Sexism in D&D and on ENWorld (now with SOLUTIONS!)

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Phospheratuna

First Post
To Op

Most of all, I don't know what you're typing about because you never specify what in D&D, other rpgs, or this site you're offended by. Instead, you take for granted we all know what sexism you're referencing.

I infer from what you write that the presentation being more masculine in mindset bothers you. Why? Does it make more sense to you for a man to present in a feminine manner? You seem to confuse an emphasis on men with an assertion that men are superior. It's natural that we're most concerned with and use as our frame of reference groups we belong to. That isn't elitism.

It sounds like your gf has convinced you to write for her. A tone comes off your post that's very feminist, "you men don't pay enough attention to us women". If a woman doesn't like a game because it doesn't take women into consideration enough for her taste then let her play another game. If she can find no satisfactory game let her make one.

I'm geniunly surprised you consider modern D&D sexist. Since 3rd edition its' makers have taken pains to alternate between "he" and "she" in their choice of characters sexes (like the default characters for each class they use as examples. Shandra the wizard has to memorize spells before using them etc.). Their concept art is full of women and they're clad in practical as opposed to fan-service armor.
Thier effort to appeal to women and be politically correct extends to unrealistic game mechanics and setting. In real life men are definitively stronger and tougher than women. But there are no stat differences based on sex in the game. Games like Arcanum were more honest about these facts of life. Likewise, always worldwide men have dominated women. There are a few matriarchal societies in history like the Iroquois but even with them you're pushing it if you say the power balance was reversed. In a medieval-type setting based on 14th-15th century Europe you would not have female adventurers. Seriously try to imagine one of the Kings of France hiring a band of women or a party with female membership or led by a woman to some important quest. Them hiring mercenaries is kind of a stretch anyway but in these socieities women were defined as second-class citizens. Even the queens didn't raise female nobles to balance the aristocracy.
If you wanted a more legitimate game to cite as sexist you could point to the old monster-manuals with :):):):):):):) hanging out. But again, how is that inately sexist? What about the idea of a succubus or a dragon holding a naked woman (or even a demon raping one) implicitly states, "men are better than women"?

Really, the "women can do anything men can do" idea folks are lauding in Eberron is :):):):):):):):). Bear in mind, equatable does not mean exact matches. You can have two different formulas which have a sum of 2 but their component variables could still be different. Anyway, in real life it's apparent that a man and a woman are not the same thing. How many men do you know who've birthed a child? How many women do you know with blue collar jobs? Having a setting which tries to make the sexes the same socially is favoring political correctness over realism.

Pen and Paper games are all just launching pads (with 4.o a hand-holding exception) for whatever you imagine. A woman who hates a game because the default campaign setting has insufficient reverence for women is a bitch.
 
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Alzrius

The EN World kitten
You performed thread-necromancy just to be a troll about it? Bad form!

The title says that this thread comes with solutions, the most obvious being to let this particular thread on the topic die, since it wasn't accomplishing anything.

I, for one, intend to continue doing that (after this post, I mean).
 


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