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Gender Wars

Name

Course

Date
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Introduction

The society tends to fight and up hold identity like life depends on it. People want to fight

and instill the norms of culture, gender, race, social class and even sex like it is the foundation of

life. Andrea Braithwaite therefore highlights the resilience, concepts and the means in which

people fight to maintain their positions on top of other people through identity. There is an

underlying bitterness that separates humans and in this context gender imbalance is the main

attribute.

Gender warfare

Andrea Braithwaite brings out an apparent misunderstanding that is triggered by

unexpressed fear and want for superiority in gender. Male and female game players find an

avenue and course to express their fears, concerns, wants and misgivings on their need for

gender interactions. The gaming world through two characters representing two genders trigger

verbal war on gaming media that tends to bring out the stalemate representing the difference in

gender and the different expectations each gender group represents.1

The expansion of a game to the next level is where the gender debate started and spread

wildly p to the gaming platform. The game stage named as Mists of Pandaria revealed the

underlying note that the gender representation in the game had failed to correct at the

programming stage. It was not an issue until one game player on the feedback program flagged

and magnified the gender difference in the verbal communication between the character Ji

Firepaw who is a male and a female character in the game.

1
Lorber, Judith. Gender inequality: Feminist theories and politics. New York, NY: Oxford University
Press, 2010.
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The conversation in the game was the main trigger of the knowledge and rift that

occurred between the male and female gender and the game lovers in general. It was

programmed that J Firepaw has to converse with characters in the game as a means of recruiting

them to his crusade. Therefore he was given a code of language in which he was supposed to

address the male and the female counterparts in the game, this way it was stipulated that he

speaks some languages which were addressed according to the gender.2

Ji Firepaw is supposed to recruit both male and female characters, therefore he has to

address them. To the male characters the following conversation is initiated:

“Hello, friend! You’ve got a strong look to you! I bet you’re all the rage with the ladies!

Join me! You and I are going to be good friends.”

A female character is addressed in the following way:

“Hello, friend! You’re some kind of gorgeous, aren’t you? I bet you can’t keep the men

off you! Join me! You and I are going to be good friends.”3

The conversations above triggered a red flag for the one of the feedback representatives.

Aislinana was unhappy with the way the two genders were portrayed and therefore she raised the

alarm to it.

The context in this setting is role playing. It means that the way the genders are depicted

is a true representation and therefore Aislinana is justified to feel offended for what is presented.

The games theme is to show how the Pandaren community conceives the strength and poise

characteristics in that they are neutral in gender. This means that in the case in which they have

2
Braithwate, A. ""'Seriously, get out': Feminists on the Forums and the War(craft) on Women"." New
media & Society 16 (2014): 703 - 718.
3
ibid
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to be shown then it will be on a neutral ground. The essence of imbalance is what triggered

Aislinana’s negative reaction to Ji Firepaw’s language.

Aislinana claims that Ji Firepaws comments are aggressively insulting in that they tend to

demean the female gender. The highlight is on the content of the statement which tends to

propose that the females are perceived to be beautiful people. Beauty is associated with fragility

and less agility in the physical. It means that the female therefore has to be protected and since

they are vulnerable. The theme of the game is therefore contradicted. This also derails the

progress made in fighting for gender equality.4

The war rages on where male posters claim that the issue raised by Aislinana is a petty

one and tends to distract the good in the game. One poster lashes out that the reason for being

upset due to the language in the game is absurd and petty. This tends to belittle the complaint

idea as well as the main complainers who are the females. It is apparent that the subject of

discussion is an enjoyable one and that the male counterparts want to remain on the top side of

the scale of gender parity.

The hidden good is highlighted in another poster’s comment who seems to enjoy the

debate as well as fuss over the opportunity to dominate in the sense of male counterparts to

female being on top of the said gender balance. His comment:

“Oh, please. This entire thread is garbage. Your opinions on sexism in this game are

invalidated, doll.5

Flirting has been in this game since launch and it has been several magnitudes worse than

4
Dollar, David, and Roberta Gatti. Gender inequality, income, and growth: are good times good for
women?. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Development Research Group, The World Bank, 1999
5
ibid
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a silly ill-perceived compliment about looks, baby. Grow up. This is a game played by a large

range of ages, classes, races, and sexes, sweetheart. Comments about looks, sex, foreplay,

prostitution, promiscuous sex, groping, stripping, and flirting are already in game, sugar.”6

It shows how females are perceived, even though he might be complaining about the

structural change of the game. Which means that the theme of sex has been limited, he also goes

ahead to trash the women in the society. Telling the women to grow up and stop complaining

about sexism, which in the first place is a source of their discrimination is a scathing combat to

the women.

There are efforts to thwart the efforts of the critics. This is because they are branded

nosey and therefore are harmless to the course of fighting the imbalance. One poster claims that

the complainant should put on her big girl panties and overlook the whole issue. The statement

shows that the ideas raised in this issue are irrelevant and since it is a girl who has done it, they

should grow into women and go with the flow of life.7

It is evident that the females in this context have been discriminated. There is one poster

who claims that the females are being fed on politically correct sentiments, which tends to give

them power. The following statement shows the standpoint of the poster (Covun) who tries to

educate the affected party as well as the company making the game. He says: “Change it back.

It’s more than a little irritating the way businesses, like yourself, keep bending

to thin-skinned politically correct BS. You’re just giving them more power. You’re feeding what

are essentially trolls.”8

6
Braithwate, A. ""'Seriously, get out': Feminists on the Forums and the War(craft) on Women"." New
media & Society 16 (2014): 703 - 718.
7
Glick, Peter, and Susan T. Fiske. "An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as
complementary justifications for gender inequality." American Psychologist 56, no. 2 (2001): 109.
8
ibid
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The comment means that women are elevated to higher points deliberately so that they

can match men. They are given free power and guided to have and use it. The whole point is to

ensure that the female gender which in this context is considered to be less than the male

counterparts is equaled to the males. The concept is that female gender is weak and has to be

helped in order to reach milestones, which the male have accomplished. This is a severe case of

inequality.9

The male gender also tries to fight for its rights by explaining that they have a right to

gaming. That the women have taken all other rights from them and it is time they were given the

rights to game and all their rights packaged in the games. “Why a man complain about the only

standing ground has in this world. The only thing men have that’s equal is gaming nowadays.

We lose our house, kids, money and even our places to hang out to women all the time. We are

expected to ‘act like a man’ when a single woman has not a single expectation in society but

being ‘princess.’

There are varied means in which the author addresses the question and the whole idea of

gender parity. There are complaints from different parts of the argument where most of the

critics come from the male counterparts. The author tries to explain the concerns of the two

parties where all of them want to be heard. The use of metaphors is on a high rate where

representation of the different genders is hidden. The idea of fighting for gender rights is noted

as political since the two parties are termed to be standing on two different platforms politically.

9
Karmali, Luke. "Mists of Pandaria Pushes Warcraft Subs Over 10 Million." (2013).
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Bibliography

Braithwate, A. ""'Seriously, get out': Feminists on the Forums and the War(craft) on Women"."

New media & Society 16 (2014): 703 - 718.

Dollar, David, and Roberta Gatti. Gender inequality, income, and growth: are good times good

for women?. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Development Research Group, The World Bank,

1999.

Glick, Peter, and Susan T. Fiske. "An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as

complementary justifications for gender inequality." American Psychologist 56, no. 2

(2001): 109.

Karmali, Luke. "Mists of Pandaria Pushes Warcraft Subs Over 10 Million." (2013).

Lorber, Judith. Gender inequality: Feminist theories and politics. New York, NY: Oxford

University Press, 2010.