Why I Play World of Warcraft

I admit it. I’m a thirty-something single mom and I play a massively multi-player online (MMO) game set in a fantasy world featuring every cliché of the genre and populated mainly by adolescent boys. Why?

First, it’s fantastic for stress relief. Nothing feels better than beating the snot out of someone after a long day at the office, especially if they are trying to beat the snot out of you. Rough day? Need to kill something? Instead of launching an unwise offensive on your boss or innocent liver, simply boot up, log in, and slaughter the armies of your enemy.

Second, World of Warcraft offers a beautiful environment that has to be seen to be believed. The developers have created a visual world that is breathtaking.  It’s like going on an exotic vacation without dealing with baggage limits or customs queues. And if the natives annoy you, you can kill them. Which isn't usually a good idea in real life.

Third, it’s low maintenance. Despite the fact that it is a multi-player game, there is no requirement to be social. I don’t have to relate to other people, I can just kill them.  On the very rare occasions when I choose to talk with other players, it often goes like this:

[Genghis]: ty dude

[Me]: not a dude.

[Genghis]: never met a girl who played wow b4

[Me]: how do u know?

[Genghis]: so how old ru?

[Me]: 53

[Genghis]: srsly?

[Me]: ya. and fucking obese.

[Genghis]:  i never met a girl who cussed like u either

But while people often hit me, they rarely hit on me.

               

This brings me to my fourth, and most important, point: I play World of Warcraft because it offers a break from the frustrations of being a female. There are times when I am tired of it. I see myself as a person, and I’m tired of being judged by this physical body and tired of being weaker. I’m tired of my mind being casually dismissed or ignored because of the shape of my body. I’m tired of being afraid. 

Playing World of Warcraft allows me to create an alter-ego. Female characters in the game have all the strength, agility, intelligence, speed, and stamina as their male counterparts; gender is rendered neutral. My ability to play the game, to succeed, relies only on my wits and hand dexterity. It's an even playing field.

World of Warcraft, and other MMOs, offer more than just entertainment for women by providing an entertaining environment where we are people, automatically. For me, that’s more than just a game, that’s paradise.

Snarky is a 90 Blood DK

Ex-Wombmates: On Being a Twin

One of the most common questions I get asked is, "What's it like to be a twin?"

For one thing, I was born that way. I only found out it was different or important because other people kept telling me.

This is in part because we are not identical twins, we're fraternal. You know, separate eggs; we just happened to be on the same maternal bus at the same time. We don't look more alike than anyone else in the family. Our only other sibling, our sister, is eighteen months older, which made us more like triplets. And then there's our slightly younger male cousin who grew up alongside us and made us a fearsome foursome. My sister and I were often 'the girls' vs. my brother and cousin, 'the boys'; so my identity was shaped as much by being one of 'the girls' as by being part of 'the twins'.

The only annoying thing about being a twin is when my brother and I meet someone not visibly visually-impaired and they say, "Twins, eh? Are you identical?"

Which is like when someone with a name like Lucy Bainbridge or Scott Smith sends me an email beginning with "Hi Andren," as though 'Andren' is a more likely first name than 'Rachel'. Really? Really?

So we reply, straight-faced and in unison, with the only possible answer: "Yes. We're identical."

Which brings me to my next point. As far as I can tell, at this point in life being a twin consists largely of having an arsenal of terrible inside jokes that only twins appreciate:

"You guys are twins?"
"No, he's a placenta."

"How do you guys know each other?"
"Ex-wombmates."

"Which one of you is older?"
"She is. I kicked her *ss out."

Being a twin can be fun, if only because other people make a bigger deal out of it than we do. It's true that my brother and I share special connection. Maybe it's because we were born together. Maybe it's because he's a wonderful brother. Hard to tell. We're not telepathic, we don't have a secret language, but we do look out for each other. We do make that effort to be that person's support. But you don't need to be a twin to do that.


**If any reader has any more terrible twin jokes please share... and our friends and family will thank you.


* Photo above: http://www.etsy.com/listing/59181628/funny-evil-twin-set-of-2-onesies-great