Alternative: Girls (females) in D&D/ Roleplaying

[Dannyalcatraz]

[*] Have you or are you willing to (AYWT) make a distinction between the positive portrayal of women in games/ gaming and sexist portrayals?

Yes.

[*] Have you or AYWT accept that the consistent use of pictures of bikini-clad women strolling through snowfields alongside rug-wrapped barbarian men is potentially discouraging for some female gamers?

Yes. I also try to put Fantasy art into its proper context: who makes it, who the main consumers are, and where you can find either positive female portrayals or negative male ones. (Hint: some guys aren't pleased about how many males are portrayed as misogynistic brutes in fantasy art.)

[*] Have you or AYWT go out of your way to recruit or encourage girls/ females to join a gaming group?

No, I treat 'em just like the guys. You're welcome to join, but I don't actively recruit anyone.

[*] Have you or AYWT go out of your way to encourage girls/ females to join RPG communities?

No, I treat 'em just like the guys. If they ask, I'll tell 'em, but I'm not a missionary for the hobby.

[*] Have you or AYWT tell a publisher, (by email, blog or f2F), that you'd like to see more positive portrayals of women in RPGs?

I'd be willing to if I ran into more- to date, I've only encountered a couple, and they were ahead of the curve.

Usually, though, I just vote with my $$$. There was a line of adventures I used to see carried in my FLGS that featured women on every cover. And even though the art was executed rather professionally, each one looked like the woman was in some kind of stereotypical hooker/stripper pose. As in, in some kind of contortion you'd usually see wrapped around a pole or beckoning someone to "hidden delights." I refused to even pick one up to see if the adventures were worth a damn.

Eventually, they all wound up in the discount section...then the clearance bin.

[*] Have you or AYWT present youngsters with equal opportunities to get involved in RPGs?

Sure- I've initiated a couple of dozen kids into the hobby.

[*] Have you or AYWT adapt rules, settings and gameplay to offer a mix or balance of mystery, exploration, investigation, characterisation and novelty alongside combat-focused gameplay? (Either to encourage all kids equally or females).

Well, I gave them my best efforts to make for a fun game while teaching them the ropes. (Whether I succeeded is a matter of THEIR opinion.)

To aid in this, I usually try to have a veteran gamer as part of the adventuring group to help guide them along.

[*] Have you or AYWT adjust your RPG purchasing habits to at least limit sexist content/ contexts?

Yep. (See above.)
[*] Have you or AYWT actively discourage obvious and persistent sexism at your game table, e.g. don't laugh along with the jokes/ speak up if a female player appears uncomfortable with some of what's being said?

 

[DireWereTeddy]

The OP on 'Girls (females) in D&D/ Roleplaying' manages to/ sets out to completely skip the question of attitudes to, (and attitudes about doing anything about attitudes to), women TRPG players. Time to 'fess up' properly:

While I believe that discrimination (of any kind) tends to be called out more than it actually happens, I am still opposed to it.

Have you or are you willing to (AYWT) make a distinction between the positive portrayal of women in games/ gaming and sexist portrayals?

Of course.

Have you or AYWT accept that the consistent use of pictures of bikini-clad women strolling through snowfields alongside rug-wrapped barbarian men is potentially discouraging for some female gamers?

Yes. Just as loincloth-clad Mr. Universe barbarians can be equally discouraging to some male gamers.

Have you or AYWT go out of your way to recruit or encourage girls/ females to join a gaming group?

I don't know if I'd 'gone out of my way,' but I am willing to encourage females who are interested or potentially interested in the hobby to give it a try. I've done so with my wife. And I will be introducing two new players to the game (a husband and wife) later this week after I receive my Red Box. She's actually more interested in the game than he is.

Have you or AYWT go out of your way to encourage girls/ females to join RPG communities?

As above, I'm not sure I'd 'go out of my way,' but if someone expressed interest or seemed to potentially be interested, I certainly would.

Have you or AYWT tell a publisher, (by email, blog or f2F), that you'd like to see more positive portrayals of women in RPGs?

If I purchase or encounter a product that I feel negatively represents women in an RPG, certainly so. I'm not just going to randomly e-mail, comment, or bring the topic up though.

Have you or AYWT present youngsters with equal opportunities to get involved in RPGs?

There's a such thing as an unequal opportunity to get involved in an RPG? How does that go, 'Sure, you can play with us, but you girlfriend has to just sit there and watch.'?

Sorry, I started getting a little snarky. Of course I am.

Have you or AYWT adapt rules, settings and gameplay to offer a mix or balance of mystery, exploration, investigation, characterisation and novelty alongside combat-focused gameplay? (Either to encourage all kids equally or females).

If that's what the players are interested in, of course. I'd do that for any group, regardless of gender, age, or other makeup.

Have you or AYWT adjust your RPG purchasing habits to at least limit sexist content/ contexts?

Yes. I would never knowingly purchase anything discriminatory. And if I did buy something that offended me, I'd be pretty well ticked off at the publisher.

Have you or AYWT actively discourage obvious and persistent sexism at your game table, e.g. don't laugh along with the jokes/ speak up if a female player appears uncomfortable with some of what's being said?

Yes.

 

[MeinaAeon]

the answers from my point of view

looking back on the old novels yea they were all sexist but it to this day sex sells and alot of guys dream about those chain mail bikini girls *chuckles * when i host a game i try to balance and put in alittle something for all but i also personally hate stereotypes so try to also put new spins and views on npc females and males Also if some one has a complaint in my games then i listen if it seems reasonable i will change it for them or not reuse that thing they did not enjoy but if it is something that is just illogical to complain on or it's some one complaining on the whole scenario then i wont take there complaints to heart normally ..... but remember it's a game suppose to be fun thus that means it's a effort on the DM's then the opinions of the players so if your a dm and dont like it change it nothing is set in stone rules wise ...well almost anything.