“Slut Plate”.
I’ve not heard the term before today, but apparently it’s become quite the thing amongst the transmogrification community in WoW. It refers, of course, to the many and varied semi-unclothed options for female characters’ armour.It’s a neat, immediately-visualisable phrase. It’s catchy. It’s already getting widespread adoption.
And Apple Cider of Apple Cider Mage writes an impassioned and intelligent article today explaining why it’s also potentially really harmful –
“I’m not here to talk about abolishing the many, many sets of evocative armor in World of Warcraft. I’m here to talk about getting rid of the disgusting language and thoughts that surround them! As I’ve discussed before, I’m a big proponent of the idea that the words we choose to express ideas with inform many of our feelings. A word that encompasses an entire disgusting ideology: slut. Sluttiness is both a term used to denigrate female sexuality as well as denote when it occurs in a way that extends beyond what the judgemental person feels is “respectable” “healthy” or “acceptable.”
You can be a slut if you do X, Y, or Z. You can be a slut if you do something X number of times or have X number of partners. In that vein, I feel the landslide useage of “slut plate” in the WoW community puts that same unhealthy/sexist perception around even something as fun and aesthetic as transmogrification/roleplaying gear. The very term itself makes my mouth pucker up in my characteristic sour sneer. It makes me legitimately angry.”
Apple Cider makes an excellent point, and unlike many writers in this field, she takes great pains not to use jargon or assume her readers are already familiar with similar discussions in the past. Her argument’s also a powerful one – “slut” is one hell of a loaded term, and one with very ugly, very sexist, and very sex-negative implications. And Apple Cider nails the virtual-world aspect of all this – “Choosing to wear something skimpy in real life or World of Warcraft should be because someone wants to, because it makes them happy, and should not indicate anything other about a person’s personality or sexuality other than what they wish it to indicate.”.
Unfortunately, I can’t see her alternative suggestion, “Sassy Plate”, catching on, although I wish it every success – which is a pity. And much as writers like Dossie Easton have been trying to reclaim the word ‘slut for years, it hasn’t worked yet. Anyone have any other ideas for a better term than “slut plate” that describes without condemning?
Will you be using the phrase “Slut Plate” any time soon?
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Huh, that’s the first I’ve ever heard of that term. Like Grimmtooth I’m used to the term “chain mail bikini”, and I’m not particularly old school or anything.
I won’t be upset if sassy plate never catches on (we also have mailkini, chain mail bikini, combatkini…) but my term was at least an attempt to show how we can inform and change the thoughts we have just by using a less harmful turn of phrase.
:> Thank you for the writeup!
“Choosing to wear something skimpy in real life or World of Warcraft should be because someone wants to, because it makes them happy, and should not indicate anything other about a person’s personality or sexuality other than what they wish it to indicate.”
Unfortunately (or is that fortunately?), you don’t get to control someone else’s perception that way. You can only control your own perceptions and responses.
Beyond that, the notion that immodest dress correlates with immodest behavior is not unreasonable. It’s prejudice, sure, but it’s not random or incoherent.
@Tesh – In other words, look at that quoted paragraph. Now extend it to language:
“Pretty” should only mean what I think it means, not what the hearer thinks it means, certainly not the dictionary meaning. Or more provocatively, “gay” should mean what I think it means, not what it used to mean for decades. Yes, maybe terms change over time with repeated use or abuse, but you can’t arbitrarily declare that your meaning and only yours is correct and demand others bend to your will… and then turn around and demand that you should never have to acquiesce to someone else’s opinion.
Well, you can, but it’s hypocritical and unhelpful.
I know, showing off my ankles means I should scuttle back into the house before anyone gets the wrong idea about me and doesn’t marry me!
*gasp*
This is the first time I’ve heard the term as well…and I think the issue with regards to virtual worlds is even more complicated since the idea is not just about “someone getting to wear what they want”…in many cases there is not a ton of choice.
Transmog helps with this, but I think for some they might find it strangely offensive when they come across that mage who’s sporting black mageweave pants and an imbued netherweave top…you don’t know that’s a woman playing the character, it could be someone that’s intentionally being pervy, because now this female avatar is being used for someone’s fantasy…and that gets into issues of objectification and so on and so forth.
Anyways started rambling, simply put I do think “Slutplate” is a poor term to use since it has other negative implications about a woman’s sexuality, but at the same time the issue of chain-kini’s is a complex topic.
I thought we were against revealing plate armor for female characters because it was impractical and objectified/sexualized women. But now we’re for it because it empowers women in some fashion?
Man, it’s getting so hard to keep up with the orthodoxy.
@Rohan: Yeah that confuses me a little too…I was under the impression that the main issue was that there often wasn’t choice BUT to wear the impractical/sexual armor…if it becomes an option to be in chainkinis OR wear something more “realistic” then I suppose that’s some level of progress.
I’ve never heard it called Slut Plate before. It’s always been *Armor Class*-Bikini in my circles.
@Shintar – “Platekini” / “Mailkini” is how we’ve been referring to that sort of outfit.
@Rohan – Some people want to have the option to wear clothes that aren’t revealing, and some people want to wear what they want without being insulted. Seems reasonable enough to me.
I had never heard the term, and I see your point.
Food for thought: “slut” is definitely female-slanted, but I personally don’t think it is gender exclusive. I’ve definitely heard men being referred to as sluts as well.
I like finding skimpy armor. I like changing my character’s looks. But my co-tank told me that my armor is getting a bit disturbing, so I’m going to tone it down slightly for his sake.
When I was young and skinny I liked to dress up in slinky clothes. Nowadays there’s way too much of me to do that in public. But I can still dress up my imaginary paper doll in skimpy clothes. And I must admit, I do get a bit of a kick from knowing that it’s a bit distracting.
But now that I’ve received that validation I’ll tone it down, because showing off my tight and toned blood elf butt isn’t nearly as important as killing internet dragons.
Men do not receive nearly as much criticism for their sexual proclivities (whether it be volume or types of sexual activities) in that kind of way as women. Being a slut as a male is more often a joke about their sexual prowess, not a way to shame or police their behaviour.
This is a pretty typical point to bring up in feminist discussions too and it is neither new or exceptionally helpful to detract from something women suffer a brunt of to point out that men get called it sometimes too, with way less negativity. :/
Are you saying that there is no moral difference between having had 2 partners or 200?
In other words, if the volume of societal disapproval attached to the word slut were even for men and women, would that solve the issue? Or is it that you think there should be no value attached to the number of sexual partners?
Biologically, the risk/reward of more partners favors men…heavily.
Now, in our modern civilized societies, that gap has narrowed but still exists. I’m fine with making the term gender neutral, or the term can be changed if it’s just too much baggage, but we still need a word for someone who is sexually promiscuous.
“Are you saying that there is no moral difference between having had 2 partners or 200?”
This is somewhat off-topic and I won’t be entering into a lengthy argument on the subject.
However: Yes, that’s exactly what I’d say.
Is it really hard to see the actual argument for what it is? This is making steps away from an already bad situation (which I touched on briefly but didn’t quite have the room for to flesh out in total) in something at least with an element of choice. Which again, got turned around on women and became a sexuality/policing issue with the language being used.
Calling it orthodoxy feels incredibly condescending.
@Apple Cider – Side-point – in some sections of society there does seem to be a move toward condemning men for sexual activity too. I’d refer you to the incredibly popular “How I Met Your Mother”, for example, which (before I stopped watching it) was becoming increasingly judgemental about its “man-whore” main character Barney.
It’s equality of a sort. Just not a, you know, good sort.
To be honest, I don’t find it any better than condoning them for lack of it which is, I’d say, much more frequent.
I meant to say condemning. Sorry.
@Hugh Hancock –
It’s the sexism finally catching up to men. I’m aware of it, but it always seems to come up in a discussion centered on women.
There’s a lot of sexism to combat and I’m all for taking down ALL of it, but there’s a WHAT ABOUT THE MENZ?! meme for a reason.
Agreed. And agreed, just because it can be a problem for men too doesn’t mean it’s not a problem for women!
Also, let’s see if I’ve fixed the comment moderation problem now…
Yes, there is somewhat of a problem with sexism ESPECIALLY in video games, what with the pictures of women dressed in all but nothing in some of the first games made.
but one also must realize that the term “Slut” herts just as much for men as it does for women in the right context. I totally agree on the point were if a guy is called a slut, it is usually playful. but women call each other names in a playful manner too.
If someone were to walk up and see my male character with transmog gear that made it look like i had no shirt on, and and say “Hey, look whos wearing slut-plate” i would feel offended just as much as a girl would.
All in all im just saying that guys get their fair share too, especially with terms like “Gay” and such being used inappropriately. AND that context has a lot to do with how the word “Slut” is used
This uproar over slut plate is so gay and retarded.
+1 for incorporating three separate politically-incorrect insults at once?
I’ve never ever heard it called slut plate before, but that is absolutely what it has to be called. This is gonna kill um in trade chat on my realm. Thank you for perpetuating this hilarious linguistic gem.
but lets get real for a sec, the people who spend hours looking for titillating transmog gear, do you think they are bastions of modesty; angry that the world has judged them so vainly? I doubt it.
once again, thank you for allowing this awesomeness to come to my server.
I wrote up a response post, Erinys’ comments are pretty good.
http://menagerie.jaedia.net/?p=6731
But I like being a slut.
if u use a skirt that lets pl see your ass, probably everyone will look. Dont be puritan, sex is just that.
Also everyone dresses as they want, period. consequences come later ^^
u know why men arent called Sluts? 1- they dont care, more sex the better. 2- a men dresses as he wants, and if someone comments probably gets punched in the face. 3- if women dont dress with short skirts and boobs almost out of blouses men will still think of sex and want to see naked women. Human nature m8.
Its also in human nature most of the ppl calling “slut” are other women.
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