RPing Gender Roles correctly?

[Techno-Druid]

Within the Warcraft Universe some races have gender roles, currently I only know two confirmed lore examples of gender roles. One being the night elves with males being largely druids, artists and such and females being largely warriors and priestesses. The other being Darkspear (Jungle) Trolls with males largely being have males within the role of Witch Doctors and females well in lore being...wives. But is there a way to actually portray this within game?

[Techno-Druid]

Where did it say Darkspear women are primarily wives?

It's more of less just jungle trolls in general, I believe I heard it from somewhere of course I may be incorrect or I could've just assumed it worked that way.

Traditional jungle troll rites of passage include suitors battling to the death for the object of their affection (either gender would do this), fights with blunt weapons during a marriage ceremony to establish dominance in the marriage. Many jungle trolls consider their wives as both trophies to be proud of and lowly slaves who have no rights. The more wives a warrior has, the more ties he shares within the tribe and the more allies he has. Though the warrior must have the means to care for all of his wives, it is a matter of prestige but also of political and social interest to own as many wives as possible. Only a willing father or brother agrees to give a female to a husband; unless, of course, a husband decides to hand out one of his own wives to another jungle troll to show his appreciation. Such a valuable gift shows a mark of respect and mutual friendship between the giver and the recipient. This ancient tradition allows jungle trolls to cut deals and alliances with other tribes. It is not rare to see the members of a weaker jungle troll tribe offer wives as tributes or peace offerings to the warriors of a bigger or more organized tribe. Among the members of the Darkspear tribe — who suffer the influence of the Horde some are beginning to question this outdated way of life.

[Aquamonkey]

It's more of less just jungle trolls in general, I believe I heard it from somewhere of course I may be incorrect or I could've just assumed it worked that way.

You can use whatever you want for RP, but just keep in mind that is from the non-canon RPG.

[Techno-Druid]

You can use whatever you want for RP, but just keep in mind that is from the non-canon RPG.

Any other examples of gender roles within the WC universe?

[Aquamonkey]

In orc and H/BElf society it seemed that men and women were equal. Both genders were utilized as warriors/casters/leaders.

In human society it seemed that women were less than men, at least in lines of succession. Calia was older than Arthas, but Arthas was the heir. Also, female warriors don't seem to be that common. Knights, clerics, paladins and such were predominately men.

[Techno-Druid]

In orc and H/BElf society it seemed that men and women were equal. Both genders were utilized as warriors/casters/leaders.

In human society it seemed that women were less than men, at least in lines of succession. Calia was older than Arthas, but Arthas was the heir. Also, female warriors don't seem to be that common. Knights, clerics, paladins and such were predominately men.

Hm...thanks for the information. I'm sill experimenting with what race to rp

[Stncold]

Yea it seems like only very recently as of like sometime between the Second and Third war did human women start to play bigger roles and be more equal. I don't think there's been any mention of human women in military roles before the Third War. Brigitte Abbendis may have well been the first female paladin.

Times change and all. Now they're all over the place when it's become a matter of survival and needing every one who is willing to fight.

[Deleted]

Yea it seems like only very recently as of like sometime between the Second and Third war did human women start to play bigger roles and be more equal. I don't think there's been any mention of human women in military roles before the Third War. Brigitte Abbendis may have well been the first female paladin.

Times change and all. Now they're all over the place when it's become a matter of survival and needing every one who is willing to fight.

Lady Mara Fordragon? But she was added later on, she was the "High Clerist of Stormwind" and a patron to refugees of Stormwind during the first war http://wow.gamepedia.com/Lady_Mara_Fordragon women in general seems to not be lesser than men in Warcraft lore. I believe it's simply tradition that dictates the figure-head of a nation must be male... Or something weird like that. I mean Lady Katrana Prestor was the Spokes-person for the House of Nobles, I know she was Onyxia and used magic and all to gain control and manipulate them, but she still had literal accepted power, and no one looked twice, even if she was a woman. The High Priest of Stormwind currently is a woman too and the humans who served under Alleria weren't all bitchy because they had to follow the orders of women so... Maybe there's some general subtle patriarchal pull, but in general they're purdy equal.

It's only when you get to royalty and nobility that things change, with arranged marriages and such... But that goes for both genders, not just the women. Arthas had an arranged marriage with Jaina and Calia an arranged marriage with Daval Prestor (Deathwing).

And when it comes to night elves and that thing about men being druids, simple workers and such while women are warriors, priests and all tough is no longer true for night elf society. Women can be druids, men can be priests and sentinels, and men were always allowed to be warriors and hunters. We have at least two good examples of male night elf warriors that I know of... Kur'talos Ravencrest and Jarod Shadowsong. I know Kur'talos was a highborne, but he did lead the Kaldorei Resistance and was technically Lord/"King" of all kaldorei and highborne under him until his death. Jarod is currently in charge of the Watchers, a night elf order that was mostly women until Jarod got power.

[Stncold]

Lady Mara Fordragon? But she was added later on, she was the "High Clerist of Stormwind" and a patron to refugees of Stormwind during the first war http://wow.gamepedia.com/Lady_Mara_Fordragon women in general seems to not be lesser than men in Warcraft lore. I believe it's simply tradition that dictates the figure-head of a nation must be male... Or something weird like that.

This is my own speculation, but Mara seems very much a "last resort" sorta thing. A lot of high-ranking men got killed in the war and this presumably happens after Llane's death when there would have been a ton of panicking and general lack of leadership. She stepped up to the plate when there were no men around or willing to do so, and performed admirably when given the chance.

I mean Lady Katrana Prestor was the Spokes-person for the House of Nobles, I know she was Onyxia and used magic and all to gain control and manipulate them, but she still had literal accepted power, and no one looked twice, even if she was a woman.

Katrana was after the pre-Second War timeframe I'm talking about, and I don't believe she was any sort of spokesperson for the nobles. Just an adviser to Varian. She also used a lot of magic and seduction to get to that point. Those cleavagetastic dresses she wears in the comic attest to that.

The High Priest of Stormwind currently is a woman too

Again after the timeframe I'm talking about.

and the humans who served under Alleria weren't all bitchy because they had to follow the orders of women so...

I don't recall anything about any humans serving directly under Alleria, just High Elves. The humans all reported to Lothar then Turalyon following that. But I could be wrong, there could be some humans that worked underneath her. It's been a while since I've read Tides of Darkness and Beyond the Dark Portal, they're both due for re-reads soon.

Arthas had an arranged marriage with Jaina and Calia an arranged marriage with Daval Prestor (Deathwing).

Nothing was ever arranged between Arthas and Jaina. Rise of the Lich King even goes out of it's way to state he was able to choose who his queen would be. They fell in love and Arthas's insecurities ended the relationship before any proposal happened. If the plague hadn't happened and Arthas had a bit more time to mature, a proposal likely eventually would have happened.

The arranged marriage between Calia and Daval was never finalized due to his disappearance, so it hardly counts. As Aqua noted however, she was older than Arthas yet he inherited the throne.

And when it comes to night elves and that thing about men being druids, simple workers and such while women are warriors, priests and all tough is no longer true for night elf society. Women can be druids, men can be priests and sentinels, and men were always allowed to be warriors and hunters. We have at least two good examples of male night elf warriors that I know of... Kur'talos Ravencrest and Jarod Shadowsong. I know Kur'talos was a highborne, but he did lead the Kaldorei Resistance and was technically Lord/"King" of all kaldorei and highborne under him until his death. Jarod is currently in charge of the Watchers, a night elf order that was mostly women until Jarod got power.

At no point was I talking about NE's. I strictly meant human gender roles. But while we're on the subject, men did have positions of power during the WotA. Not as high as women, but certainly higher than human women had prior to like 15-20 years ago in-lore.

[Deleted]

At no point was I talking about NE's. I strictly meant human gender roles. But while we're on the subject, men did have positions of power during the WotA. Not as high as women, but certainly higher than human women had prior to like 15-20 years ago in-lore.

The NE thing was in regards to an earlier statement, not yours, sorry if that was misunderstood.

And Lady Mara Fordragon was "The High Clerist of Stormwind" she was a member of the Clerics of Northshire (most likely, just speculating here) and not only was she a member she was a Highly regarded, high ranked member of it. Or she was a member of Stormwind Cleric order, and I repeat. She was a high ranked member of this order. It's literally in her title, and she was around during the first war. The title might have fallen to her after the war I don't know, but it's still a high rank.

[Lylandra]

I'd be careful to apply the succession rules of the kingdom of Lordaeron to all of humanity. They are not as homogenuos as it might seem from ingame representation. For example, I can assume that Dalaran has had equality for a pretty long time, considering that women were as capable mages as men and they had a huge influence from high elves. I don't know about Stormwind and we honestly have no way of knowing about women in the military (besides Mara) or Gender roles in this kingdom because the devs didn't think of them when they created WC1. We didn't even know about Varian's mother.

What I can say is that at least Magni Bronzebeard was biased and for a long time let down because his only heir was a daughter - which lead to their schism and Moira joining the Dark Iron. After that incident, he opened up and allowed women in all positions, but I guess that older dwarves still might have some bias.

For the orcs, women were expected to be strong hunters and warriors. We can see this in Draka's backstory where her whole family was discriminated against because of their sick, weak daughter. She became acknowledged (and afterwards revered by Durotar) after she managed to toughen herself up and survive on her own.

For Gnomes, Tauren and Goblins I honestly don't know. Draenei and Forsaken will be on pretty equal terms.

[Aquamonkey]

I'd be careful to apply the succession rules of the kingdom of Lordaeron to all of humanity. They are not as homogenuos as it might seem from ingame representation. For example, I can assume that Dalaran has had equality for a pretty long time, considering that women were as capable mages as men and they had a huge influence from high elves.

Keep in mind that Dalaran was atypical for human kingdoms and society. They weren't a monarchy, but ruled by a council. They were also much more open-minded and inclusive than other humans. When humans in general were very xenophobic and somewhat racist, Dalaran allowed members of other races into their fold.

[Techno-Druid]

Oh I have a question for a RP alt I'm currently working on, how do you RP someone who's dominant (relationship-wise) without seeming like a complete asshole?

[The Madgod]

Oh I have a question for a RP alt I'm currently working on, how do you RP someone who's dominant (relationship-wise) without seeming like a complete asshole?

Kinky

And the best way to do that I'd say is... dominant means you're the one who makes the decisions. Don't use language that makes it sound like you're making a loophole for yourself in case you are correct. Your character should sound like they know what they're talking about. Confidence, taking the lead, and being guiding are ways to be "dominant" without being forceful and dickish.

[Techno-Druid]

For my troll, should he be polygamous or monogamous?

[The Madgod]

Darkspear are monogamous, IIRC.

[Techno-Druid]

Darkspear are monogamous, IIRC.

Okay, that would probably be better anyway.