I don’t think it’s really for the better. I know Blizz don’t really want to make the game political (Which is a weird statement to say today) or anything, but the Night elves had the only good aligned matriarchal society in the game. It was a thing that made them unique. Giving Malfurion ‘‘power’’ in the Night elf society just sent a massage that a Neutral Gender leading is better than the old way they handled leadership. Given this, and the problems Moira had to be recognized as a leader in the Council of Three Hammers in the dwarven society (She’s still just a Regent until her grow up), added to the fact none of the Patriarchal society in the game were questionned, there was hidden message that no woman can rule, back then.
Important: Back then, far before WoD and the Draenor Draenei, Void elves, Maghar Orcs, Highmountain Tauren and Nightborn leaders
As for lone Warriors or hunter, sure an individual could have learned but it would be an error to give him an official millitary rank given in that era. In their long life, probably every Male night elf had been introduced to the weapon art in some way, but as their society was matriarchal, they were most likely not considered fit for this role, as we did in our own IRL past for womens.
This seems profoundly anchored in all elven societies, even the Blood elf one, as the Ranger General rank is herited from one mother to her daughter when she’s ready for it. Blood elves are more neutral than Night elve, still their most important millitary rank had only been given to a male after Sylvanas died with no viable heir, the rank came to her second in charge, Lor’themar.
In the long vigil it was very unlikely to exist any male sentinels or commanders, that why i RP my character as a lone hunter wandering Kalimdor aiding the Kaldorei as best as he could while not being part of the sentinels.
Is there any mention why a male night elf would not be considered fit for the role of a sentinel or a warden? I find it hard to believe, considering their imposing size in comparison to the also very tall female night elven. What would make them unfit? It doesn’t make sense to me.
And technically, none of the player night elves are sentinels or wardens, I think? I haven’t played that long, but I don’t think that you can get either rank in game, so technically we’re “lone hunters & warriors”?
But also, before this matriarchal period night elves had the Highborne, night elf mages, who had no gender restrictions. I think the same applies for Demon Hunters, they have no gender restrictions. Generally speaking, I guess, I don’t understand the point behind applying gender restrictions. It doesn’t really make sense to me.
As for the blood elves, I don’t think they’ve ever had a matriarchal or a patriarchal society, they’ve always been neutral - the current ranger general in Silvermoon is male, Halduron Brightwing.
They don’t, but what i claim to be a Female Familly-Herited prestigious rank, the Ranger-General is explained by Lireesa, Sylvana’s mother, in the Sylvanas novel as she explains that as the first born daughter, Alleria has the responsability to be ready to fulfill the trials to become new Ranger-General after her, as she had to be to replace her own mother. As i see it, it’s either a question of familly honor or an old legacy of their past as Highborn.
Of course, not every role was gender specific in the Kaldorei society. Demon Hunters are anti-norm by definition as they are considered abominations by their kind. Mages had been reinserted in the Kaldorei society when the Shren’dalar, who were banished as they were the legacy of the the old Azsharan arcane magic empire, in Cataclysm.
The Gender restriction is just a societal view on what a male or a female individual should be. Their vision of strenght is probably not what’s yours. Maybe it’s due to women being more enclined to be chosen by Elune, maybe it’s only a different education on what’s a girl responsability and what’s a boy one, maybe it’s a legacy of the rein of Azshara.
In any way, opening to the world should not have change their vision on that in any sens. They should probably just found it weird to see Patriarchal society everywhere else. When you live in a way for thousands of years, you don’t shift from one day to another. Look at us with Women’s rights. It took so long to come to that point and we are not as engraved in tradition than Night elves are.
Fair point on societies being slow to shift from one way of life to another - especially when we’re discussing systems such as sentinels (in comparison to real life, many countries even today have a mandatory military service for men alone, and optional for women). But I do think there’s a couple points I want to highlight from this, that I think are sort of intertwined but relevant in this discussion, and probably answers my own question as well.
I still want to highlight being a “rogue personality” (Jarod Shadowsong as an example from lore, and Illidan, too, in his early days) - it is perfectly fine and lore-accurate to consider yourself one who has followed their own way of life for thousands of years, not a novice who just suddenly gave up druidism after thousands of years to learn how to wield a sword - possible, but less likely.
The second one being age - and this bothers me in many tv shows and movies with characters who have lived for thousands of years, but act like grumpy teenagers. With that unimaginable number of years behind you, the amount of wisdom in you should show. And it should show in your ways of life, and the society you live in, and of course your skill in whatever you choose to do. I don’t really think a society that lives for thousands of years would restrict themselves to gender roles. Like, of course, it’s fantasy, you can come up with whatever - but I think realistically eventually a society such as that would develop towards individualism.
So, actually, I’ve seen quite a few times people use wardens or sentinels, when discussing night elf warriors or hunters or even rogues, and refer to them being mainly female, but I don’t think that’s really relevant or necessarily even accurate - not only are warriors, hunters or rogues not sentinels or wardens, referring to them, and stressing that the exceptions are extremely rare, feels to me like a way of saying “it’s not really lore-accurate except for the female nelf” even though it perfectly is. I think the only difference from a RP perspective is, it is easier for a female nelf to RP as a warden or a sentinel, if they wish to.