Slauka's Sunday
A lot of girls in World of Warcraft are given items, gold and in some cases even characters because of – guess what? Their gender! I have had friends that complained endlessly about some girl they gave all that stuff, and then she just ended up talking to some other guy instead. She even went to meet him in real life! Gosh!
At first I never noticed these things, probably because I was a naive little girl when I started playing. I didn't have much to compare with either, as I didn't know any other females who played. Of course it is hard to miss the attention you get the same second someone figures out that you have breasts. Though I wouldn't say people gave me things I didn't deserve. For instance, I would boost someone's alt character in return for someone boosting mine.
On the other hand, I know a lot of girls that more or less lived off the poor guys they had wrapped around their finger. I dare say they were more than wrapped though, in most cases it was more stuck like super glue with duct tape and chains, tossed into a cement mixer. As an example; one of those friends that I mentioned got asked to help a girl to farm new gear. The funny part is that while he spent time farming for her, she was sleeping. His reward? A picture! Another girl got an officer-rank while the guy lost his virginity.
Even though some players are abusing their gender, I often find it to be more of a disadvantage than an actual benefit. Several times I have had people telling me «Don't expect me to give you things» after they found out I am a girl. The worst part is that most of the time, it is not even a joke. People were dead serious. Some even broke contact and I have ended up on several ignore lists.
Since when did being female mean «give me things»? It is a shame that people can believe this is the case. I can understand that people want to stay on the safe side and judge all girls based on one person's behaviour, after all, that is just a natural instinct even though I still find it sad. If you don't want to hand out items, fine, that is totally understandable as they are yours after all. But completely break contact just because of gender? Makes little sense to me.
Of course, even I receive things every now and then. Though the only times I accept is when I believe the giver is not just another mindless bloke that wants to give it to me because I am female and who expects pictures and God knows what in return, but a person who wants to be nice or pay me back for helping him out earlier. But how to know for sure? It is quite hard as a conversation is usually text based, which makes it more difficult to notice if the person has hidden intentions.
Back to my friends who felt betrayed because that one person they gave items (for various reasons) didn't respond for a while, or talked to someone else or whatever it might have been. Sharpen up! In the end, you didn't HAVE to give away that gold or that item, did you? If those pixels were really that precious, then why hand them over to another person to begin with? I know very well that a lot of time, effort and sometimes even feelings might have been put into getting that item/gold, but if you cannot afford to lose it in the first place, then don't jeopardize it. Sometimes it is better to stay on the safe side, especially in cases like these.
I doubt people will stop toying around with others just because «it isn't nice». People out there are mean, but fortunately there are just as many nice and cosy ones, so it definitely evens out. Just keep in mind that after all, this is just a game. |
