The Male Gaze on Virtual Drag
As promised, I took a closer look at Chris Dahlen’s article, I Enjoy Playing a Girl. The article reads as the baffled male gaze trying to figure out females as the other and the appeal of being one.
I tell people I have two characters in World of Warcraft, a (macho) undead Warlock and a (pretty, but no-nonsense) female human Paladin.
Interesting language choice. He qualifies that his female character possesses the appropriate feminine traits, without any of that silly girly nonsense. Dahlen uses the male default; we’re to assume the warlock is male because he is macho and there is no specification otherwise.
I’m not saying I’m especially gifted at thinking or acting like a woman. Here’s how I impersonate a girl in Warcraft: I chat more legibly, but capitalize less often. I don’t say things like, “Oh duude, I was pwned - that suxored.” And one time, I spent a whole night of my gaming time looking around for the right shirt to match my hair. But that’s about it.If that’s what Dahlen thinks acting like a woman, he’s right, he doesn’t quite have it. Fashion coordination isn’t an innately female trait, obviously.
When I roleplay as a guy, I start with the way I see myself and project that into a 60-foot-tall caricature - and it never comes out the way I want. I keep asking myself: Am I the noble hero? A backstabbing thief? An insecure wisecracker? Do I want to be an alpha male, and if not, does that make me a wimp? Some people roleplay to learn about themselves, but personally, I want to take a break from myself - and playing a girl puts me in far more neutral territory.
I doubt this was Dahlen’s intent, but this passage points out how men are expected by patriarchal culture to be confining masculine ideals. It’s interesting that Dahlen plays a woman to escape expectations–at least while in game (why game if we can’t indulge in escapist fantasies)–but doesn’t notice the narrow behavior categories women are expected to fill both in game and in real life.
We often talk about guys who imitate girls as if they have a fetish, or they’re giving up status to explore this new identity. But the truth is, girls are cooler. In fact, much like nerdy suburbanites who wish they were urban gangstas, some of us think girls are way cooler - and for reasons I can’t put my finger on, it’s awesome to watch them kick ass.
I actually prefer the former discussions for gender-bending. Thinking of girls as cool is looking at females from the classic male gaze. Women are interesting to study, and sometimes, if you’re feeling playful, even be for a little while before returning to the position of power.
Geek guys don’t look up to the high school quarterbacks that smacked us in the locker room; we’re more impressed by the complicated but confident geek girls, who actually talked to us in the library and always seemed more sure of themselves than the rest of school, no matter who teased them. And now they can slay giants. Who wouldn’t want to be one of them?
I was that confident geeky girl in junior high and high school, and did win myself admirers for cracking all All Your Base jokes in programming class or playing Magic the Gathering at lunch. But I don’t think my companions wanted to be me as much as be with me. It was a dangerous attitude; I had more than one suitor who acted like I owed him something–a relationship, a “chance” to force something that was never there–because I was nice to him.
Is the appeal of playing the type of people you find attractive a way to have control over them in a virtual world you can’t secure in real life?
For some, perhaps. I imagine that for many others, it’s an opportunity to try and develop a greater sense of empathy with an admired archetype.
Comment by Corvus (8 comments) — February 2, 2006 @ 4:27 am
You rawk! That guy is the suxxors!
Seriously, I think your analysis says volumes. I once saw a bumper sticker that said, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” This guy could take a hint from that sticker.
Comment by librisia (1) — February 3, 2006 @ 5:41 am
I admire that this guy has the balls to write what he wrote, because gender-related things is a “hot topic” like discussing your views on abortion and religion. Cool that he’s able to go past that and be honest.
Living in this day and age as a male, esp a white male, is a challenge I’m sure!
Valdesta
Comment by Valdesta (2 comments) — February 3, 2006 @ 6:08 am
I once had the acquantanceship of one young man whose character on a sexually themed furry MU* was a female catgirl because, and I paraphrase because I cannot remember his exact wording, he could make his character do all sorts of things and he would get off on imagining it.
Comment by Darth Sidhe (7 comments) — February 4, 2006 @ 9:54 pm
Very nice break-down of the article with great insights. Your closing point makes the most sense of this MMO gender confusion of anything I have read so far. Thanks!
Comment by Guilded Lily (13 comments) — February 7, 2006 @ 1:05 pm
FYI: In most fantasy systems, “Warlock” is the male counterpart to automatically female “Witch,” so saying “male warlock” would be redundant.
Comment by Vacula (1) — February 8, 2006 @ 12:50 pm
Male and female warlocks are called the same name in World of Warcraft.
I’m glad you enjoyed my post, GL.
Comment by Lake Desire (196 comments) — February 8, 2006 @ 3:42 pm
[…] Online gaming magazine The Escapist has an article this week about a boy who likes to play girl characters, in part because they remind him of the hot geek girls who talked to him at school. Interesting, says Andrea from Shrub.com, but actually geek girls aren’t there for you. Shrub.com sidekick Ariel also responds in “The Male Gaze on Virtual Drag” on her other blog, New Game Plus. […]
Pingback by gendergeek.org » The Eighth Carnival of Feminists — February 23, 2006 @ 3:46 pm
[…] You know how some men have a facination with gaming and women? […]
Pingback by New Game Plus » How to Write a “Girls and Games” Article — June 5, 2006 @ 5:43 pm
Why must we get mad at this guy for just wishing to escape in a fantasy world? Because I am feeling cruel, let me point out something. Macho, etymologically, is Spanish for male. If he chose for you to assume he meant male when he said male, then you are wrong for taking offense for not reading the sign. I might also remind you that “pretty” can apply equally to either gender, no matter the background of the word. So to argue word choice when the word of choice makes sense without a double take, then you are nit-picking.
And just so you know, your next attack on him was nice. He said he did not go out of his way to play a girl. Not that all girls dress to match. You have taken his intention and his meaning wrong again.
No, he might not have noticed the problem that face women for narrow profile views. He did, however, recognize that he can see his own profile narrowings and thus finds the not so narrow profile views of the opposite gender. Is it you who is now imposing those narrow profiles? From where I stand, he is liberated from a narrow profile by taking on this new one. You are attacking him for stating he escapes in this manner. But then again, when you inform others of narrow character profiles that you must partake in only clenches that profile further.
On the next part. Are you suggesting he cross the gender line and become a girl through surgery? Nothing short of that would enable him to not “return to the position of power” when it is done. Please do not attack him for a “privilege” he has.
And you know what, I find it abhorrent the idea of a forced relationship. But for the most part, any geek guy I have encountered that tries for a geek girl does not only try for her because she was nice to him once. He does so because something sparked an interest. It is wrong to be angry because someone found you attractive.
I apologize for being so rude to you. However, it is wrong to get angry at a guy that only wishes to be understood.
Comment by Eph (1) — May 14, 2008 @ 7:36 pm