World of Warcraft: Noblegarden, Sexy or Sexist?

May 05 2009

World of Warcraft: Noblegarden, Sexy or Sexist?

Published by Chris at 7:09 am under Editorial (short URL)

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We are nearing the end of Noblegarden, but haven’t discussed here at WoW Insider the most controversial part of the event: Shake your Bunny-Maker. For this achievement, you have to put bunny ears on one female of each race that is over Level 18.

The name and picture of that fictional album is undeniably sexist and degrading to women. But does that apply to the in-game actions of forcing bunny ears on appropriately "aged" females? Sutro at Feministing.com seems to think so (as do a few of our readers who wrote in about this topic). He calls this achievement "unconscionable", which is a pretty strong word.

Without a doubt, putting the ears only on female characters and having them be the equivalent of legal age to pose nude is a reference to Playboy. And Playboy, as most adults know, is a men’s magazine with naked women inside AKA smut or porn. Many people believe that all porn objectifies and is otherwise demeaning to women, even if considered tasteful as many consider Playboy to be.