (or men) wouldnt go such as a forum for naked mudwrestling in playboy mansions. Or the other way around for men visiting Feminist sites. Where sites are not geared towards one sex dominating the other, my perception is that men and women are equal.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

No margin either way. Ive seen enough women play FPS games and men play Sims games for there to be any difference in margine or perception of dominance

6. Any other comments?

Your questions are pretty pre-biased against men, if you want to make it a serious study and comparison instead of a one sided questionaire you might want to rething a few questions. That way you can get both sides of the coin instead of only one.

Thank you all so much in advance for your responses.

sari.

12 chars ftl

sariaru · Dec 01, 2010, 09:18 AM // 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smarty

The word feminist has a completely different meaning to the word female. I suggest you change your study title, unless you're actually studying people interested in female political equality and activism online.

Ah, indeed. That was a mistake on my part. Thank you for swiftly pointing it out!

Smarty · Dec 01, 2010, 09:53 AM // 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by sariaru

1. Are you male or female?

Female.

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?

Both.

One of the reasons for playing male characters nowadays is that I like the way they look. One of the reasons for playing male characters originally was that I used to roleplay, and I found roleplaying a male character to be more interesting than playing a female one. In general, I prefer the way people interact with me when my character is male, as I'm less likely to be given special treatment, flirted with or harrassed, or given gifts by people who don't know me irl when on a male than a female character.

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?

I'd say that probably about half the female characters are male. I reckon they do it for the same reasons I do, but in reverse: they like looking at female characters, and/or they like the extra attention they get.

Doesn't bother me at all - male players play as a female all the time in Tomb Raider so it's not like it's anything out of the ordinary.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?

Not really thought about it much. I've not seen any signs of differential treatment on the forums I frequent, and I don't use chat rooms.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

Not sure exactly what you mean by margin. Do you mean advantage, or numerical difference? I've gone with the second interpretation.

For general internet usage I think it's pretty much equal between the sexes. Where online gaming's concerned, originally I thought that the number of men vastly outnumbered the number of women, but either things have changed over the last five years or there's always been a lot more women around than I realised. A good number of the people I've met in GW, Aion and WoW have been female. I'd still say there's more males than females, but maybe more like 60:40 or 70:30 rather than the ~90:10 that I used to think it was. Wouldn't have a clue about console gaming as it's never appealed to me and I'm not really in touch with what mid-late teenagers get up to nowadays.

6. Any other comments?

I agree with the poster above, your questions haven't been phrased as neutrally as they could have been (eg rather than "a margin over, if any", could have been phrased as "is there a difference between, and if so in which direction").

EDIT: Not sure feminine is any better than female, lol. What about all those effeminate males out there?

But seriously, nice eyecatching title. Good luck with your study.

Answered above.

azzer20 · Dec 01, 2010, 10:29 AM // 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by sariaru

Dear GW Folk,

I am imploring you for assistance on a research paper for my women's studies project. Mainly, it's just answering a few questions about females and how they're perceived in online gaming. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

1. Are you male or female?

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

6. Any other comments?

Thank you all so much in advance for your responses.

sari.

1: Male.

2: Both, i don't care if it's female or male, as i play what i feel like.

3: 40% female chars is played by females, is my estimate, i've yet to meet a female playing a male char though.. No it does not bother me, people can play however they want.

4: If you're not an acne hit teenager living in a basement, there is as much respect for female gamers as their is towards male gamers, and yes it's fair, no gender is stronger than the other for games.

5; Internet usage, as in, everything?, women beats men.. Facebook, Twitter, Diaspora, to name a few.

6: Nah.

DokkyDok · Dec 02, 2010, 04:42 AM // 04:42

1. Are you male or female? Male

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why? Female, because the designers put more effort into them/easier on the eyes/players with female characters tend to suck less.

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you? I generally think females chararcters are played by males/they do it for the same reasons I do/it doesn't bother me.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"? Minor sexism, maybe, but most men whom act sexist are trying to be funny, or trying to conform to stereotypes with the hopes that fellow males will be impressed with them. Then again, some are just dicks.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?
Internet usage: slight margin/PC gaming: large margin/console gaming: large margin6.

russiansteven · Dec 02, 2010, 11:34 PM // 23:34

1. Are you male or female?
Male

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?
Both, 4 characters one in which is female (monks). Because male monks look fat and ugly?

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?
All are female to me.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?

Generally their viewed as human beings?

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

Uhm..A margin in everything listed above.

Nekodesu · Dec 03, 2010, 11:13 AM // 11:13

1. Are you male or female?
I am female

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?
I play female characters, it is very rare that I play males, if I do, it is because of the way the females are portraited in the game.

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?
I think all of them. I never assume that a female character is a woman inreal, so I look at them all as being men. Why men do that, I can only answer from what I have heard: Some guys do it because they feel a need to have a sexual experience with a game, and might use a female character as for that. Some other guys have told me it is because they are not homosexual, and therefor don't play males. Some say they are not either homosexual and don't feel a need to dress up women and therefor play men. If it bothers me or not, the only thing that bothers me, is that regardless of weter we want it or not, many guys are going to look at something and find something sexual about it. I don't think it is possible for many guys to part their sexuality with what they do or say. Hard to explain, for me atleast.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?
Women are generally viewed as a sexuall object on many webpages. But this is because of some men having the most retarded views on other people. It is not fair, because there is nothing fair in being a lower human being because of your genital.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?
No, there are none at all. This is a steriotypical view, that women do not enjoy playing games or be on the internet. I don't know. But I do know whoever thinks men are superior on this are stupid. I play loads of games, PS1-3. On PC, and so on. I'm almost always online unless when with friends or boyfriend. My boyfriend plays less games than me.

6. Any other comments?
I can't really think of any.

eeks · Dec 05, 2010, 02:05 PM // 14:05

1. Are you male or female?
Female.

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?

I play both, am more inclined to play female characters however, as game designers in general put more love into their customisation. As far as gender goes, I'll play one or the other depending on how I can customise the character.

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?
Many, but it doesn't really bother me. After all, I play male characters. What do guys think of this? It shouldn't really matter, in my opinion. We should be allowed to do what we want. *shrug*

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?
I think it really depends on the male presence on any given site, and who the site appeals to. I can think of a certain site where women are treated unfairly if people are made aware of their presence, but it's a very male-dominated site. I don't think I need to state which forum I'm talking about, but it's a fairly infamous one.

Here however, it's fine granted that GW is a F2P game and attracts more casual gamers than other online RPGs.

If people stopped making a big deal about a woman being around, then everything would be fine, that goes for genders on both sides of the fence. I mean, it's been like... Twenty years since the internet was commercialised, it's a shame people still need time to be aware that gender roles are no longer set in stone.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

They still have quite a fair bit, but I think the playing field is slowly starting to level out. You'll still attract a creepy conga line of pre-pubescent lunatics on Playstation Home if playing a female character however, for example. Hopefully attitudes like this will change in the future.

6. Any other comments?

I can't really think of any, though it's quite late and I'll probably edit the crap out of this tomorrow. Best of luck, Sari.

*Darcy* · Dec 05, 2010, 04:46 PM // 16:46

1. Are you male or female? Female

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why? Female

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?

90%
because they like looking at women
No

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?

No one cares about your gender on most forums, chat rooms, etc.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

Usage - 50%/50%
online gaming - 60%/40%
console gaming - 90%/10%

6. Any other comments? Online gaming is tough to use as a measuring stick. You need to pick a type of online gaming. If you are going with MMORPG or RTS then I would have said 90/10 split, but browser gaming is more evenly divided with a much larger player base.

Drelias Melaku · Dec 07, 2010, 03:11 AM // 03:11

1. Female

2. Female characters. I would play characters of the opposite gender if they weren't so bulky and there armor was just as elaborate... =/

3. I usually refer to female characters with female pronouns until corrected, just because it kind of annoys me when people always assume I'm male. I'd imagine they do it because the female characters get better armor and the males are pretty bulky - that's why my fiancée plays mostly female characters. I would imagine a lot of others do it because they think the female characters are hot, though. It doesn't really bother me.

4. It seems there's a lot of "tits or gtfo" all over the internet and it's really annoying. I've also been told countless times that if I'm a female on a video game, I must be fat, old, and/or ugly. Maybe I'm just remembering the outspoken minority.

5. I'd imagine it's about even, but I've never cared enough to try to figure it out.

6. About a half dozen people assumed I was a gay male rather than a female when I mentioned my fiancée and used a masculine pronoun for him. Statistically, it is much, MUCH more likely that I'm female, so I don't really understand that assumption.

Also, when people found out I was a female in Diablo 2, they gave me a lot of free things. That was strange... And when I played Runescape, people flirted a lot just because I had a female avatar. That was ages ago, though. It seems people are much more used to females playing games now. Again, though, it's easier to remember the outspoken minority, especially when it's been many, many years since I've played either of those games.

GWfan#1 · Dec 07, 2010, 05:41 AM // 05:41

Hello Sari,

1. Are you male or female? Male

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why? Both, I play characters of the opposite gender because they are easier on the eyes and more entertaining to look at.

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you? I think 90% of female characters are being played by males. Men would sometimes rather stare at a female than a male for the majority of their gaming sessions.This does not bother me.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"? In forums and chat rooms women are viewed equally.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?Internet usage in general is probably equal 1:1 between men and women. I feel that males outnumber females 10:1 if not more on Console gaming category. PC gaming maybe 5:1

6. Any other comments? My answers are from my personal observations.

Fierce · Dec 07, 2010, 08:47 PM // 20:47

1. Are you male or female?
Female

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?
I only had females till yesterday. Female ritualists are just plain fugly

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?
I think almost all the female characters running around in GW are males. It's because girls are prettier hahahaha! And you guys admit it by prefering girls above boys

haha no. Honestly I don't know. Guess I can see it as their once in a lifetime-way of creating their own girl. Doesn't bother me. I'm used to seeing boys as girls. Tho I prefer them as males.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?
Well most of us are concidered noobs ^^ Not true in my case. Or in the others girls in my alliance. I do believe most of the girls don't spent as much time on the internet/GW as the males do. Another thing thats unfair is that some males (or boys...) talk abour boobs and female derrieres and "hitting that" IN GC/AC as if we're objects while some of the girls are online. That doesnt make us girls feel comfy. Edit: AND they want your pic as soon as they find out....

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?
Internet 50/50. Online PC and Console Gaming 30W/70M. Online is lot less than Wii and PS3 gaming tho. I see my aunts play the Wii. Does that count?

6. Any other comments?
I hate it when people say that there are no girls on the internet =3

Verene · Dec 07, 2010, 09:12 PM // 21:12

1. Are you male or female?

Female

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?

Currently all of my characters are female, though I've made one or two males in the past. No real reason why I made a couple guy characters, I just felt like it and wanted to see how they'd look.

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?

Many, but I wouldn't say most. My experience is that guys are more likely to play a character of the opposite gender than women are, but obviously this is not absolute. There's a variety of reasons - they like the design of the opposite gender's armor, think they look better in general, just want some eyecandy to look at while playing, and so on. It doesn't bother me.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?

Depends on where you go online. I never hide the fact that I'm a woman, but I've had instances here on GWG where I've been referred to as a guy. I've had idiots in-game try to hit on me and try to tell me I should leave my boyfriend. There seems to be a lot of sexism and misogyny present in gaming circles online. No, this is nowhere near being fair. Overall things are not quite that bad but there's still a lot of sexism inherent almost anywhere you go, but this is mostly thanks to societal influences.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?

Online, overall I'd say it's about equally split, though different sites will obviously have very different demographics. Online PC gaming I can't say much about, because I don't really play PC games online much outside of GW, and it also depends on if you include stuff like facebook games; if you do, then I'd say it's pretty equal. Online console gaming is more male dominated, but it's not as completely male dominated as people think. I'd say it's a 70/30 split at most, but that's also dependent on what game you're playing. For example, I won't identify myself as a woman if I'm playing CoD, and won't use my headset unless I'm only playing with friends. Whereas with something like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, I don't think I'll face the same problems that I would. Different audiences.

6. Any other comments?

I think that it's about time that more developers remember that women exist and that the stereotype that women do not play games is blatantly false and as been for a very long time (studies show that numbers are equal between men and women in regards to playing games). Marketing still focuses solely on the 18-35 male set, though, and the only things that are really marketed to women fall into the "casual gaming" side of things; marketing games to women has only really started to happen at all inside the past three-four years, as well. As a female gamer who works in a game shop and wants to work in the game industry on the marketing/advertising side of things, this is very frustrating. Also, guys who comment on there not being any girls around should maybe think about how they and other guys they know behave. Acting like every woman that happens to join a match you're playing or log into a game you're in wants to be hit on by you, or hear things like "tits or GTFO", is not exactly welcoming behavior, and is a large part of why you don't see more women gaming online. We deal with enough of that crap in real life, it's not something that we want to see when we try to relax an have fun playing video games.

kazi_saki · Dec 09, 2010, 04:27 AM // 04:27

1. Are you male or female?
MALE

2. Do you play male characters, female characters, or both? If you play characters from the opposite gender, why?
Mostly female. Depends on the profession because some have better looking females (ritualists) while others look/feel better male (dervish imo). Also, I used to play female chars alot in Ragnarok because alot of people seem to give me money and items lol. What a bunch of suckers hahaha!

3. How many female characters that you see do you think are actually being played by males? Why do you think men do this? Does it bother you?
Most of the time, I just assume that they are all male cuz its all the same to me anyways. Its not gender, but your behavior in-game that counts. And I don't see why I should care whether he's a dude/chick. Not my business.

4. Elsewhere on the Internet (forums, chat rooms, etc), how do you believe women are generally viewed? Do you believe this is "fair" or "just"?
Most males tend to take the stereotypical chauvinist attitude to women online, mostly for the lulz. But honestly, some guys can be real dicks when self-professed women are on the forums or whatnot.

5. How much of a margin, if any, do you believe that men have over women when it comes to Internet usage? Online PC gaming? Online console gaming?
I would say males dominate the very competitive, online games while women dominate those cutesy facebook games.

6. Any other comments?
Don't forget to show us your compiled results! It would be really interesting to read! Good luck!!!

Awesomez · Dec 12, 2010, 09:35 PM // 21:35

1. Male

2. Male chars mostly, except the Ele 'cuz he'd be plain gay.

3. I think 75% is men, i think they do it because they lack female unfluence in their lives, but it doesn't bother me at all.

4. I think some people don't believe there are girls on the internet, i myself don't do that. I don't think it's fair towards the wimmin.

5. Loads, haha.

6. I myself still have hope for women on the interwebz.

I'm pretty laidback and don't judge people online.

Schmerdro · Dec 15, 2010, 02:20 AM // 02:20

1. Male.

2. I play both male and female characters. I decide which one to pick based on which looks cooler to me. For the following professions, I chose this gender:
Warrior -> male. Female Warriors look far too tiny and skinny, they look too unrealistic to be a "Warrior".
Ranger -> male. I didn't like the female armor and their body type was a bit too tiny and skinny to be a "Ranger".
Mesmer -> male. Female Mesmer armor looks too unrealistic to be comfortably worn in combat; the male armor looks a bit more serious by comparison.
Elementalist -> male. Female Elementalist armor looks too much like slut-wear, I couldn't take it seriously; the male armor (especially Obsidian) looks bad-ass.
Monk -> male and female. Originally I thought the males looked better, but then I made a female Monk too.
Necromancer -> female. The male Necromancers have a posture that I found to be very weird and unattractive.
Assassin -> female. I think I just thought a female would be more suitable as an "Assassin" than a male, because she would presumably have greater flexibility. I don't know, there is something about the male Assassins that I don't like.
Ritualist -> female. Male Ritualists wear skirts and I don't like that.
Paragon -> female. Again, not a fan of skirts for males.
Dervish -> female. Even though male Dervishes have a long skirt, it's still a skirt and I don't like it XD

3. I know that most of the players in GW are male so, when I see a female character, I generally assume that he's male. I think men play female characters because they like the way the female characters look. And, no, I don't care when or why males play females characters.

4. It really depends on the respective community. I've been in some where women are treated like a normal human being, but I've seen others where women are treated in a less-than-respectful manner.

5. I have no idea and I don't really care, but I'm guessing that men are still the majority in each of those areas.

Zebideedee · Dec 24, 2010, 04:24 AM // 04:24

I play female, the male toons a lil too butch for me!

Ps. I'm a cat