What WoW looks like: A Few Pictures

In World of Warcraft, a picture (or screenshot) can speak a thousand words. What I describe to you cannot have the same effect as an actual picture, so here are a few of the World of Warcraft.



First of all, since this is a blog on gender issues, let's look at the sexy race, the night elves...notice anything about her figure? :P (Today in Azerothian Playboy.....Sexy Night Elves Bare ALL)




They even dance in an interesting manner! (Click here to see the actual dance in gif format, blogger doesn't like Gifs being posted for some reason).



But even races that usually aren't sexy are kind of sexy or at least have big breasts.


See, even zombies can be sexy, she's got quite the figure and not much clothing! And look at her gorgeous flowing purple hair and pouty lips!



Even Tauren are chesty, and they are half-cow!

The Tauren on the right is a female of the species. Tauren are man-bulls or in this case man-cows, and they are on the side of the Horde (Azeroth, the World of Warcraft) is based largely on the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance, two sides in a war.


Notice however, that even as part cow, her chest is quite large, her midriff is bare, and she has braids. Compared to the male of her species she also has much smaller horns, and her frame is much more slender. Even as half cow, women have to have the ideal hourglass figure!


Also notice that her hands are quite delicate for what you would suspect of a character her size.

The average Tauren female is much smaller than the average Tauren male character, as are the majority of the males and females of the different races of the game (these differences will be explored in depth later).

The fact that even these half cow/bull humanoid creatures have stereotypical features can really make you think of how pervasive stereotypes and the pressure to conform to a body ideal can be.



Another thing to consider when looking at these pictures is as to who the general target audience is: males. The characters (even the Tauren) are fairly feminine, with slender waists, large breasts and proportionate bodies. To give an example of what the males look like, here is an example of three of the races:


Tauren male (in a word, and using an awful pun, he is beefy):

Human male (again broad shoulders, ripped arms and tapered waist)






























And finally, the night elf male, which when viewed in juxtaposition with the night elf female above is quite startling...in fact here is a comparison of the two genders in the race:

The female is on the left, the male to the right. The size proportions are not correct, the male in game is actually quite larger than the female. I just find this race interesting because at first glance, both are beautiful creatures, with high cheekbones and delicate facial features, and pale purple skin. However, the similarity ends there.

Although the male night elf is slender, he still has muscular arms and legs, with broad shoulders and a tapered waist, as do all of the male characters in WoW.

The female night elf is very busty, with an almost impossibly tiny waist, very slender arms and legs, and a much more delicate face than the man.

Even in Azeroth, the "frailty myth" prevails. (see "The Frailty Myth" by Colette Dowling). Play, have fun, but think about it.


See you in Azeroth!

~liz~