Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Males

Prose · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Prose** on Fri Mar 16, 2012 2:10 pm

Oh, I play all walks of characters and gender is no obstacle for me. I play males or females and their sexual preferences are a mix of all kinds from pansexual to asexual. (It's awesome to have a character fall in love with a roll of toilet paper, literally). I love being diverse in my characters and I just have a natural knack for being able to step into any role, I suppose (so I've been told). I guess, when it comes down to it, I don't really play my characters based on whether they are female or male. Either way, they will just be themselves.

freakofnature · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **freakofnature** on Sat May 12, 2012 9:26 pm

When i first began to RP, i only played female characters, claiming males were too difficult and making a girl character and then PLAYING her was so much easier. But after about...6 months of constant roleplaying (i drop off the grid every now and then), i was forced to take the opposite gender and since then i haven't gone back to a female (save one where i played as myself). To me, i like the males way better then the females, solely based on the fact that you can have a guy that is a total flirt and player and people only call him "arrogant" while if you played the same character but a FEMALE, she would automatically be a slut. I guess a males state of mind is a lot simpler than a female's are well, girls over think things all the time, while most guys tend to go with the flow, or straight out ask what is going on.

TheFinalOne · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **TheFinalOne** on Sun May 13, 2012 2:28 pm

I do not play female characters. I'm not so good at creating Character Sheets so I fear I may come across as a sexist.

Marionette · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Marionette** on Sun May 13, 2012 7:34 pm

freakofnature, that's really sexist behavior on their part, and I would call them on it. If someone really couldn't afford the same respect to a romantically forward/sexually aware woman vs. a romantically forward/sexually aware man, I'd just ditch 'em. Enjoying playing male characters in and of themselves is perfectly fine -- I do too -- but don't let the opinions of ignorant people hold you back from playing the kind of character that you want, flirty ladies and all.

TheFinalOne, I understand the fears. It can be tough finding the balance between "thinking about it enough not to do ignorant things" and "not thinking about it so much that you stop treating the character like an individual person." However, I think if someone gives it a legitimate try and accepts criticism gracefully, anyone can do it. Keep in mind that it really is always more important to write a person than it is to write a gender. At the same time, because of the way society handles gender, it is good to put some thought into it.

MilkHoney · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **MilkHoney** on Wed May 30, 2012 4:05 am

I'm female. I think roleplaying starts with kids playing pretend, so I'll start there. I'd play the boy when with girls, a girl when with boys, and a girl when in mixed groups. I wanted to be kickass, not the pink Power Ranger, but I was in an environment with strict views on gender, so being a tomboy wasn't accepted. I was tall and somehow that meant I was the most masculine when in a gaggle of girls, which was nearly always. I don't think anyone is unfamiliar with the notion that girls travel in packs. Much later, when I first started text-based roleplaying with a friend, I took the majority of the male roles because my friend had all females, and when she wanted to do a romantic plot, I forfeited any hope of having a female character. Then something horrible happened. The text was lost. We tried verbally replying to each others' 'posts'. In public. Refusing to make eye contact. I have no acting ability, I'm easily embarrassed, and it was a social fiasco that haunted us both through school. When the school year was up, we moved the roleplay online, where I felt much safer gender bending.

Then I had a revelation: my male characters were filler. They were there to facilitate smut, and I didn't think they were complex enough for me to enjoy any of their personas. I'd focused entirely on plot and setting, neglecting my characters because I'd felt trapped into playing those roles. The chicken in the flock of hens forced to play a rooster because a real rooster couldn't be found. So I tried playing females. I liked strong heroines, but when I played them, someone OP would come around metagaming and I'd sit back in shock to find my character dead, killed because I wouldn't stoop to that level. Since strong attracted the wrong sort of player interaction, I went to the other extreme and tried weak: I was accused of being a Mary Sue. Horrified, I returned to male characters. I thought I must really suck at playing girls. Truth was, I was a teenager, sucked at writing more than I could have possibly known, and was roleplaying with the wrong crowd, much as I'd played with the wrong kids.

After I matured as a writer and person, I didn't discriminate between playing a male or female. I found I could enjoy either role because I was playing with their personality and background, trying new things. Physical quirks were just that, quirks unique to the character, and never dependent on the sex of the character. But I was still only comfortable if those I was playing with didn't know my sex. I'd have a male account and a female account. I tried to pretend those two accounts weren't run by the same person.

Now, I'll play either. One account, feeling no need to hide I'm female to justify the sex of my character. I feel it is accepted.

I challenging myself instead with characters that break expectation, break out of my comfort zone, grate my nerves, do things I find morally repugnant, are products of their environment more than they are creations of my imagination, etc. I've played villains, ad nauseum, because I wasn't satisfied that I could do it without it becoming a sympathetic character. I'm currently playing with a character that is such a paranoid coward that my teeth grind in annoyance. But I'm not completely hating it. Even if it is small, I still connect with my characters on some level. My Lucifer gardens. True, he arranges severed limbs in a vase and calls them flowers, but I know the emotions gardening evokes for me and I can relate to his worries that if he goes on vacation, everything he put so much time and attention into will wither in his absence. My paranoid coward is compulsively curious. Certainly not a clearly defined archetype, and annoying at times, but she promises to bring on plenty of conflict and shenanigans to keep me entertained. The challenge to play characters that counter my own limited self is my main motivation in character development. Whether that is male or female depends entirely on the limitations set forth by the roleplay, if the limitations even exist.

I don't attach gender (masculine or feminine) to sex (male or female), and I think of gender as a social concept, only real to the society that created it. And since I am not my character, I feel what I am doesn't need to limit what my characters are. Does that make my characters more or less realistic? I hope that depends on the perspective of the reader, and not my skill as a writer.

I still see a strong stigma against guys playing girls in any environment where there is a physical reminder that the player is a guy, and I will not play a guy in D&D for similar reasons. The line between reality and fiction isn't solid in everyone's mind, and the result is ugly. People who don't have any problem with a girl playing a strong female feminist warrior, or a homosexual guy playing a homosexual guy, will turn into a lynching mob if a heterosexual guy plays a girl.

What concerns me right now is a possible assumption that if a female goes into a roleplay playing a female (especially a character whose combative prowess is zilch), she wants to play romance. A sort of assumption that if there's no fightin' or lovin', there's no point to the character.

Well, I'm also concerned about a friend. He's playing a girl character, and I wanted to see opinions of others here to see if this was a safe, non-judgmental environment. Guys who play girl characters, do you feel comfortable with other players knowing whether you are male or female?

Malan · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Malan** on Wed May 30, 2012 2:32 pm

I usually create male characters, but I also write stories besides just roleplaying. I view roleplaying as the same as writing a story: I'm not creating an extension of myself, I'm making a character, so I've made both male and females.

Scarlet Spider · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Scarlet Spider** on Sun Jul 15, 2012 9:12 pm

I routinely create female characters - in fact, looking through my RP history, I've played nearly as many female characters as male characters.

It's just not something I think about most of the time, I create a character that I feel will be compelling in the setting of the RP I'm joining, regardless of gender. Since I don't consider my character to be an extension of myself (and generally detest those who do), it doesn't bother me that I'm a male who occasionally depicts female characters.

Andrea Rose · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Andrea Rose** on Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:38 am

Jeffrey! wrote:
So, basically, I play male characters because I like to. Don't mind guys that play female characters because they like to, either. One of my best rpg friends is like that, we have a blast together, too.

...Gah, this turned into a rant. Sorry about that.

I understand what you mean. I like playing female characters. I haven't been on this site for long, but I have role played for a while now. People automatically think I'm a girl because of my username. It's actually a reference to the first novel character I created, headstrong female boxer Andrea Rose. I guess playing the opposite gender gives you a certain sort of freedom. Sure, I like playing male characters just as much, but there's the way women are judged that characters can either be totally conflicted to or described as.

Yeah, that's all I got..

genericroleplayer92 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **genericroleplayer92** on Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:02 am

Hmm, the great gender debate continues. Guess I could put my two cents in.

Honestly? I don't care a bit, however, I will admit that while gender roles are rather easy to play, personalities are a completely different story. Anyone can be that tomboyish girl, or over confident man, they're some of the most over used gender/ personality traits people first think of. However, if one were to delve into their other gender side, (Guys, for you I'm talking about your feminism- Ladies, your masculinity) They would find it considerably more difficult to accurately portray the desired character they wish to play as. Aside from most stereotypical cases, people only recently really started exploring other gender personality differences.

passion8 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **passion8** on Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:09 pm

I am female and my personal preference is to play females, mainly because whenever I conceive character concepts for a game I almost always visualize a female. I rarely come up with male characters, but when I do, I want to make sure they're true to their gender. While there's technically no hard-and-fast rule saying males and females have to be role played differently from each other, I do think it's basic science (and common fact) that men and women, on average, are different in the way they think, act, and uphold themselves. Basically, it's easier for me to get into the mindset of a woman than it is for me to get into the mindset of a man and when I do make a male character (or any character, really) I want that character to be true to form.

I also don't mind when males play females, either, and I know many guys who play engaging females who are true to form.

Modesty · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Modesty** on Sun Jul 29, 2012 11:19 pm

I frequently switch between male and female characters. However, if I look back the thirteen or so years I've been roleplaying I'd have to say that my male characters far out way the females. I think this stems from a general lack of IRL male writers in the roleplaying world; before coming to RPG the 'male player' was a rarity at best, though that's not the case at all here. I really don't have a preference, and I haven't had complaints thus far towards either gender being unrealistic. I don't have a problem with other's playing outside their own gender either. I guess it's all about comfort zone!

Aniihya · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Aniihya** on Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:22 pm

I am a guy who normally plays female characters. Reasons for this are probably: 1. My views of the ideal girlfriend/life partner. 2. A subconscious violent though female personality that wants to come out. 3. Not 1 or 2.

Hinasil · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Hinasil** on Fri Aug 03, 2012 10:50 pm

I don't reveal my gender very often because I don't want to be called her/him. I don't want to know anyone else's gender because, like characters in a book, I like to imagine who I'm interacting with. My name doesn't really give me away, Hina=Japanese for girl, sil=what I've been told is Japanese, or something, for 'male,' which helps too. So ya, I don't really care what gender I play because it won't really limit how I play them.

Also, if someone can confirm my definition of 'sil' I'd really appreciate it.

Aniihya · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Aniihya** on Sat Aug 04, 2012 3:06 pm

There is no L in Japanese. It is automatically turned into an "eru" which is a R. But Shiru (there is no "Si" in Japanese) mean know (shira is one of the countless synonyms of the Japanese "knowledge"). "Male" in Japanese is either "karuson", "osu" or "otoko" (plural: otokotachi).

cucumbersome · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **cucumbersome** on Sun Aug 05, 2012 2:23 pm

I'm female and usually have more fun playing female characters. My male characters tend to be serious quiet types, and it's less entertaining to play someone who sits in a corner watching the other characters do stuff.

One exception to males being less fun was a character who would quietly suggest things to others, and with them speaking instead of him, still other characters (also mine) had no idea they were being manipulated by him until it was too late. He was extra amazing by having no special powers - just a vulnerable human amongst much more dangerous creatures. Such as his wife, who got many more lines. (Yes, I played an entire planet :D )

I had no idea why I write males the way I do until I considered my real life parents. My mother talks so much she gives me headaches, my father doesn't say much (and when he does say something, it's often negative). I guess I took them as my subconscious examples of what men and women are like.

Maybe next time I create a character, I can manage to create a believable male who won't stop talking :) .

Colonel_Masters · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Colonel_Masters** on Sat Aug 11, 2012 11:04 am

To Date I have only played One female character and a very boyish one at that. (Male by the way)

I guess its due to laziness; while I do play differently with each character I like to have at least a few things which I can identify with myself in the character. When I write serious stories both my female and male characters are equally important to the story however the main character tends to be male.

I am fully capable of playing a female character and with the experience of playing the female character i made i enjoy both equally however i did not do so due to lack of confidence originally and now because i am used to playing male characters.

Patcharoo · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Patcharoo** on Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:41 pm

90% of my female characters are extremly manly, but I do take the opportunity to deconstruct why.

An arena fighter who is the daughter of a Lieutenant
A tough pirate captain who never knew her dad
A bitter ex-mary sue who lost her powers from being betrayed by multiple creatures leading to a massive prejudice
etc

VindicatedPurpose · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **VindicatedPurpose** on Sat Aug 25, 2012 11:22 pm

I haven't made many characters, but the majority of my reservoir are male. I suppose I'm just writing from experience, as they say "writers write what they know." Besides, its may simply be just a preference. I suppose I should start flexing my muscles and pumping more estrogen into my literary circuits.

Edit: This idea about genders is also applicable to perhaps dress as well. I mean, a female can wear male clothes and look fine, but when a male wears female clothes...it's not exactly the a palatable sight.

Deallo · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Deallo** on Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:54 am

Somehow I find myself writing more female characters then male characters; though I can easily write for both. Honestly, I don't really understand why people have so much trouble writing for one of the two genders. There's really only two things to primarily concern yourselves.

Genetic Differences: We all know this one, girls have breasts and vajayjays, while guys have that ugly assortment between their legs. As well, girls tend to be more dextrous then their male counterparts and have a higher threshold for pain, smell better, have less hair, and be shorter. Men tend to be taller, have increased muscle mass and be generally hairier.

Societal Differences: Basically what society expect them to do. In the real world, for woman it's "be thin and pretty, like dolls, and pink, etc, etc" For men it's "Be big and strong, play sports, do manly things, etc, etc."

The thing with societal differences is basically how your character interacts with these messages in their history as they grew up. Characters may accept some, reject some, then accept and reject the same one. Why they do shapes who they are as characters and people.

Anyway; I just stole from these guys here and though they talk about female characters in particular, you can easily apply the information to male characters as well.

shadowty · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **shadowty** on Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:59 am

Deallo wrote:Somehow I find myself writing more female characters then male characters; though I can easily write for both. Honestly, I don't really understand why people have so much trouble writing for one of the two genders. There's really only two things to primarily concern yourselves.

Genetic Differences: We all know this one, girls have breasts and vajayjays, while guys have that ugly assortment between their legs. As well, girls tend to be more dextrous then their male counterparts and have a higher threshold for pain, smell better, have less hair, and be shorter. Men tend to be taller, have increased muscle mass and be generally hairier.

Societal Differences: Basically what society expect them to do. In the real world, for woman it's "be thin and pretty, like dolls, and pink, etc, etc" For men it's "Be big and strong, play sports, do manly things, etc, etc."

The thing with societal differences is basically how your character interacts with these messages in their history as they grew up. Characters may accept some, reject some, then accept and reject the same one. Why they do shapes who they are as characters and people.

Anyway; I just stole from these guys here and though they talk about female characters in particular, you can easily apply the information to male characters as well.

In some situations resitance to pain is completly irelevent.

Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Males

a topic in Game Design Workshop, a part of the RPG forum.

So what gender do you normally go in roleplaying here?

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Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

Re: Genders - Males Playing Females and Females Playing Male

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