orichalcum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orichalcum) wrote2005-06-01 12:43 pm
orichalcum) wrote2005-06-01 12:43 pm
On the goals of role-playing
So, I'm reading this book that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
julianyap loaned me, called Confederates in the Attic, by Tony Horwitz. It's a very interesting discussion of modern Southern attitudes towards the Confederacy, and it focuses particularly on Civil War reenactors, or, as they apparently prefer to be called, "living historians." (This makes me wonder what I am - a dead historian?)
One of the most startling aspects of their comments was the repeated emphasis on how one of their favorite parts of re-enactment was getting back to traditional gender roles, where "men could be men and women could be women."
This surprised me, largely because one of the difficulties and barriers in my own role-playing experience, especially LARPing, has been a definite goal to re-create a medievalish European feel without traditional gender differences, where women could be swashbuckling swordfighters and men could be pacifistic priests of healing.
The traditional roles have been seen as a hindrance and difficulty, particularly because they are so ingrained in our notions of the period, and hard to get out. Two examples are the sudden creation by the PCs of a patriarchal dowry system for marriages during 10KD, an Italianate court LARP, and repeated calls in regular games to "save the women and children," when most of the women, thank you very much, can take care of themselves.
But then I started analyzing my own motives more closely, cuz, well, I'm a suspicious historian attuned to my own biases and agenda, as much as possible. And I have to admit that part of my attraction to LARPing does have to deal with more traditional gender roles. In particular, I initially found Quest fun partially (although this was a very minor reason) because it was a place where I could dress in a sexy and provocative fashion, wearing low-cut, tight dresses, and yet _not_ have to deal with the catcalls and propositions I'd get from total strangers if I wore a similar outfit on the street or out dancing. Even if I got propositions, they would be to my character, who was usually much more relaxed and better at flirting than Orichalcum was (or is, arguably, not that it matters) and would generally be quite courteous. (Also, my body image fits into medieval paradigms much better than modern waif-like ones.)
I still feel like there's a strong distinction between this behavior and liking to get back to being escorted by a man while in a hoop skirt and spending the weekend knitting socks in public. (Not that there's anything wrong with knitting! Or socks!) I suppose it's that I like the options - that I know that in Quest, I _can_ pick up a sword and run out there to fight, even in my bodice.
I'm curious as to how other people feel about the idea of embracing trad gender roles, and whether this is a desirable goal, and how you feel about gender roles in more fantasy-oriented LARPs, both from the male and female perspectives.
julianyap loaned me, called Confederates in the Attic, by Tony Horwitz. It's a very interesting discussion of modern Southern attitudes towards the Confederacy, and it focuses particularly on Civil War reenactors, or, as they apparently prefer to be called, "living historians." (This makes me wonder what I am - a dead historian?)One of the most startling aspects of their comments was the repeated emphasis on how one of their favorite parts of re-enactment was getting back to traditional gender roles, where "men could be men and women could be women."
This surprised me, largely because one of the difficulties and barriers in my own role-playing experience, especially LARPing, has been a definite goal to re-create a medievalish European feel without traditional gender differences, where women could be swashbuckling swordfighters and men could be pacifistic priests of healing.
The traditional roles have been seen as a hindrance and difficulty, particularly because they are so ingrained in our notions of the period, and hard to get out. Two examples are the sudden creation by the PCs of a patriarchal dowry system for marriages during 10KD, an Italianate court LARP, and repeated calls in regular games to "save the women and children," when most of the women, thank you very much, can take care of themselves.
But then I started analyzing my own motives more closely, cuz, well, I'm a suspicious historian attuned to my own biases and agenda, as much as possible. And I have to admit that part of my attraction to LARPing does have to deal with more traditional gender roles. In particular, I initially found Quest fun partially (although this was a very minor reason) because it was a place where I could dress in a sexy and provocative fashion, wearing low-cut, tight dresses, and yet _not_ have to deal with the catcalls and propositions I'd get from total strangers if I wore a similar outfit on the street or out dancing. Even if I got propositions, they would be to my character, who was usually much more relaxed and better at flirting than Orichalcum was (or is, arguably, not that it matters) and would generally be quite courteous. (Also, my body image fits into medieval paradigms much better than modern waif-like ones.)
I still feel like there's a strong distinction between this behavior and liking to get back to being escorted by a man while in a hoop skirt and spending the weekend knitting socks in public. (Not that there's anything wrong with knitting! Or socks!) I suppose it's that I like the options - that I know that in Quest, I _can_ pick up a sword and run out there to fight, even in my bodice.
I'm curious as to how other people feel about the idea of embracing trad gender roles, and whether this is a desirable goal, and how you feel about gender roles in more fantasy-oriented LARPs, both from the male and female perspectives.
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In this particular case, I think there's a fair amount of societal pressure to adhere to traditional gender roles, and while most of us here reject them to some degree or another, the pressure is there, and the rejection means that there are certain aspects of ourselves that we don't feel comfortable with in our day-to-day lives. So one advantage of role-playing is that it lets us explore the parts of ourselves that we don't want to be part of our normal lives.
As a couple of examples, I feel uncomfortable being macho and take-charge in real life, but it's nice to be able to let go sometimes when role-playing. Also, I feel extremely uncomfortable about unquestioning obedience to authority, yet I came up with a Quest character who's a religious fanatic. I find that having a clearly defined moral compass is a highly seductive point of view, and it's fun to play around with, but it's not how I feel I should live my real life.
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