The take-away point, dear readers, from Falconesse’s last post is choice. Players, regardless of gender, should be allowed to choose what their characters, regardless of gender, wear.  I do not think it would hurt Blizz’s bottom line to introduce MORE customization to avatars. While WoW is the King of MMOs, this does not mean that Blizz should rest on its laurels. In fact, Blizz has even reported that they will be making “incremental changes” for the graphics engine in Cataclysm:

Yes, there will be incremental tweaks and updates to the graphics engine in this expansion. For example, we’ve made improvements to the way that water is rendered. We’ll announce the exact system requirements closer to the expansion’s release.

Therefore, I do not think it would be too much to ask for Blizz to add more options for avatars. Given last quarter’s PROFITof 15 million dollars, Blizzard can afford to add more designers, testers and developers to allow for additional customizations. If you can design new totems for shamans, you can give female characters the choice of “skimpy armor” and “Realistic Armor.” Economically speaking, allowing for additional customizations makes good business sense. Allowing for more choice in avatars transcends economics.

How women, including virtual women, are portrayed in media, including video games, matters. World of Warcraft is a video game with over 10 Million subscribers. A game this massive has to take responsibility for its portrayal of women. While some may feel that they are empowered by the skimpy armor that WoW has for female characters, others (myself included) strongly believe that this kind of portrayal of women incorrectly links appearance with identity. In short, that a woman’s identity is closely linked with how sexy she is to other people.

I recognize that WoW is escapism: Therefore, shouldn’t individuals be allowed to escape this culture-poisoning theme?

We escape into a world where the same stereotypes that we want to flee from–that only beautiful people matter, that one’s identity is based on bra-size, that if you’re too pretty you can’t be smart–are reinforced. We suspend our disbelief on magic, dragons and the functionality of Thong Plate Armor. What we are told, because of our limited choices, is that in order to be powerful, women must wear form fitting armor that prominently display cleavage and navels. A player should be able to chose what armor their character wears. They should not be forced to cover their toon up because Blizz wants to buy into cultural themes that many of us rail against on a daily basis.

By limiting choice in what our toons can wear, Blizzard is reinforcing themes and ideas that continue to objectify women. Hell, by limiting avatar customizations, they are also reinforcing the Adonis Complex . Providing choices to players is not too expensive, nor would it dismiss those individuals who are empowered by Blizz’s armor stylings. It does, however, allow Blizzard to take responsibility for its portrayal of women (and men) and correct a serious problem within the game.

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