Gamers bend gender for a winning edge
When men appear as buxom, scantily clad females in video games like “World of Warcraft,” it is more about winning than finding an outlet for a real-world affinity for gender bending.
While there are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender-friendly groups that operate within massively multiplayer online games commonly referred to as MMOs, issues of sexual orientation take a backseat to slaying beasts or rival factions, researchers and gamers say. “If you come out in ‘World of Warcraft’ it doesn’t matter. Who cares? You can be gay, straight, transgender. What matters is whether you can swing a sword,” said Brathwaite. “It’s pure MMO capitalism.” In an About.com poll taken last summer, nearly two-thirds of the 920 respondents said they play characters of the opposite sex in online role-playing games.
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