Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-13-2015 You Crit Like a Girl: the Performance of Female Identity in the Virtual Gaming Community World of Warcraft Connie M. Viamonte Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FIDC000170 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons Recommended Citation Viamonte, Connie M., "You Crit Like a Girl: the Performance of Female Identity in the Virtual Gaming Community World of Warcraft" (2015). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2273. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2273 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida YOU CRIT LIKE A GIRL: THE PERFORMANCE OF FEMALE IDENTITY IN THE VIRTUAL GAMING COMMUNITY WORLD OF WARCRAFT A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY by Connie M. Viamonte 2015 To: Dean John Stack School of International and Public Affairs This dissertation, written by Connie M. Viamonte, and entitled You Crit Like a Girl: The Performance of Female Identity in the Virtual Gaming Community World of Warcraft, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Maria Aysa-Lastra _______________________________________ Vrushali Patil _______________________________________ Dionne Stephens _______________________________________ Guillermo Grenier, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 13, 2015 The dissertation of Connie M. Viamonte is approved. _______________________________________ Dean John Stack School of International and Public Affairs _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2015 ii DEDICATIONS To my son, my light and my joy, I love you and this is for you (as is everything I do). To my parents, for all their love and support through these many years and these many trials. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank Dr. Guillermo Grenier for all his support through this long process and for being my inspiration. Without him, I would never have gone down this path. I want to thank my committee members: Dr. Maria Aysa-Lastra, Dr. Vrushali Patil, and Dr. Dionne Stephens, for always being there to give me feedback and advice. I want to thank my parents, Reinaldo and Concepcion Viamonte, for pushing me through this process, and through all the trials that I faced. They are the wind at my back that tells me to keep going and if it were not for them, I would not have gotten to this point. And I want to thank my heart, my son, Tristan, for being the hope and joy in my life. I’d like to thank my brother, Luis Castano, for his positivity and encouragement in the darkest of moments. I’d also like to thank Melissa Burt, who was the only person to believe in me when I had lost my way and if not for her constant encouragement, this would never have been finished. Finally, I want to thank all the people who I reached out to and who responded to surveys, to interviews, and to countless questions. I want to thank my friends and all the people who, through the years, have helped me shape this project into what it became. This is for those of us trying to find a place in this mad world. iv ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION YOU CRIT LIKE A GIRL: THE PERFORMANCE OF FEMALE IDENTITY IN THE VIRTUAL GAMING COMMUNITY WORLD OF WARCRAFT by Connie M. Viamonte Florida International University, 2015 Miami, Florida Professor Guillermo Grenier, Major Professor This dissertation examines how gender is expressed and performed in the virtual gaming community of World of Warcraft. Players were approached through the medium of the game and through various on-line bulletin boards to answer surveys and open- ended interview questions about their experiences as a female player or with female players in this virtual society. In addition to answering questions, this project involved participant observations within several different types of realms or servers in World of Warcraft in order to gain a better understanding of community dynamics. The premise for this research is working through an idealistic notion that virtual communities might break down gender lines through allowing members to pick their gender or doing away with biological differences in gender altogether. This research hopes to dissect this idea and, furthermore, fill an important gap in existing sociological studies about virtual societies and games by making the argument that gender stereotypes carry over from the physical world into virtual spaces and, consequently, affect the vabried interactions of players within this virtual community as well as the gender performance of female players, in particular. Observations and game design suggests that many of the aesthetic v principles of the female avatars available in World of Warcraft cater to attracting heterosexual male players. Clothing and armor is revealing and female avatars are highly sexualized not just through appearance, but through programmed behaviors in the game. This research examines the effects of such pre-conditioned parameters on the population of this top ranked game. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 The Game ........................................................................................................................ 9 A Gendered Experience ................................................................................................ 12 Glossary of Terms ......................................................................................................... 16 Statement of Problem .................................................................................................... 18 Research Methods ......................................................................................................... 19 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 23 Self-actualization in Virtual Worlds ............................................................................. 23 Understanding Virtual Interactions by Gender ............................................................. 26 Understanding Virtual World Culture and its Effect on Gendered Interactions ........... 34 Understanding Motivations of the Players by Gender .................................................. 38 Social Science Research in Virtual Worlds ................................................................... 50 Nick Yee: Daedalus and Proteus ................................................................................... 54 III. PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION ........................................................................ 60 Player versus Player Servers: Guilds are Serious Business .......................................... 62 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 67 Gendered Interactions Online and at Home: My Husband Plays Better ....................... 68 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 70 Player versus Environment: Not so Serious Business ................................................... 70 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 75 Gender and the Avatar: Speak Softly but Carry a Very Manly Staff ............................ 76 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 79 Gender and the Voice: You Sound Hot! ....................................................................... 79 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 80 Gender and Power: The White Knight Syndrome ........................................................ 81 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 83 Role Play Servers: Less Than Serious Business ........................................................... 84 vii Findings ..................................................................................................................... 91 Trade Chat: The Foremost Authority in World News ................................................... 92 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 95 Trade Chat: Lessons on Spotting a Real Girl ................................................................ 96 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 97 Guild Chat: How to be Offensive in 10 Chat Lines ...................................................... 97 Findings ..................................................................................................................