Further explanation of the 1/5/00 poll question:

There's been somewhat of a hullabalo ever since people learned that Grolier's Pern game only lets you play the role of D'kor, a bronze weyrling.   Besides it being easier for this first version of the game to not provide a choice of characters to play, it makes sense in 7th Pass Pern to offer a male character as the 'point' of the game beyond solving a mystery is to advance D'kor's rank up through the ranks of dragonriders, possibly to Weyrleader.  Pern is a strongly patriarchial society where women have fewer opportunities and room for advancement.  Those in positions of power--Lady Holders and Weyrwomen--got there more by virtue of birth and luck rather than working up through the ranks.  Women craft members can work up through the ranks to become Masters and even possibly Craftmasters, but I think most would agree that the game will be more attractive if you get to play a dragonrider rather than a crafter.  And the dragonriders who have the most room for advancement happen to be the bronze riders, who are all male on Pern as Anne McCaffrey created it.  During the 7th Pass (when the game is set) females did not ride green dragons at all, and besides, greens have almost no opportunity to rise beyond ordinary wing members.  Women of course did ride golds at this time, but advancement is only from junior to senior queen, is this is done by virtue of seniority only, not by proving your character's worth.   So to me it simply makes sense for the character in the game to be a male bronze rider.  But I'm curious to know what spread of opinions out there is, so please vote.  

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