What Aviendha (Ben) wrote in his thread (here) and the responses to it got me thinking...

Why do we roleplay, both in games and RL, a different gender? Are we just 'trying it out' or expressing something that we couldn't say any other way?

Why is it that people who cross-gender post seem so popular in their perceived persona? I've seen several people who have done this in different forums, and each was perceived as very desirable / respectable in their cross-gendered role. Is it the masculinity and femininity balance that we are attracted to? i.e. "She/He really understands guys/girls"?

I think there's more than one reason for each consideration, but I think a large part of it is people finding a 'safe' way to explore what they aren't allowed to in society at large.

I'm curious what you all think about this...

Well, I think that you're on to something with the "he/she really understands girls/guys" thing. Hard to explain why, though, when I've thought it through a bit I'll post something intelligent on the subject.

Personally I don't think that I've ever tried roleplaying another gender even in an RPG.

<font color="#33ffcc"> The reason I have a Female character in D&D wether PnP or CRPG is because the character was my first ever and in my first AD&D game (PnP) The DM suckered me into putting on a magical belt...I ended up with a female [img]smile.gif[/img] Other than that I have no other female chars...some times you just play the hand your dealt ;)

Being my first character, Im somewhat attached to him/her</font>

[ 07-18-2002, 11:55 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

I dont really think about it, I usually just randomly chose either one when I start a new RPG.

First of all, Aviendha IS a very respectable person, no matter what gender. I myself only take male characters when i'm rollplaying. Don't know why though, must be some kind of macho thing. :D

Absolutely agree with you.

Absolutely agree with you.</font>[/QUOTE]But what does it have to do with this discussion? [img]tongue.gif[/img] I agree, though. Aviendha's cool.

Can't answer that one - I only play male characters

Perhaps it means that I'm not in touch with my female side ;)

If you live in an area where gender hacking is frowned upon by the majority, then for some people ,roleplaying the opposite gender might be the only release.If you feel like a man trapped in a womans body then playing an RPG as a male character might give you a feel for what it might be like trying out a diffrent gender. THis way a person can explore a gender from the safety of a "game" and not be subjected to the judgemental attitudes of society at large. No one calls you "fag" or "dyke" because your playing a character of the opposite gender. Try getting that same level of respect on a city street if you try it for real.

But can you really explore it that well in an RPG?
I don’t know, since I’ve only ever played male characters,
But I should think you need a really good D.M.
And you need to tread lots of psychology books as well, and biology books as well and everything.

[ 07-18-2002, 04:44 PM: Message edited by: Dramnek_Ulk ]

Heya Eivind, looks like I touched a nerve there, if so, my apologies. I'm not castigating Ben for anything, and this thread really doesn't have to do with him in particular, but about the whole idea of gender swapping on the web, or in a rpg or crpg.

I generally play a Female in RPGs just to spice the party up. I am a Female Paladin that is a Half-Orc (don't ask) with a CHR of 19. My DM is not very strict on some guidelines ....

Anyways, I think it makes the playing more versital and I have a lot of fun with it. Doesn't mean that I am living out my fantasy of being a chick, just that it is fun. And in a DnD world, it doesn't really matter. Isn't it just like playing a Drow Elf ie Black Person? (it was a VERY evil party) Doesn't mean that I was living out my fantasy of being Black, just that it was fun for the party.

On the point of doing it online...I could see how someone could find amusement in it. Seems too much like lying for my taste. As long as you're not hurting anyone, or being directly misrepresentating towards some secret goal, then I say have fun. Different Strokes for different folks. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Just my 2gps.

[img]smile.gif[/img]

BK

Well, for action-type games (PS2 games, or whatever), I often play the female character because while they are usually weaker than the males, they make up for it in speed. I prefer player a fast, slightly weak character to a slow but strong one.
In PnP and more recently in NWN, I have played female characters. In CRPGs, part of my decision is based on the sexy characters... [img]smile.gif[/img] It's cool to have a good-looking character in the game.
In PnP I have played a female when I want to explore issues like racism/ sexism. I'd play a female character who can kick any guy's butt in order to play against some stereotypes.
I ran a 7 year Vampire chronicle and the best character in the game was played by my friend Jake. He played an ancient Estonian Brujah named Tatyanna. She was the best-developed, most fun character I've ever had in a game I've run.

I've never understood that mindframe where female characters are weaker but faster. In practically all the martial arts, military and streetfighting situations I've beheld males have predominantly been both stronger AND faster than females (as another example the male world record for running is substantially tighter than the female). I guess it's just political correctness seeping into computer games right? Strange though, as both traditionally and contemporarily males have by and large made vastly superior fighters to females. Call it cheuvanistic (sp?) if you want, but there it is.

I've never understood that mindframe where female characters are weaker but faster. In practically all the martial arts, military and streetfighting situations I've beheld males have predominantly been both stronger AND faster than females (as another example the male world record for running is substantially tighter than the female). I guess it's just political correctness seeping into computer games right? Strange though, as both traditionally and contemporarily males have by and large made vastly superior fighters to females. Call it cheuvanistic (sp?) if you want, but there it is.</font>[/QUOTE]Political correctness? Either that or allowing the player to play whatever gender he/she wants without being punished for it [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I've never understood that mindframe where female characters are weaker but faster. In practically all the martial arts, military and streetfighting situations I've beheld males have predominantly been both stronger AND faster than females (as another example the male world record for running is substantially tighter than the female). I guess it's just political correctness seeping into computer games right? Strange though, as both traditionally and contemporarily males have by and large made vastly superior fighters to females. Call it cheuvanistic (sp?) if you want, but there it is.</font>[/QUOTE]For video games it's about having a wide range of characters. Think of who designs the games. Cute female (well cute for pixels or sprites or whatever :D ) characters are a huge plus when designing or playing a game. Fast characters are a must, especially in fighting games, and no one who's designing these games (acne-ed gamer geek programmers :D ) wants to see a butch, muscley woman. So the idea of petite little fast people has become a standard. At least that's my theory. [img]smile.gif[/img]
As for RL it's musculoskeletal. Women, pound for pound, won't really be as strong as a comperable male.
In gaming I usually play male characters. It's not so much that I feel threatened or something by playing a female, it's that when I do play a female character it's very flat. I don't like what many guys do while playing PnP females which is either be very promiscuous (which says alot about the state of social lives :D ) or very ditzy... Or someother stereotype which they feel typifies women.... In trying to walk the fine line between stereotyping and the female version of emasculation (turning the girl into a guy) my character becomes devoid of all interest. Sooo... I play guys.

DeSoya

I guess I have something to add to this, as you all know that I was playing a female Kensai to start with. I always play females in games whenever I can! I really can’t say exactly why this is, but I can tell you that I don’t have any weird fantasies about being a girl or anything like that!

If I’m going to be completely honest, I find a woman with a sword or a gun, that is both in command of her destiny, and a powerful being in her own right, interesting and quite frankly…really sexy! Maybe I played too much Tomb Raider or something, but if you give me the choice between creating a big musclebound, dumb as rocks, barbarian type man (the male fantasy cliché), or a strong, athletic and sexy woman (the female fantasy cliché), I’ll pick the woman any day.

Think about it...a woman walks into a room…unsheathes her sword…and begins to whoop ass over all and sundry, until she stands alone amongst a pile of bleeding corpses. To have a chance to be that woman, that’s real escapism!

But maybe that’s just me!

I've never understood that mindframe where female characters are weaker but faster. In practically all the martial arts, military and streetfighting situations I've beheld males have predominantly been both stronger AND faster than females (as another example the male world record for running is substantially tighter than the female). I guess it's just political correctness seeping into computer games right? Strange though, as both traditionally and contemporarily males have by and large made vastly superior fighters to females. Call it cheuvanistic (sp?) if you want, but there it is.</font>[/QUOTE]Political correctness? Either that or allowing the player to play whatever gender he/she wants without being punished for it [img]tongue.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]But it's not punishment. Women really are the physically weaker sex. S'just the way the cookie crumbles. But I suppose these ARE fantasy games which people play to escape the constrictions of everyday life. Yeah, yeah. Ok then [img]tongue.gif[/img]

So you buy in to Dwarfs being tougher then a 6 foot man and Dragons roaming the world but not fast females? Would you rather they give female characters higher intelligence and wisdom? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ 07-19-2002, 03:18 AM: Message edited by: caleb ]

Nah a better barter skill +5 shopping. J/K
Seriously tho I often play females because they often offer a more balanced charcter and often games have female specific items and quests while I have yet to see too many for the males.

nice one Caleb! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

heh heh, yeah no sh*t man [img]smile.gif[/img] I already acknowledged the whole fantasy element of it.

I am still looking for a game where there is a semi-psychotic kickass female who wields a portable Ion Cannon as a weapon and enjoys massive widespread destruction and total annihilation... ...

Don't ask me why I think I find that sexy... ... http://www.plauder-smilies.de/peepwall.gif

[ 07-19-2002, 07:54 AM: Message edited by: Dundee Slaytern ]

The one time where I might decide to play a female character is in games with pre-made ones. I abhor having to play big, slow and dumb characters. So therefore I sometimes in those games have to pick a female character. Those games often don't have much roleplaying, though [img]tongue.gif[/img] So I suppose it doesn't really matter.

And Hierophant, yes, it WOULD be punishment if every race/class/gender wasn't balanced [img]tongue.gif[/img] Not just "reality" [img]tongue.gif[/img] It'd be just like saying: "In this game world magic is really weak. So mages are weak little shits that get kicked around by everyone else. No balancing elements." [img]tongue.gif[/img] That'd punish everyone that wanted to be a mage [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I agree with Aviendha... The sword-weilding, "I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass" female is just... sexy.
Anyhow, roleplaying is supposed to be about taking on a different persona. Sometimes it is cool to play the Conan-type guy who just obliterates his enemies, or the Solid Snake-type who relies on skill and stealth. But if you want to stretch your imagination and roleplay something different, playing the opposite gender is a good way to go.

I usually play female characters in a game, both for the eye-candy factor in those games where the artwork is good, and for the chance to explore a different type of character. As Aviendha and a couple others have mentioned, powerful women are sexy, and this is all about entertainment. And I really like women. Most of my friends are female.
On another gaming board, I was thought to be a female for about six months, and I didn't say anything to correct it because I was really interested in how people responded to me differently. I found more acceptance of my social/relationship comments and less acceptance of technical comments than on boards where I was thought to be male. Anymore I usually remain unspecified just to see what people will assume about me from what I have to say. It's educational to see how much is colored by people's perception of your gender.
Thanks for the responses, everybody.

Err....I thought you WERE a female. This is confusing.