Women in MMOs and Stereotypes

The Guild cast recognizes that women who play MMOs don’t have to be defined by their gender.

There are a lot of preconceived notions of what “gamers” in general look like, and in interactive social gaming environments like MMORPGs, it’s hard not to notice the pattern. One of the more prevalent stereotypes concerning MMO players is that of the unemployed twenty-something man-child living in his parents’ basement. But what about women who play MMOs?

Women who play MMOs are often stereotyped like male players, but in a different way. Generally these stereotypes put the focus on the player’s gender rather than their character or general behavior. Everything is viewed in a gendered lens.

In a two-part article for MMOsite.com, user Colourway presents seven predominant  stereotypes of women in MMOs: One of the Boys, The Mother Figure/The Big Sister, THE Girl, He’s a She?!, Fairy Princess Healer, Femme Fatale, and She’s a He?!. Be sure to read her article, it’s pretty interesting.

As I read the descriptions of each stereotype, I’ll admit, I quickly recognized them and even found myself thinking of certain friends I play TERA with. 

 I also thought of one of my favorite nerd pleasures, The Guild, a web series created, written by, and staring Felicia Day. Of the three female lead characters, the easiest to categorize is Tinkerballa, a Femme Fatale if there ever was one. That’s not to say she never deviates from this role. She has been shown to put her personal desires and greed aside for the greater good…but don’t get used to it! Clara is a bit harder to place. My natural inclination was think she fit the Mother Figure role because so much of her character is built around her poor IRL parenting, but in fact she’s quite the opposite. She takes on traits from several of the stereotypes but is difficult to fit into a single role. Codex is even more difficult to place…that is unless Nervous Wreck counts as a female stereotype. 

So why don’t they fit into the molds? It probably has a lot to do with Day’s personal experiences as a gamer. Women who play MMOs can easily see that these seven stereotypes are not the only kinds of female players that exist. Additionally, gender plays as much of a role in how a player is perceived as they let it be. If a woman tolerates being branded as the token female, that’s how she’s going to be perceived. But if she refuses to wear the “GIRL” title above her head, either by addressing other players’ comments or moving on to a more accepting community, then she will be more likely to be recognized for her individuality rather than her gender.