Behind the drama

If anyone been following news of Ragnarok/BG, recently there is a pretty huge drama going on on BG:
http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/110601-Ragnarok-Inga-Nekonarf-Naveyah-Shenrein-Confirmation-of-something-we-all-knew

Since I don't know Inga/Nekonarf very well, I probably shouldn't make comment about that particular person, who is being accused as pretending to be a female. What I really care about is, drama like this will make gender issue/discrimination in an MMO(which is an issue I addressed a while ago) even greater, IMO.

If you look at the replies, some of them included something like this:

"I thought everyone knew that most female players are really male, or hideous females? Of course there are a few exceptions."

So basically, if you play MMO, you're being suspected to be a dude, or ugly looking female, "most of the time".

"If you want to prove your identity as a female I expect a webcam with timestamp on a sheet of paper written to my specifications, otherwise you're a dude."

He is obviously joking, but this joke also pointed out how ridiculous gender discrimination can get regarding playing as a female character.

"The no mic is a give away, obviously someone could have a broken mic but when they are like £5 at most there is no excuse to never get one, almost every genuine real girl in any ls i've been in has got on vent,skype so fast to prove they are real.

We once had a guy pretending to be a girl in our ls and the excuses he gave were awsome for no mic "broken" "i stutter im scared to speak" "my dad beats me if i talk to guys" he also used the Nekonarf line "ive been raped in the past, i had to get an abortion it's why my dad doesnt trust me around guys" basically any excuse he could make up sad no-life little tosser i bet he's still doing it somewere he seemed the type, this twat was from the Uk however when we finally found him out."


So basically, if you're a dude, play male char, and you told everyone that you're a dude, nobody will question you and you don't need to prove anything.

But if you play female char, and telling everyone that you're a female, then there is a good chance that someone won't believe you, automatically suspected that you're a liar trying to cheat other's gears, unless you meet them irl/chat on skype, or using a webcam etc. And the burden to prove that you're real is on the female player herself.

Pretty huge discrimination against female character/player huh? 

I have to admit, I'm the type of player that doesn't use webcam/skype and such. I do use it for Nyzul, but really only listen. Speaking with strangers I've never met irl isn't something I'm not comfortable with(even listening to others speak is pushing it, my mom often asked who are they that's speaking when she comes in, and that made me felt weird)

And I have to admit, I'm often being "suspected" to be a dude, since I have many haters, and haters will automatically assume that I'm a liar.

However, everyone often only sees that female player gets advantage thus requires a "proof", such as webcam or voice chat. They neglected the fact that female player often got suspected to be a liar in many way, or being forced into uncomfortable situations.

I can name maybe 1000 examples. I think.

One of the example is feeling weird when others addressed me as a "he". Ok, maybe that's not THAT bad. But when someone been hating me calling me/spreading rumor that I'm a guy(thus automatically suspected that I'm a liar), now that's a bit more uncomfortable. Not to mention countless times that there are players that wants to "do something" in game(well, you know what it is - -) Others includes bugging me to go to pub together at night irl(he doesn't know that I'm a female player, so he thought it's ok), or forcing me to speak on skype etc. Sometimes there are also ppl suspect my gear came from taking advantage of being a female, ok, maybe I more or less took advantage without realizing it. Doesn't mean I didn't work as hard as others to get my other gears, and this is yet another discrimination, that your achievement isn't all that genuine.

I have to say, from a female player's POV, a lot of things, while it's common among male players, it isn't comfortable for everyone, and not really respectful. 

However, I also don't think myself, nor any other female player, has the responsibility to to prove our identity. 

If anyone gives special treatment to another female character because they're female char, it is your own problem. 

And I also have to point out that since this game is a MMO, it should give a chance for other players to play as another identity. If there is a male player want to play/act as a female, and being treated as a female, it's really not a very big deal, and certainly not a crime. It's your own problem if you're giving free gears away to female characters. Doesn't mean lying is right thing to do though. If I'm a male player wants to enjoy my virtual life as a female, I'd just keep my real gender secret, instead of outright lied about it.

This drama, at least the "pretending to be a female" part, is bigger than it should be. Bank stealing and drama whoring I don't know the details so no comment. But when I see some ppl's reply regarding this subject, I more or less couldn't help......argh, internet, internet.