The Women of Medieval RolePlay
ARINA DRAGOVAR
QUEEN OF DARGON
Enter the world of role play and you embark on a journey of imagination and creativity. Nowhere is that more evident than the many medieval role play communities in Second Life®. Medieval role play adds the element of history combined with fantasy and the end result is truly remarkable. Even more remarkable are the strong female characters that permeate these fantasy worlds. They embody strength of body, mind and spirit. Through the powers that they wield, they stand as beacons representing the empowerment of women.
The beautiful Queen Arina rules the fantasy Kingdom of Dargon with wisdom and kindness but with a firm hand. She is descended from the first King of Dargon, King Thomas Firestorm and his daughter Kaleena. Arina Dragovar enjoys the role of queen, saying “The role of queen has helped me to learn to be more assertive and outspoken in my life. In real life, I am a very shy person who has a difficult time making new friends or holding steady relationships. With role play I am able to express myself in ways that I would be unable to do elsewhere. “ Role play is a creative outlet for Dragovar who shared, “I have always loved to, not only write, (she writes for the SL Business Review), but to create as well. Role play gives me that creative outlet I need in my life. Role play can also be a way to relax. I have been interested in medieval fantasy ever since my teen years so doing a medieval fantasy role play just came natural to me.”
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Regarding being a woman involved in role play, Dragovar mused, “I hate to admit it but being a woman in role play is both a blessing and a curse. I will say that I am a woman in real life. Women in medieval role play are actually treated with more dignity and respect than women in real life as the men are supposed to be chivalrous.” However, she also commented on the downside of being a woman in role play saying, “The more difficult part about being a woman in role play is the fact that the men seem to think you are only there for their pleasure.” Dragovar provided some parting words, “I would like to mention that for those readers who are looking for a decent place to role play, we are looking to fill jobs around the sim. We would like to have ordinary citizens doing ordinary jobs such as merchants, bakers, healers, teachers, and we even need an innkeeper for the tavern.”
JULY/AUGUST 2013