Why female players are underepresented in RuneScape?

[Kaida23]

Girls pretend to be guys to avoid being circled out.

 

Guys pretend to be girls to avoid NOT being circled out. My friend pretends to be a girl online. I lol.

 

What's wrong with being a guy playing a girl online? I am. I doesn't mean there's anything wrong with us. I've just always preferred looking at female characters than than male ones during long hours of game time. Seems to me that would be pretty normal.

 

 

 

Video games have, historically, been designed and marketed towards a male audience because that's what 98% of the audience began as. So-called "girl" games several companies keep bringing out do nothing to help the matter (I think someone mentioned a "Bratz" game? *shudder*). While some of the stereotyping for boys playing video games has been removed, there is still a stigma for girls who play. People automatically assume that they are unpopular or ugly or just sit on the couch all day. Sounds a lot like what was thought about boy gamers in the beginning, eh? As more and more girls get into gaming, I'm sure this misconception will change as well.

[FooK-A-Ji]

The only game women are better than men at in general I think is TETRIS. No kidding. And maybe the snake game on cellphones. \

[bmnp]

The only game women are better than men at in general I think is TETRIS. No kidding. And maybe the snake game on cellphones. \

 

 

 

lol not really. my highest ranked friend is a girl. plus my 2 clan leaders are both women and they do a GREAT job

[FooK-A-Ji]

The only game women are better than men at in general I think is TETRIS. No kidding. And maybe the snake game on cellphones. \

 

 

 

lol not really. my highest ranked friend is a girl. plus my 2 clan leaders are both women and they do a GREAT job

 

I've known some of Runescapes greatest female personalities too. But I'm still sticking to my beliefs :P

[Bauke]

It's an interesting question what percentage of the RS population is female. It would be nice if we had a poll about this subject on the Runescape site. Or perhaps Jagex has more information about the demographics of the players.

[FooK-A-Ji]

It's an interesting question what percentage of the RS population is female. It would be nice if we had a poll about this subject on the Runescape site. Or perhaps Jagex has more information about the demographics of the players.

 

Yeah it would be more than cool to find out about the girl/boy ratio on RS :thumbsup:

[Barihawk]

Women gamers in general usually avoid fantasy mmo's in generally, many times because let's face it...women are terribly objectified in these games. Even in Runescape. Men wear large thick armor while women get chain bikinis. And then there's the fact that the male players also objectify the female avatars and the women behind them.

 

 

 

From my experience, women who play mmo's usually play games like city-builders, games where clothing/armor is completely customizable (ala City of Heroes/Villains), tactical games surprisingly, and others that require more thought than simple clicking. WoW is also popular (and has fairly tame dress for female characters as well).

[Returned3]

Most of the girls I know DO use the internet, but the stuff they do is mostly blogging or playing minor games such as Pet Society.

 

 

 

I guess girls do not like mass murdering an entire race of Dragons.

[kamireborn1]

A lot of girls probably think it's lame to play Runescape, WoW, etc.

 

I know very few girls who admit to it.. NONE of my friends know I play this still (they use to, back when I was in middle school and everyone did)

 

 

 

There is girls who mask them selves as male characters , I've done it before.. But I don't want to.

 

I'm proud to be a small population of the females on RS.. Just not going to tell my RL people, ha.

 

 

 

And for the note of skill / combat ..

 

I actually prefer combat. I don't have the patience to sit and go through quests (My only remaining f2p quest is Ernest the Chicken.. Been that way for years now), nor do I have very much patience for bank runs.

 

Fishing is my only acception, because I usually keep them for cooking then eating- triple benefits.

 

 

 

It's an interesting question what percentage of the RS population is female. It would be nice if we had a poll about this subject on the Runescape site. Or perhaps Jagex has more information about the demographics of the players.

 

When you actually register, don't you pick your gender? Maybe not, I can't remember..

 

But I'm sure they have demographics..

[CheapMark]

It has been tradition, ever since when the very first video games were released, that gaming to be targeted at men. Compare this to this such as sports. At first, most sports were men only (say the NBA for example). But after an extended amount of time, women started to play sports (and thus created the WNBA, much later than when the NBA was created). It is much like this with videogames, and therefore runescape and other MMORPGs alike.

 

 

 

Hope my input was valid... :

[finalheaven]

half my my list are female players

 

 

 

im a guy btw

[WoodenFruit]

It has been tradition, ever since when the very first video games were released, that gaming to be targeted at men. Compare this to this such as sports. At first, most sports were men only (say the NBA for example). But after an extended amount of time, women started to play sports (and thus created the WNBA, much later than when the NBA was created). It is much like this with videogames, and therefore runescape and other MMORPGs alike.

 

 

 

Hope my input was valid... :

 

 

 

Thats because sports was becomming popular in the 19th century, women in society wern't allowed to partake in such things.

 

 

 

I'm female and I love gaming :D Though I don't know any other girls in my year that play video games.

 

 

 

Apart from Runescape I go on The Sims, Morrowind, Oblivion, Harvest Moon, Rollercoaster Tycoon. Mainly strategy games, I can't stand games like CoD and such, I just don't see the point...

 

 

 

Is that typical? Idk

[Lady_Shahdie]

I'm glad to say that female gamers in general have largely increased from the dismally low levels of 10-15 years ago. It has alot to do with the progression of our society. In the 1950s more than half the things women are involved in nowadays would appear deviant. I think Blurite44's sports explanation is a good example of this. RuneScape is just reflecting this slow but steady progression. Regarding female gamers' taste in games, I would take that as entirely subjective. In fact, what someone mentioned earlier about girls shying away from fantasy games, I beg to differ. While the occasional objectification of women in such games is disheartening, it is a genre that probably does appeal to many women (the popularity of fantasy flicks like Twilight might be a good indication of this but Twilight is such a laughable stereotype now :lol:). I also believe fantasy is popular because of its relation to classic literature. I am an English major and in classes such as "English Literature: Medieval to Renaissance Fiction" we cover several stories/poems that have whimsical themes laden with objectification of women (Shakespeare's "My Mistress Eyes are nothing like the Sun" has plenty of backhanded compliments of a woman's physical features :lol: ). Out of a 50 person class, 13 happen to be male. I'd consider that as a pretty good correlation that females would and DO in fact have a taste in fantasy MMOs.

[chris924]

It's an interesting question what percentage of the RS population is female. It would be nice if we had a poll about this subject on the Runescape site. Or perhaps Jagex has more information about the demographics of the players.

 

 

 

You should submit it as a "player submitted poll"

 

You can copy paste this if you'd like:

 

Please choose the option that best represents your gender in real life and in game:

 

- male playing as a male

 

- female playing as a female

 

- male playing as a female

 

- female playing as a male

 

- 50 year old fat man living in mom's basement - playing as a female

 

- Undercover FBI agent playing as a 14 y/o girl

 

- Gender confused male playing as a male

 

- Gender confused male playing as a female

 

- Gender confused female playing as a female

 

- Gender confused female playing as a male

 

- Gender reassigned (male-to-female) playing as a female

 

- Gender reassigned (male-to-female) playing as a male

 

- Gender reassigned (female-to-male) playing as a female

 

- Gender reassigned (female-to-male) playing as a male

 

- other

 

- I don't know

 

 

 

But seriously, there are MANY females who play and some of the best, nicest people I have had the privilege to play with.

[NoPainNoGain]

What's the problem of women playing runescape? Yes its unusual to see girls that like fantasy games but it's annoying when guys start asking : Hey are you fat Irl? Does your mom keep u locked in the basement cuz ur fat and ugly? -.-

 

If we follow this logic people tend to have, If a girl that plays Rs is fat and not popular in school, then what's a guy that has earrings and wears pink? ( Most people think it's cool )

 

In my opinion it's actually good that girls are starting to play more games like Rs because boys need some competition :P

[QueenValerie]

 

 

 

if women hate skanky outfits like the 'chain bikinis' then they would hate wow. Look up black mageweave on any WoW fansite, the girl who wears that is pretty much less clothed then in the default no clothing outfit..

 

 

 

Personally i think its not the outfits that attract them but the environment. Ive asked girls why they do or dont play certain games, most girls would want to play a pretty game and stay in the pretty areas of the game. IE: Most girls who play WoW are night elves or blood elves and half the girls i asked just play to see the pretty parts of the game.

 

 

 

Ha, Ha ! I think you may be right on this at least for me that is how I feel. I played WOW just to see the pretty environment the trees, river and just the color/graphics of the whole game as for the game itself I never cared for it so I left. I did love the quests but after dieing over 30 times and having to retrieve my dead body I got bored and quit. :lol:

 

 

 

As for runescape I loved everything about the game I do remember when I first started to mine I thought " This is such a guy thing to do " Maybe its because I do live in a mining town in real life and most men around here are miners. :) As a female player I do prefer the " pretty " areas of the game.

 

 

 

P.S. BTW I am not fat in real life nor do I live in some sort of basement. :mrgreen:

 

Prays :pray: no-one siggys the above!

[Racheya]

I suppose girls in general are less into video games. Especially once that involve EWW fighting. Ewww that goblin is gross! (I'm generalising those types of girls, nobody here :P) I see girls around college and I don't hear anyone except me going 'Omg this weekend I went to the KBD with Tip.it...'

 

 

 

I just think there are less of the stereotypical hair and nails girls on Runescape.

 

 

 

I have to admit though, I get wonderful feelings of joy every time I see a magic tree. They're SO PRETTY!

[mega_vegeta6]

I dont have any male friends on RS that i actively speak to. I think it's because girls are much easier to talk with in my opinion. If we become friends i usually get them to say these unbelievable things abut themselves, but i say near nothing about myself.. For an example, one of my friends witnessed a priest kill her best friend. I dont think she knew anything about me at that point.

 

Oh yeah, since im not bothered to talk with those who act like [wagon] i naturally talk to girls i meet before guys. I do have a few guys on my list though, Three of them said i was a playboy...

 

 

 

Girls rule.

[nurserymaid]

It's an interesting question what percentage of the RS population is female. It would be nice if we had a poll about this subject on the Runescape site. Or perhaps Jagex has more information about the demographics of the players.

 

Following on from that I'd be interested to know whether there really proportionately more females at higher lvls than there are at lower lvls or if I just notice them. I suspect that there really are and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the average age of female players is higher than that of male players.

 

 

 

On the matter of outfits... I've often wondered how the Bandos and Armadyl gear manages to protect Cal from anything more vicious than a tooth pick.

[Dire_Wolf]

Females are not underepresented in the game. For example, females have taken over the skills that is non combat and also have some combat levels.

 

 

 

Where as us males, we pretty much stick to combat. Atleast i do

[Dark_Demesne]

I imagine a lot of female players simply fly under the radar, particularly if their avatar's style is androgynous. Most people address me as "Sir" thanks to the fact that I avoid midriff-baring clothing and pigtails.

[Seraphi]

Rule #16.

 

 

 

There are no girls on the internets.

 

 

 

lol

 

 

 

i second that ;)

 

 

 

But i dont notice that theory of no girls online

 

 

 

a lot of people on my friends list happen to be girls... Maybe most runescapers dont notice any because they avoid all the little kids (especially f2p) like the plauge...

 

Rule 37, actually(according to the set I have here)

[snowball]

I understand that females play MMORPGs less than males do, but with the discrimination they get, who can blame them?

 

 

 

I became a girl one time for recruitment drive, and before I could reach fally, someone asked my to be his gf...incredibly annoying...

 

 

 

My sister plays, and I had to put tell her to put people on her ignore list because of how they acted.

[Sheep Tails]

Agreed to most of this. I mean thsi is ridiculous: I was on TUTORIAL ISLAND and some male walks up to me and says: "wanna b my gf? let's go to bed!"...I was like"Oooookay then..". These types of people are the main cause of females not playing. In fact msot of the males on my friend list are boys/men I know in real life.

[Death]

Agreed to most of this. I mean thsi is ridiculous: I was on TUTORIAL ISLAND and some male walks up to me and says: "wanna b my gf? let's go to bed!"...I was like"Oooookay then..". These types of people are the main cause of females not playing. In fact msot of the males on my friend list are boys/men I know in real life.

 

 

 

We can talk on Tutorial island now? Odd I was there two days ago and I couldn't...

 

 

 

On-Topic: I have about as many girls on my friends list as guys. Generally when I talk to a girl player I can usually have a good conversation with her. :) Meanwhile some of the guys on my friends list only have me added to demand help. -.- '