Since Noblegarden started in WoW, WoW Insider has been getting tips from readers complaining about the sexist nature of the Achievement: Shake your Bunny-Maker. So I posted about it, not really explaining my opinion, instead opting to explain both sides of the controversy. So here is my full opinion on the topic:
I am not at all offended by the achievement. I like the pop culture references in WoW and am enjoying the holiday in general. I also don't mind what some call the inherent sexism in all games. The fact that Night Elves dance like strippers and my Blood Elf Mage is running around in her underwear is funny. To be very, very general here, gamer guys don't tend to be mysogonistic, but they do like the very mild sexist tendencies in their games, TV, movies, etc. They want to see skin, but are perfectly happy to see it on a strong female role model. In fact, they prefer it... in general.
I also don't find Playboy offensive. It's classy "porn" with good writing. And posing in it can be very empowering as well as lucrative for the Playmates. I don't think men look at naked women to objectify them, but because it is in their nature to enjoy the female form.
But putting bunny ears only on level 18 female characters is of course a reference to Playboy and Blizzard risked offending their feminist players when they enabled the achievement. I don't like controversies in my games, so that is why I wish they hadn't put that particular level requirement and made it equal opportunity gender.
Making the world a better place for my daughter would not involve removing Playboy or porn in general. I would like to see nudity on primetime television and a reduction in violence. More boobies, less blood! I grew up in Germany and saw full frontal nudity in advertisments and on Sesame Street and am not traumatized. I want my daughter to have a healthy view of her body and nudity in general and hiding "sexist" references is not going to accomplish that.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go Shake My Bunny-Maker before the event ends.
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25 comments:
Wow. Nice read. I agree, and thought the reference was fun. I think they should have made the event not gender dependent, but I found it fun that they made a level requirement, even if if were not 18. The level requirement added to the challenge and made people hunt down, the hard to find females "dwarf" and "orc". Without the level requirement many people would just have a couple of friends just roll new characters and log in to give each other the achievement.
I'll post a comment here away from the 12-year-old WoW insider trolls and basement virgins, if you don't mind.
In my opinion, the achievement is actually a pretty objectively wrong thing. The game is rated T(een), and as such shouldn't contain or make reference to obscene content. And this clearly does.
Whether it bothers me or not is a different matter. I'll admit to laughing when I realized what the achievement was referencing, then prompting rescinded when I realized I was turning characters into sex bunnies when their end users may be children or other men. I don't think taking out is that necessary froma personal perspective (despite the trouble I'm having in-game trying to find female Tauren)...mostly because the people in this game make up for plenty of smut and idiocy.
My...that was rather mean of me. *slaps wrist*
Thanks Ruben :) I agree about the level requirement. Anything other than 18 would have made this a non issue.
It's quite entertaining as to how no matter what you end up doing, one person will get offended by it.
Consider the youth as it is now, underaged children already feeling ready to, or on the contrary swear far worse than any teen I met.
When thinking back to when I was 12, 13 - I surely did far worse things than what ESRB or similar institutions tried to protect me about.
It's quite shallow to have an 'we need to protect our children from any possible sexual referance or violence' - while at the same time they probably did worse than you would've thought of by then. Who cares if you can't look at pornographic content at home, if some random friend can and - can invite you over.
Now, back to the main point. Getting offended by something so unimportant is quite odd. Screaming about sexism and playboy references -
I'd just like to mention there used to be a magazine named 'Playgirl'too.
I'm 24 now, and looking back - when I was on that Noblegarden event, till the moment I read those comments about it, I didn't even think about any playboy reference.
Level 18? To prevent newly made chars
Bunny Ears? It's an Easter Event.
Female Only? A reference to Ostara, the Easter Goddess.
Bottom Line.
If you're getting offended by something just so unimportant in a game, due the fact you want to protect your children, or fight for feminism and similar - Just try to remember that children won't notice any references, and if they will - you can be ensured that they've experienced enough to make those bunny-eared-female characters seem quite boring.
Sexism, that word always makes me giggle. It reminds me of a friend, who happens to have long hair, styled up nails, sometimes wearing makeup. Now on to work as an accountant, you won't believe how many women hiss at his appearance, claiming it isn't proper for his gender, yet on the other side scream for equality.
- It's just a game -
think this youre the first person ive heard of who first accuses something of being sexist, and then want to remove the age restriction
Okay, Andreas, perhaps there is a language barrier here. You may want to try to understand the whole post before commenting if you don't want to look like a troll.
Dragis, while I can respect your opinion that with a particular rating, Blizzard should be doing its best to keep things within that realm, but the real crux is the big hairy question: "What is obscene, and is just referencing it enough to make the reference obscene as well?"
This is why there is so much controversy... there is a very wide opinion on what is obscene, and even if just talking about it is also obscene.
I think I personally share most of the same opinion as Robin here, although taking the reference as far as they did does make it a bit tasteless. Although I'd rather not try to force Blizzard to change it simply because it generates controversy or is a bit tasteless. Censorship through peer pressure is still censorship, and I'd rather let both sides air their opinions than go down the slippery slope of removing voices that offend some. It makes it hard for us to change our way of thinking, and progress as a society if you aren't allowed to rock the status quo once and awhile. These sort of controversies are what trigger us to think about and evaluate what our opinion on the matter really is, and censoring them every time they crop up is just gonna cause us as a society to stagnate after we've become a "perfect" politically correct society.
Dragis, this isn't wholly meant to be a response to your post, but rather a comment in general.
Robin:
Thanks for linking my article! I'm well aware the language is pretty powerful, but as I explain in the comments below, when you're talking about a group that historically has had its voice repressed, you have to raise yours a little louder.
As an aside, by the way, I'm male. :)
-Sutro
Great article. But it leaves me wondering one thing...there's nudity on Sesame Street in Germany? Wha...?
Agreed. The gendered nature of this achievement was... distasteful.
I got the "Kiss the Bride" (or whatever it was called) achievement by kissing a male toon who'd managed to find the dress from an egg. Did I mind? Not at all!
I do wish that Blizzard had recognized that even male toons can shake their bunny makers quite well. This shouldn't be restricted to female toons.
@Munky:
Nudity in most of Europe is seen as no big deal. Utterly passé, in fact. Oh boy, it's someone's body without clothes! The taboo just isn't there like it is here in the States (and I tend to think they have a much healthier attitude toward such things as a result).
As for the achievement, blah. I'm with the majority on WoW Insider that say it's all in good fun. Intention has as much to do with something being sexist as the act itself does, and I really don't think the devs thought, "Hey, let's piss off 30% of our paying customers!"
Sutro,
Well, there I go making gender assumptions! LOL
Seriously though, even with the flames still burning on the WoW Insider post, it is good to have these kinds of discussions. One should never be afraid to analyze and try to grasp all sides of an issue -- no matter how volatile.
Terrific post! My issue with the achievement is that I'm forced to do it on others. Using your examples, the Playmates who find posing to be lucrative are doing it out of their own choice. They had to have come to terms with their own bodies before being able to show it for the world to see, which is a personal choice.
I also agree that men enjoy oogling women (rightly so, women are saints for considering our bodies attractive) and that Playboy isn't outright smut. However, I would never assume to override the views of others just for my enjoyment. The people who -are- offended by this reference can choose to not read Playboy or participate in any other pornographic references. That's their prerogative. By forcing this on them, it does take away their opinions and I for one feel wrong for doing it.
This achievement would have been far different if people got credit for wearing the bunny ears on their own characters.
It's also a double standard: if there was a legitimate reason for Blizzard to make references to male strippers, it would never see the light of day. Not that I'm saying it's a good thing to objectify both men and women, mind you.
The Violet Proto-Drake is turning out to cost a far harsher price than I had intended to pay. After the random luck-based debacle that was the last festival, this one is forcing me to put others into uncomfortable situations.
Male gamer here, 17 years old.
I would just like to say that this blog post is, perhaps, one of the most intelligent and rational things I have ever had the pleasure of reading. At the risk of sounding sexist (oh noes!), I have met only a handful of women who possess the requisite intelligence and (and this is an important 'and') rational character to agree with your reasoning. Now, this may be the result of the fact that I attend a small, private liberal arts college that is filled with mindless feminists who chant the same mantras of self-victimization all the live-long day. However, I still feel a need to express my appreciation of your even-minded approach to what is certainly a delicate issue to some people. Your reasonable perspective is truly a boon to WoWInsider and the blogosphere in general. Thank you for making my day and not attempting to imply that male gamers are 'sexist.'
TL;DR: <3 you.
I didn't originally think of this as sexist or controversial, but I got the Playboy Bunny reference. Realizing that it targeted only females was a little "harrumph!"
I found it very odd that someone who has grown accustomed to the bare-midriff custom of armor on women (not to mention the exaggerated build of both male and female avatars) is offended by the bunny ears. Personally, I am ho-hum on the bunny ears, but perennially annoyed by armor that doesn't cover vital areas.
At the risk of sounding sexist (oh noes!), I have met only a handful of women who possess the requisite intelligence and (and this is an important 'and') rational character to agree with your reasoningThat doesn't *sound* sexist. It *is* sexist.
Let me break this down for you.
Firstly, you're saying - boldly and directly - that most women are too stupid to understand reasoned argument. That is flat out sexism, bordering on misogyny.
Secondly, you're assuming that any woman who is offended by arguably sexist content in a video game is stupid, or doesn't "get it" or is irrational. That too is flat out sexism, combined with a a deeply arrogant attitude that dismisses the opinions of people who disagree with you.
Robin wasn't offended by the Noblegarden achievements. That's great, that's her prerogative. Suggesting that her agreeing with *your* opinion makes her *smarter* than all the people who don't is offensive on multiple levels.
To be very, very general here, gamer guys don't tend to be mysogonistic, but they do like the very mild sexist tendencies in their games, TV, movies, etc.I get what you're saying here, but I wonder a little bit if this isn't a contradiction.
Like the Spinal Tap character you reference on Wowinsider, I wonder if you aren't confusing "sexist" with "sexy". I'm a guy, and I like boobies as much as the next man, but it's possible to have boobies in a non-sexist context.
My Draenai bank alt is currently wearing the Noblegarden dress. This makes her look very pretty, and that's fine because it's a dress, it's a garment designed for looking pretty in.
My Belf Paladin is currently quite sensibly dressed, but spent a lot of time running around in a plate mail crop-top that flashed her boobs. This *is* a problem, because it sends the message that a character who is *supposed* to be a noble warrior of Silvermoon is actually just a sex object.
tl;dr : Boobs themselves are "sexy", but when female characters (even MMO characters) are nothing more than a vehicle for their boobs, it becomes "sexist".
First things first Robin is right that its abit questionable. While it was abit of a gamble I'm sure there was plenty of female opinions that got voiced in the company before they (Blizzard) decided to implement the new achievement in the Noble Garden event. Could they have done without the female and level 18 restrictions?... sure. But in a game where there's pop culture references abound, this one was a shoo-in... suffice it to say I wasn't too surprised to see it surface in the game. If you're trying to champion the cause of feminism I can think of at least 50 other more obvious issues to contest, this in comparison takes a back seat.
I'd like to take it a step further and point out that the term 'sexist' is to have a strong prejudice against a particular gender on the basis that they're inferior in some way. Playboy has never advocated that women were inferior in anyway and never will. Some will argue that its Playboy that perpetuates the stigma that women are sex objects and that's part of a on going effort to undermine the value of the female gender. Ok, look, its as simple as this, men like to look at boobies, that's it, game over. Granted there are some men who do feel that females are sex objects but that's just because they're stupid in general and that Playboy isn't the cause of their lacking in the mentality department. Conversely I'd like to point out how many times I've heard "He's got a cute butt..." in muffled whispers... it goes both ways. I just tend to think that women are more secretive about such opinions as it carries a certain penalty dictated by society where its acceptable for men to be open in terms of sex and women are not expected to be. So in the end is Playboy really sexist and advocating something sinister while Blizzard agrees with such an undermining opinion of women? I highly doubt that.
Btw, can something be truely sexist when not all persons of the same gender agree that its damaging to them?
First off, sorry Robin for yet another comment.
@ James
I get where you're coming from, but there's some specific things you're saying that I think need to be addressed.
* 50 More Serious Issues: Feminism doesn't exist in a box. People who play WoW will have opinions about WoW. That's why sites like WoWinsider exist. Some of those WoW players will be women, and some of them will be feminists. Feminists, by and large, don't like sexism. Not even mild sexism. They tend to call people on it when they see it, because otherwise it doesn't get fixed.
* Sexism Means Saying Women Are Inferior: That might be a strict dictionary definition, but there are plenty of ways to be sexist (or racist, or homophobic) without carrying the explicit accusation of inferiority. Racial segregation in America, for example, was run under the doctrine of being "separate but equal".
* Men Like to Look At Boobies: Yup, we do. I'm a man and I love me some boobs. Nobody is saying that it is wrong to like to look at boobs. What *is* wrong is treating boobs as existing *solely so you can look at them*. To put it another way, boobs come attached to women, women who are real people with lives, jobs, families, dreams and ambitions. A woman's breasts are part of her body first and foremost and the second you forget that, you're treating women as sex objects.
* Can Something Be Truly Sexist if Not All Persons of the Same Gender Agree That It Is Damaging: Unequivocally, yes. There were women who objected to women's suffrage, there were black people who opposed the civil rights movement.
I've got a longer post about this at my own blog here if you're interested: http://ideathtard.blogspot.com/
I think that this achievement, by making it females of at least 18th level, made it more fun and challenging.
Do you know how long I rode through Dalaran trying to find a female Orc? I passed 20 male Orcs on my way, I can tell you that. Trying to get races that have a low female character population was interesting. I learned that there aren't that many female gnomes compared to males, and that there are actually fewer Blood Elf females than I thought. (Half of them turned out to be male.)
I also enjoy the reference. Because honestly, when I look at nude magazines, I don't feel like I'm doing it just to objectify the person there. She CHOSE to do it and you know what? I wish I had a body like that. She's making good money, as well. If porn was really all that terrible for women to be in, I think fewer girls would do it.
It was all in good fun, and people need to lighten up. If we freak out (in the states) every time anyone shows their body, it's going to make us more and more ashamed. I think feminists should embrace things that promote the body, personally. Isn't that what they tried to do 40 years ago? The body is a beautiful thing and part of being alive.
Also, the various items to make a character look like a playboy bunny were great for one of my characters. It was hilarious because she's married to a pimp. ;)
@ Temitope
50 More Serious Issues: What I'm trying to point out is the process of prioritizing. Some problems are more severe than others. If you try to tackle every problem all at once you spread yourself thin and accomplish nothing. In other words focusing so much time and energy on a pair of bunny ears (that's easily removed mind you - just right click off the buff) versus helping to ensure women get equal pay as men for the same jobs is time and energy poorly spent.
Sexism/Prejudice: The example of "Seperate but Equal" still adheres to the definition as I stated because even though the title sounded "fair", it wasn't. African Americans were often finding themselves being discriminated against on a variety of levels including but not limited to where they sat on a bus and what kind of drinking fountain they had to drink from. It wasn't equal and in a subtle (or not so subtle) way it was implied that they were still inferior. So that argument doesn't hold water, pun intended. The very act of doing something that would subject a person to a lesser quality of life based on race, color, creed or whatever is still a form of prejudice. It doesn't have to be explicit. MLK recognized what I'm talking about now and that's why he started the movement.
Boobies: I'm not quite sure what you're getting at by rephrasing/restating what I had already. By nature men are attracted to the female form (usually anyways). Some men through their stupid nature or being taught in such a way only look at breasts as something ogle over and don't see the bigger picture... that they're attached to someone with a heart, brain and emotions. Unfortunately some people/men/women/things are just naturally stupid/ignorant and there's not really any amount of time, effort or coercion that's going to change that. You can make a fuss over a reference due to a pair of removable bunny ears but in reality there's just better causes to spend time and money on that really do have a profound impact on the quality of life for women... IE: getting the same salary as men for the same positions, get this solved and then you'll have more money and time to throw at stupid stuff like virtual removable bunny ears... then again with all that extra money you might not even care... =P
Sexism Validity: I'm inclined to side with you on that one as of the sheer fact that some are just ignorant of how certain things could effect them and because of said ignorance don't see the problem as being a problem. I digress however, the problem of salary is clearly an issue of sexism. Playboy, however, I have to argue, being that the main contention most have with Playboy is that its sales are derived from the fact that it displays nude females that are considered by some (*not all*) to be attractive. And that is considered to be sexism. The problem with that accusation, as like author of the article mentioned, is that its often empowering and a very lucrative opportunity to those women who take it. You'll be hard pressed to find former playmates who will say that clearly its affected their ability to live a high quality of life in a negative way. So then we recognize that it only effects certain groups within the gender. That's like me getting pissed that Playgirl because it promotes the stigma that men are only about big muscles and ahem, other things, lol. But I'm not going to, you know why? Because some women without even knowing Playgirl exists will still like guys with big muscles and what not, and there's just not much I can do about that. So I just build up what I can (my brain) and keep what god gave me in good condition. Fact of the matter is that not everyone is going to get what they want. That's the way some people are, we're human, we're flawed, news flash.
@ James
I've got a longer discussion of this back at my own weblog (click my user name, or try here: www.ideathtard.blogspot.com). We might want to take this conversation over there to avoid spamming Robin's blog.
On your other points.
Bunny Ears vs Equal Pay: Do you know why women get paid less than men? It's because people don't pay attention to women, because people consider the contributions made by women to be of less value than the contributions made by men. One thing that contributes to this attitude is people saying "there are fifty more important things you could be complaining about" every time a woman tries to object to something.
Segregation: Women have an objectively poorer quality of life than men. Seriously. They have less power, less freedom and fewer choices. It's a real issue.
Boobs versus Brains: You're still not getting it. You, like a great many people, are assuming that sexism is a problem that comes from other people. It isn't, it's a problem that comes from you and me. You want to stare at a nice pair of tits, go ahead, but don't pretend that when you do you're any different from the men who "through their stupid nature or being taught in such a way only look at breasts as something ogle over". If you're ogling breasts, you're viewing breasts as something to ogle over. Period.
Playboy: This. Is. Not. About. Playboy. This is about reinforcing the universally held notion that women exist only for the sexual gratification of men. And before you say "I don't think that" - you do. Seriously. It's an assumption that is so totally ingrained in our culture that we accept it without questioning.
If an individual woman wants to pose naked in playboy, that's great. That's her choice. No feminist would disagree with that. What feminists object to is the idea that *all women* should want to be playboy centerfolds. That's why people objected to SYBM. It wasn't the bunny ears, it was the fact that any female character in the game was marked as a valid target to be (to cite another poster here) "turned into a sex bunny" purely because they were female.
That is wrong, sexist, and degrading and if you don't see that it's because you believe the thing you're still telling yourself you don't believe.
Yes, it's just a computer game. And it's just TV. And it's just high school. And it's just college. And it's just at work. A bunch of little "justs" make up a person's whole life. And that's why some women were angry, and why they were right to be angry.
I enjoyed this event... minus all the egg campers. As a female, mother, aunt, sister, etc... i didn't even catch the playboy reference until i read all the blogs and postings about it. ugh. really do we all have to be so sensitive about a game?? I appreciate the view of the author and i am glad that the nature of the achievement didnt keep her from pursuing the title. personally, i think i put as many ears on males as i did females... i just didnt want anyone feeling left out. when i put the ears on a female tauren, she thanked me and blew me a kiss... didnt seem at all like she felt objectified.
and i know the post is not about armor, but it has come up several times in the comments... if you dont like your midsection hanging out of your armor... do a daily & invest in a shirt. I personally like the pink or purple mageweave ones.
Ironically, those advocating pornography in whatever form (Playboy included) as not affecting them clearly missed the point. The very fact that you're desensitized to this indicates how much it has affected you.
Daniel, this link's for you.
Just because someone's desensitized to the sight of a nude body doesn't mean it came from porn.
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