With Blizzard’s recent Real-ID debacle the subject of female gamers has once again been brought up. The Real-ID system would make any post on the official World of Warcraft forum appear under the person’s real first name and last. According to Blizzard “the official forums have always been a great place to discuss the latest info on our games, offer ideas and suggestions, and share experiences with other players — however, the forums have also earned a reputation as a place where flame wars, trolling, and other unpleasantness run wild. Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before. With this change, you’ll see blue posters (i.e. Blizzard employees) posting by their real first and last names on our forums as well.” When this was announced one of the main defenses against using the real-id system on the official World of Warcraft forums was that gamers, especially females gamers, were worried about what that could mean for them having their real names publicly displayed. While I like the idea of making the internet a better place by taking away someone’s anonymity and making them somewhat accountable and able to be called out for their actions, I don’t like the argument of females being worried about being ousted as females or the fact that they are concerned about their image or employment.
In a blog post at Azeroth.Metblogs Lee Olesky wrote about her fears concerning Real-Id (http://azeroth.metblogs.com/2010/07/07/more-real-id-a-female-perspective/). “The raging feminist in me is downright pissed. Teetering on the verge of tears every time I think about someone I know getting stalked by some creeper from WoW, or anywhere for that matter. Affixing your full name to forum posts opens the door up for search engines (not just Google mind you) to find bits of information about you. Is it important that you protect what you do for from your employers or clients? Because the negative perception surrounding games like World of Warcraft are still prevalent in society, even today, after all of these years? Looking for a better job and wanting to make sure that you’re marketable? Well, avoid the WoW forums. In a few short months, everything you post, any Blizzard game you play, will be linked to your name. A simple Google search might yield results and cost you that promotion. Let’s face it, not everyone who plays WoW works in the technology industry where all of your coworkers play video games, own an Xbox and remember playing on the 8-bit Nintendo system when they were 8 years old. Some of us have appearances to keep. Real ID opens the doors for all 11 million people within the userbase of World of Warcraft to be found with a simple Google search. 11 million people is a helluva lot of people. That is a lot of potential rapes, sexual assaults, stalkings and death. It isn’t funny anymore Blizzard. It’s ridiculous”.
Wow…I just do not know how to respond to this. Does every female who puts their real name online feel that they are just a Google search away from being stalked, raped, or killed? Do employers actually Google potential employees and not hire them because they have a high Xbox gamerscore? If that is the case please let me know in the comments, but I find that a bit farfetched. I can’t imagine this is the actual issue here with Real-ID. Look how many people, women and men, who have their real names on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter with a lot more information about them than just their real name on a forum. It’s a lot more than 11 million I am sure, and you are not constantly reading about issues with people assaulting or doing worse to people they meet on those social networking sites. Yes, it does happen in some cases but it’s not as prevalent as Lee Olesky makes it sound like it will be. Unless I am completely out of the loop on standard stalker/serial killer procedures I don’t really know how someone could steal your identity or find you in real life by just knowing your name. For them to do that I imagine you would also have to give them a state or city or even country where you live to narrow down the search. So if you don’t know the person, don’t give that info out.
The real truth, in my view, behind this Real-ID situation is based off one aspect us gamers seem to have a problem admitting. We are afraid that people will find out we play video games. Why are we afraid of being made fun of or getting discriminated for playing games? I’m sure every gamer male or female is a little uneasy about telling someone they don’t really know that they play video games, let alone one as time consuming as WOW. We need to not be afraid of the stereotype that all gamers are 7 year old boys, because that is not the case. A study done in 2007 found that 63% of the US population plays games (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2007/12/report-63-percent-of-us-population-now-plays-video-games.ars). Why are we still afraid to say “I play games”? Even I still have this problem some times. I run a website, Geekopinions.com, and one of the subjects we discuss is video games, and I even sometimes hesitate when talking to a girl or a even a guy when I am not sure what their opinions are on games. I imagine it is especially even more difficult for female gamers because certain areas of the population still view gaming as a boys club. In a lot of ways it is, but the female audience that plays games is growing very fast. According to a study conducted by the Entertainment Software Association in 2009, 40% of the game playing population is female and the percentage of women now playing online has risen to 43%. If we all admitted we play games more people will realize this form of entertainment is not just for kids or one gender.
I think it’s time to get over these fears. We gamers, especially the female gamers, need to stop worrying about what other people think. Games like Heavy Rain show that games are not for kids, and the sales of Modern Warfare 2 have shown that a huge number of people buy and play games. It’s ok to admit you’re a gamer, other people play games and so do females. If someone is to narrow minded to see that then that’s a issue with them not you.
My advice on how we can fix this: Females, ignore the idiots online on Xbox Live or whatever network you play on who say sexist things and tease you for being a woman. If I can ignore being called racial slurs and my sexuality being questioned you should be able ignore what you hear. The fact that a lot of girl gamers hide the fact that they are females or don’t participate in voice chat is what gives the people online who will tease or say rude comments more fuel for their attitude. If they realized how many women gamers they are playing against maybe they wouldn’t be as rude. It’s the idea that you won’t be accepted that is furthering the discrimination. Making clubs for girl gamers only (see http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/gamerchix/) is not a good way to get you accepted by all gamers. Hiding from the people who make the negative or rude comments is not going to make them stop, but if you play with them and ignore them sooner or later they are just going to accept you’re a female and hopefully stop the harassment. If they don’t that’s what the mute option is for. Males, we need to more accepting that females play games and narrow out the small group of teenage idiots who make online a bad experience for some. If no one listens to some jerk trash talking he will probably stop sooner or later.
So basically my message is just get out there and have fun, there are always going to be jerks in all areas of life. Letting them affect the way you have fun or enjoy hobbies is the worst thing you can do. Be proud of who you are and your hobby whether its video games, sports, or reading whether you’re a man or a women.
Im sure not everyone is going to agree with what I wrote. I just hope people understand what I am trying to get across. If you think I am wrong on some points please let me know in the comments.
Originally posted at