Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Guilds

Yes, we’re stepping once again into the steaming hot gumbo of WoW gender relations — that date with the delightfully spicy flavor of the Guild Relations forum.

Altaan is a female player and the GM of a casual raiding guild with about 80 players. She describes herself as a laid-back leader who lets the raid leaders take by the instances while maintaining a fun environment for her guild members. However, she’s recently had problems with a few female members, and is wondering whether to kick them out or let them stay.

“They undercut my authority in subtle, nearly underhanded ways that I’m having a hard instance pinpointing to my male officers, who love the fact that there are women in the guild … particularly ones who will flirt with them,” Altaan writes. “One of these women recently asked the men to attempt to procure my picture, purportedly considering she is concerned with being the “hottest girl in the guild.” The other has announced several times that the Raid Leaders “belong” to her and she is only allowing me to “borrow” them. Both women routinely use guild chat and Ventrilo to stake claims on the male players (”this is my paladin”; “my druid”; etc.)”

I’ve seen that phenomenon a few times in my WoW history, and it’s recently been popularized on AFK Gamer. A small minority of female WoW players do not play well with others. They generally tend to mention their gender at any opportunity and flirt casually with anyone in a position of potential. The label of girl gamer is fundamental to them, as it makes them seem like a rare breed in a male-dominated virtual world — the “guild diva.” When another female comes along — particularly one who’s an officer or guild leader and not flirty — they feel that their territory is being threatened and lash out.

Altaan understands that, but is unsure of how to proceed. whether she keeps the players, they will continue being nuisances and hindering her raids by flirting with the raid leaders and taking spots from better players. whether she kicks them, she may be seen as catty herself, and she may lose one of her raid leaders. There’s a debate on the forum, but most society seem to think that she should kick them for challenging her authority and being drama queens.

What do you think Altaan should do? Female officers and GMs, have you had any problems with divas in your guild? Is that about gender at all, or merely a more subtle display of capability struggles?

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Original post by Elizabeth Wachowski