How to defy gender roles (or not)
I've noticed a difference in how male and female players interpret lore relating to gender and sexism. I've started discussions on how different races treat females lore-wise on two different forums, one male-dominated (server forum) and one female-dominated (wow_ladies), and generally speaking, the male players were the ones who interpreted most societies in Azeroth as being sexist, the reason given usually being "because people were sexist in medieval times." The only race I can think of with a real gender inequality problem is trolls. Even then, the troll guild I'm in generally keeps sexism to occasional derogatory "get back to the kitchen" or "breeder"-type comments, no doubt to keep the people playing female trolls from getting annoyed and leaving.
The guys tend to be more likely to interpret races where gender relations are not as clear as being male-dominated. It's mostly male players who will ask why there are so many women in the Stormwind Guard or insist that Silvermoon is a patriarchal society. I've heard conflicting things about whether people had a problem with Jaina being a mage because she's a woman. My question is do players like this enjoy an excuse to be sexist, or are they just applying unnecessary "historical accuracy" to a fantasy setting? I've actually seen very little in-character sexism other than with the trolls. A human mage kept calling my dwarf a "wench" the other day, and she punched him. The other players approved, and they ended up picking a fight with the guy because he was generally trolling us and being obnoxious.
So the question that makes this whole discussion relevant to Sues is this: is it really necessary to RP a female rebelling against male authority? I can't think of many cases where it would be, and characters who do that tend to come across as Sue-ish.
The guys tend to be more likely to interpret races where gender relations are not as clear as being male-dominated. It's mostly male players who will ask why there are so many women in the Stormwind Guard or insist that Silvermoon is a patriarchal society. I've heard conflicting things about whether people had a problem with Jaina being a mage because she's a woman. My question is do players like this enjoy an excuse to be sexist, or are they just applying unnecessary "historical accuracy" to a fantasy setting? I've actually seen very little in-character sexism other than with the trolls. A human mage kept calling my dwarf a "wench" the other day, and she punched him. The other players approved, and they ended up picking a fight with the guy because he was generally trolling us and being obnoxious.
So the question that makes this whole discussion relevant to Sues is this: is it really necessary to RP a female rebelling against male authority? I can't think of many cases where it would be, and characters who do that tend to come across as Sue-ish.