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“I have an idea that the phrase "weaker sex" was coined by some woman to disarm some man she was preparing to overwhelm.” ~ Ogden Nash

Welcome to The Estrogen Dungeon!!

My name is Bia Pandora and I was born on 18.10.2009 - Day 698 of the New World. I was born a citizen of the eUSA in the state of Iowa, my real life home. I am a lifetime, adult and female gamer.

I joined eRepublik from an advertising link. I joined with no friends, no background into the game and absolutely NO idea what I was doing. I’ve spent my short eLife studying newspaper articles and the forums learning everything I could while I was in the boring baby period. One by one I started receiving friend requests and started thinking…..how many other women are playing and who are they? In a political and military based online game what are my chances of doing well as a woman?

It seems like a question that shouldn’t have to be asked, but let’s be honest; historically women are a minority in gaming. But things are getting better in the gaming world! According to the Entertainment Software Association’s 2008 Sales, Demographic and Usage Data report 44% of online gamers are women.

Sadly, we aren’t seeing those numbers in eRepublik…..yet. According to Tall_niki_News’s article “[STATS]Males vs Females”, women make up only 12.4% of eRep citizens, with Japan having the highest percentage of female citizens at 19.8%.

Off I went on my quest to find more of my gender tribe…

I was lucky to be referred to several female citizens. Almost all of them were gracious enough to answer my questions, even though we were in the middle of all the fighting in the past few days. I know there are many more women I haven’t gotten a chance to speak to but maybe that may lead to another edition in the future!?!

I had no criteria for who I interviewed other than they are a woman; I didn’t care about how long they’d been playing or what they’d accomplished. All I cared about is that they are having fun playing. Some of them believe that being a woman has helped them to rise; others think their gender has had no effect on how they’ve done.

I found that every one of these women is exceptional in some way and I am excited to share their answers to my questions with you. Regardless of what you personally believe about gender in gaming these players are all worth knowing. I am very proud to stand beside every one of them as a woman, an eCitizen and a fellow gamer!

I’d like to introduce you to (in alphabetical order):

Angelini
Born: 24.02.2009 - Day 462 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 20
Current Rank: General
Accomplishments: Commanding Officer of the eUnited States Training Corps, member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the military (current); Conservative Party: Party Recruiter (former), Party Whip (former); One Time Congresswoman (former)

Astra Kat G
Born: 24.07.2009 - Day 612 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 18
Current Rank: Colonel
Accomplishments: Three-term Congresswoman and Congressional Whip (a position that serves the Speaker of the House and Deputy Speaker of the House in keeping the rest of Congress up to date). Multi-term member of the Infrastructure Committee in Congress. Former Finance Director and current Immigration and Naturalization Liaison of US Green Party. Lead editor/published author of Shining in the Darkness, which has a circulation of nearly 900 subscribers. Number 1 Top eBabe of Joey Jackson's publication Rhode Island Bikini Watch, September 2009 edition.

Daphne Lilac
Born: 01.04.2008 - Day 133 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 20 (I must say that I don't keep track of levels for people and I find this statistic ersatz, you can boost your level score just by 2 clicking consistently over months)
Current Rank: General
Accomplishments: (ugh lol) First appointed General of the eUSA military, Vice President, Chief of Staff, Party President of The Libertarians for two terms, Congress for 7 terms, and many 'other' things in Erepublik

Fionia
Born: 18.02.2009 - Day 456 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 18
Current Rank: Captain
Accomplishments: 1- (possibly 2) term Congresswoman from New York

Gudridur
Born: 31.07.2009 - Day 619 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 17
Current Rank: Captain
Accomplishments: Lol, none really. I liked working for a diamond company, but they kept cutting my salary so I resigned. Somebody included me on the "Hottest babes in eRepublik" a few weeks ago, that was fun 🙂

Ines Schumacher
Born: 27.02.2009 - Day 465 of the New World
Citizen of: eSouth Africa
Current Level: 19
Current Rank: Colonel
Accomplishments: 1 x congressman (maybe 2 x today?), Leader of the resistance during Brazilian/Indo occupation, 1 x president of eSouth Africa, 2 x cabinet member as liberation negotiation minister

Kara Beth
Born: 24.05.2009 - Day 551 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 19
Current Rank: General
Strength: 9.84
Accomplishments: Federalist Party Media Director, rank of General, Hard worker 5 times

Nuriessa
Born: 19.04.2009 - Day 516 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 19
Current Rank: Colonel with 471 fights, 23657 damage
Accomplishments: I am currently an employee of Chaos Wood, and a member of the UIP. I am the former Lieutenant and Executive Officer of the 1st Company, 2nd Division, 3rd Platoon of the eUS Training Division, under the command of Ret. General Dczip, then General Angelini. I currently am the 11Th Company Commander of the 1st Division Training Corps.

Quicksilver
Born: 24.11.2008 - Day 370 of the New World
Citizen of: eHungary
Current Level: 22
Current Rank: Field Marshal
Accomplishments: MoFa of Hungary, President of Hungary, 5 times congressman, 4 times Media Mogul, I achieved all the medals second in eHungary, I was the 7th Field Marshall in eHungary, and the only Hungarian presently to have the Ambassador Medal. Assorted smaller titles.

seeker1
Born: 31.03.2009 - Day 497 of the New World
Citizen of: eUSA
Current Level: 20
Current Rank: General
Accomplishments: 5th Term Congressperson; AAP PR Director, Home Guard member; AAP Exec Committee; Asst Dir. State Dept Office of Latin American Affairs.

Veriah Carmine
Born: 31.08.2009 - Day 650 of the New World
Citizen of: eGreece
Current Level: 16
Current Rank: Lieutenant
Accomplishments: Headmistress of The Gynarchy, soldier in Seal Team 6, owner of The Mistress' Commands newspaper, manager of Mistress' Manors construction company. Many more to come. 😉

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Now for the questions:

~ The Estrogen Dungeon (hereafter referred to as TED): Has being a woman helped or hindered your eLife?

Angelini: I won't say it hasn't helped at all. I have a feeling that sometimes my being a women has not counted against me when. I can honestly have never purposely used my femininity to further my goals.

Astra Kat G: Just a bit ashamed to say, but I think it's helped a lot. There's about 1 of us to every 10 men in this eWorld, which, by itself, is an attention-getter. Although I think my supporters do so on the basis of what I write and what I believe in, I've attracted more than one of them by my female profile picture and actually being female as well.

Daphne Lilac: When I started playing Erepublik I didn't join the game with any consideration about the gender balance - I was not even thinking in those terms. The biggest detriment to being a woman in game is the lack of community among us. If you are a woman that appreciates the camaraderie of other women this is NOT the game for you - and frankly nor are most other games LOL. That being said- I find it impossible to 'not' be a woman when I play Erepublik- it is who and what I am. I don't feel that being a woman was in any way advantageous for me here and I rather think that we should be more concerned about figuring things out and playing this game vs being overly concerned about our gender.

Fionia: Probably helped a little. IMO, being a woman in this game has made it easier for me to make friends and talk to people.

Gudridur: Neither. I get more random friend requests than most guys, but most are probably from 15 year old boys.

Ines Schumacher: Helped, I would say. You’re automatically ‘special’ since there aren’t
a lot of other women playing. Maybe I wasn’t taken seriously in the beginning, but I think I dispelled that myth quite quickly. I’m the only high profile woman playing in eSA so I get a lot of attention.

Kara Beth: I believe it helped me. My avatar choice had a lot to do with it. Women are the minority in this game, so they get more attention sometimes. A few guys will flirt with you on IRC, some will stalk. It goes with the territory.

Nuriessa: Being a woman has neither helped nor hindered my eLife.

Quicksilver: Both. I never hesitated to use my womanhood to gain advantage of the mostly adolescent males' world, without exploiting it of course. But I do feel that I had to prove my worth more than males usually do.

seeker1: I’ve not felt much impact either way.

Veriah Carmine: Both. There's very definitely a "boy's club" feel to many of the current ruling subcultures in eRepublik. At the same time, I've found many extremely supportive high-level female (and male, for that matter) players who have quickly helped me learn the ropes and get down to the dirty business of World Domin... uh, I mean, realizing my potential.


~ TE😨 Have you had any negative experiences because you are a woman? (Personal, professional or other?)

Angelini: The only negative experience in reference to my being a woman I've had was at the hands of a certain "conservative" political hopeful who was a mite crazy. I took, and still take any insult from him as a badge of pride.

Astra Kat G: Definitely! Some a**holes, they know who they are, like to tear women down in this game, claim the have STDs, and call them things I can't repeat here. Though I haven't been victim of so many of these types of sexual harassment, I can say that I've been called a five letter synonym for prostitute for no apparent reason, on multiple occasions, and been cat-called along the lines of "I'm interested in your fine as* baby" and such things. That's personally, anyhow; professionally, no one's called me out on anything on the basis of being a woman, so I'm lucky that at least guys in government are as respectful with me as they would be with any guy.

Daphne Lilac: Uh, YES, lol, my answer to that question is far too personal however for Erepublik 🙂. (I assume you mean IRL?)

Fionia: There was a situation where somebody was harassing me, but that's been dealt with.

Gudridur: A couple of rude and lewd comments. I reported one jerk because he wouldn't stop talking about how "hot" I am, but the admins didn't answer.

Ines Schumacher: Well the first thing people do when they’re trying to discredit me or
insult me, is play on the fact that I’m a woman. Plus the male players can get very sexist. And crude. But if you can’t beat em, join em! However, I also have a very close group of male friends in eSA who I can trust to protect me against insults and also kick any offending players from IRC! 😉

Kara Beth: My only beef is that many assume you are not female unless you can prove it somehow. This has caused a number of doubters as far as I'm concerned. I have never felt the need to alleviate their doubts. If you want to believe that I am another Rhane, then you are welcome to that belief. I wouldn't recommend making that accusation if you want to be friendly with me though. Who's to say that some "guys" in this game are not really girls?

Nuriessa: No.

Quicksilver: I had several humorous situations before it was widely known that I am a woman. Negative only one, when I was told that as a female I have no chance in Romanian political life - not that as a Hungarian I had a lot. 😛

seeker1: Only having to look at adolescent men’s postings of “hot” women 🙂

Veriah Carmine: I work in Land, and I've often noticed that male-run businesses in that field tend to fire their female employees first if they need to cut costs. I've been at 90+ health since I could fight and I've worked every day of my eLife, but it's still happened to me about 6-8 times.
On my newspaper, whenever I bring up any sort of gender issue, the responses remind me of how much idiotic misogyny is out there. But to be fair, morons are a dime a dozen anywhere online, and there have been many thoughtful responses as well, including some that disagreed with my point of view.


~ TE😨 What has been your proudest moment?

Angelini: I have two moments that stand out to me. The first was when the previous Commanding Officer of the Training Corps (previously known as the Training Division) told me that he was more than comfortable in stepping down because he knew that I was capable running the branch. The second was being asked to run as the Conservative Party Vice President to Party Presidential hopeful, Cromstar, who is a bit of a hero to me.

Astra Kat G: Watching eSouth Africa come back on the map 9/10ths free of foreign PTO influence. Wishing them all the best!

Daphne Lilac: My proudest moment was my job as Party President in The Libetarians, it was my toughest job and the best one I've had in the game thus far.

Fionia: I'd have to say winning my first Congressional election in September 09.

Gudridur: Helping to liberate California!

Ines Schumacher: It has to be when eSouth Africa got its first region back from Brazil!
I worked 2 months with no country for that moment and although there were a lot of impatient people and some who thought “ag she’s a female, what does she know” I managed it and it really was the start of the respect I’ve gained in eSouth Africa. I’ll always be remembered for getting us back on the map.

Kara Beth: An important part of my Media Director responsibilities is fund raising. I am most proud of my success in that regard.

Nuriessa: My proudest moment has been being asked to take a command position with the Training Corps. Being a female in a leadership position especially in the military gives me a sense of confidence and appreciation for the military that they would select me, not because I am female, but because of the work that I do.

Quicksilver: Two comes to my mind; being elected to President of Hungary and achieving the index-baby boom - and becoming the leading journalist in all of eRepublik. I consider the second as my greatest ever achievement, as I am a journalist first and a diplomat-politician only second. The moment when my paper, the Legendarium became the Nr 1 on eRep was the pinnacle of my erepublik career.

seeker1: My first political assignment: Rewriting the AAP manifesto, there were few editorial changes from others. That manifesto is still in use.

Veriah Carmine: Reaching level 16 by Day 45. Founding my own company and wading into the economic shark tank at barely over a month old in my eLife. So far, so good!


~TE😨 What are you working on achieving right now?

Angelini: Right now I am working on a massive restructure and altogether revamp of the Training Corps. There were a lot of problems within and without the TC before and during the war. My officers and I are now working on unlocking the Training Corps' true potential in training the soldiers of tomorrow.

Astra Kat G: Making my last Congressional term for the year a successful one and hoping to help guide eUSA into a prosperous era of peacekeeping. Also, retaking US Green Party, which was PTO'd this past Oct. 15th by a boy who paid 100 USD per vote and then rubbed our faces in it. If you're a citizen of eUSA and are interested in pledging your vote to the cause come this Nov. 15th, send me a mail and I'll give you more information.

Daphne Lilac: This is one of the more interesting things about Erepublik- you can determine your own course and accomplish your goals on your own terms. Right now I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to take a 2 clicking retirement or continue on and contribute as much as I can given my very busy schedule this fall/winter.

Fionia: Being a better representative for the voters of New York, moving up in the political world.

Gudridur: Having fun loz.

Ines Schumacher: I joined a new political party and I’m working on that a lot, running
for president is another option for the future, but not this month.

Kara Beth: Mostly fund raising and promoting the Federalist Party.

Nuriessa: I am currently content with my position with the military, I may in time try out the politics aspect of things, but at this time that is only a pondering thought.

Quicksilver: My present work is more a background one, not involving publicity. 🙂

seeker1: I’m entering a new Congressional term, hoping to make a greater contribution to that institution.

Veriah Carmine: Expanding my business operations in the near future. Expanding the Gynarchy to a more worldwide operation. We're recruiting right now, so if anyone is interested, Ladies especially, they should talk to me ASAP.


~ TE😨 What advice would you give a new female citizen?

Angelini: I would tell new female citizens to remember that everyone is equal on the internet. If you have dreams of doing anything, go for it. You might just surprise yourself in the things you can accomplish.

Astra Kat G: Conduct yourself admirably, without stooping to cheap "look at my tits and ass" moves whenever possible. You'll get more respect that way and respect is worth a whole lot more in this game than being seen as a pretty, but empty-headed, chick.

Daphne Lilac: Get over yourself and play the game. Seriously- quit preening already and start figuring out what you can do and how this game is played.

Fionia: Be prepared to take a joke. It's a lot easier to get along with people if you don't take offense at their jokes, especially with some of the guys. And rely on your intelligence and personality to get you ahead in this game, not the fact that you're a woman.

Gudridur: Friend as many female citizens as you can. Many of the players are 15 year old boys, don't flirt too much. Some of the female players are really boys ugh.

Ines Schumacher: Work with what you have. Don’t dumb yourself down, but also play on men’s insecurities a little – it gets you places!

Kara Beth: 1)Don't take any crap from the boys. 2)Speaking up without sufficient eRep knowledge will quickly get you shot down. 3)Be yourself. Let your personality shine.

Nuriessa: Don't let anyone tell you that you cannot accomplish something in eRep because of your gender. You can be a congresswoman, or even a country president, look at Arbryn of eSingapore.

Quicksilver: Be yourself, be a woman, trust your senses and instinct, even when it is hard to make it accepted. Never try to conform to the dominantly male characteristic of the game and the community - if you enter their arena, they will win. Make them come to your arena. 🙂 But never overdo it and try to use sexual drives to achieve things - that road leads to danger.

seeker1: Don’t make an issue of gender.

Veriah Carmine: Be aggressive. Make friends with anyone who looks interesting. Ask questions. Read relentlessly. It's not easy being a woman in eRep and if you look around, there are a lot of dead female players, including ones that had gotten well-advanced, even into levels 19, 20 or above. Don't become one of them. Heck, if they need advice, I'm happy to help, and I know I'm not the only one.


~ TE😨 Is there anything you’d like to add?

Astra Kat G: Just thanks for including me in this article. Good luck with everything!

Daphne Lilac: I love Erepublik and I've honestly learned a lot from this game. Good luck to you!

Gudridur: Time to go fight in Nunavut!

Ines Schumacher: This is a great idea, thanks for asking me to contribute!

Kara Beth: Yes. Get involved with a political party. Do not wait till level 7 or to be approached. I know the Feds allow limited access to their forum for potential members. Find what suits you and become involved. This will create a sense of community and open up opportunities you haven't considered. Read news articles, access the forums, and check out the wiki. The IRC chat rooms are a great way to meet new people and better understand current events. The game is mostly played off site, so find your niche.

Nuriessa: I am eMarried to an eSingaporian congressman named Relorian. He is head of the Singapore Military. He resides there and is a eSingaporian citizen. We eEloped 2 months ago. He brought me into this eWorld, and is my fiance in RL.

Quicksilver: I am somewhat sad that erep and the similar strategic-simulation-roleplaying games are so much male-dominated and game-designers seem to think that females only interested in yoville or such games and purchasing things all the time - and also sad that many women seem to think this way too and don't even try such games as erep or give them up soon.

Veriah Carmine: Gynarchomaxx!

~ TE😨 Be nice to that new girl, she might grow up to be your commanding officer one day!!

The Estrogen Dungeon would like to thank the following people for their help with this story:

All the wonderful women interviewed!
Bluh, Joshua Patterson, Chocolate McSkittles and AndraX2000 for the help with my statistics questions.
Bluh for grabbing my noob self on IRC and helping me the first time I was on!
TheSpartan for starting off my list!
YOU for reading!!!!
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