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First, I want to say, I think it's wonderful that we can have a heated and passionate debate without bearing any personal rancor.
I've recently left the game I played for four years, but the it was evident on the game I played before, and I see it on the game on which I've recently begun. And women are not playing the mother role with depth and passion. While many women do play the ritual of seduction, procreation and reproduction, once they produce these imaginary offspring they do not blow any depth into their rp of mothering. They drag their offspring into smoky noisy taverns. Their children magically disappear when they want to run out and spar, or troll the bars for their next sperm donor. I'd love to see a woman on a mud scold her naughty rug rats as they interfere with her conducting her livlihood. I'd love to see them sacrifice for their children. I don't believe that lovely peasant girl A B and C can all afford private nurses. Why aren't any of these women running day care centers? Why aren't any of them stressed out about the magnitude of balancing their jobs as leathal warriors and the care of their children? The children born in muds seem to be more like a form of jewelry than small people that bring joy beyond their flawless cuteness, and bring worries and fatigue. The people playing mother roles are often not playing them realistically. But really this thread is about a different type of one dimensional rp.
More on point, I have trouble telling one honey voiced femme fatale from the next. This is a great pc concept: Ariana is a beautiful young woman from the poor side of town, who works hard to polish herself and use her sweet face to attract powerful men, and ensnare them in her invisible silken webs of intrigue so she can run the world through them.
The problem is with Ariana is that ninety percent of female pc's are Ariana. And less than one percent are: Mary, a woman from the poor part of town, who worked as a weaver until her fingers bled to pay to learn to read. She managed to get a job as an aide, where her sound judgement and hard work earned her a job as top administrator. She saved every penny she ever made and raised an army one warrior at a time, solidifying each man and woman to her through the sheer force of her personality and is now taking over the world.
I think that prostitution is a traditional woman's role that originates from societies where women are less valued than men. I don't have any data to draw on, but perhaps I should do some research. Your question makes me wonder this: How common is prostitution in matriarchal societies vs. patriarchal?
Also, most of the prostitution in mud, is not money for sex. But the selling of one's very being including sex for second hand power.
I would also be happy to see more of the women who play these roles play them proudly. See them stand up and say, I slept my way to the top. Where there are men willing to be manipulated by their penis, I am smart enough to profit. Instead most women who get ahead through sex deny they've done so, further emphasizing that what they do is shameful. If this is a role women insist on embracing (in spite of my very vocal protests) then let's embrace it without shame.
As for what roles I'd like to see women in, I'd like to see women in as many roles as they can imagine. And I'd like to see them imagine more than two. The man-like woman warrior and the woman who is a source of sexual desire first and hunter-gatherer-philosopher-weaver-warrior-mother second are both cliches. I want to see women not playing cliches. I want to see women who believe they don't need to flutter their lashes and stick out their perfect breasts for what they say to be interesting. Nor do I think they should have to remake themselves into men to be taken seriously.
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