I was just curious about this after reading one of my friends grad school papers on the subject of roleplayers who play other gendered characters.

Do you play them because you wish to experience life as an oppositly gendered person.

Do it to be funny.

Powergaming?

was just curious.

Well I'm gay and I get the hankering to play girl chars every once in a while just so I can use the words hon and darling. That or be
a dominatrix every once in a while lol j/k Mostly it ends up being drow females that I play if i ever play a girl char. The roles just fit for a female char so i play it.

While i was directing this more towards males who play female characters I don't mean to exclude women who play male characters. This is not ment to be homophobic or sexist in nature and since this is an rp mud no #### that you would have a role thats more female in nature (unless your honest about powergaming for female only benifits).

My question is what inspires you to want to play the role of another gender. what is it that makes it interesting to you.

Part of my reasoning for asking this question is that I am virtually always surprised at the number of female characters i can't in anyway tell are female except by reading their description.

So umm why go female if your not going to act like it (not saying they should all be giggly inn whores but you can tell a tom boy from a man 90% of the time even if they are not as traditionally female and even if they look like a man)

I play female character almost entirely for powergaming reasons. The fact that none of my female characters has ever gotten the thing that is the reason for them being female (in the powergaming department) does not seem to matter as I still roll up female characters a majority of the time.

I'd say that makes me a minority in that I play at least as many female characters as male characters. I've never engaged in mudsex, but I have been flirty, whory and all the other things heralds of all genders are... err I mean... you get it.

Most of the time though 90%+ my female characters are female just because I want them to be. Some of that stems from the fact that the sirine prison sucks, and I invariably end up there at some point or another with a male character. I wouldn't say my female characters are male characters in a female suit though, as I think I do a good job of playing them as female, and really... the only reason anyone ever thinks my character is male instead of female is because I didn't choose a name that is appropriately female sounding. Really, it's all about the name. Most people won't read your description, but will make an assumption about your gender based on your name, and beyond that, unless you are trying to be overtly "female" in a way to make it obvious to everyone (think Sharizah with the hip walky thing) there isn't that much difference between the actions of one or the other.

Unless of course you consider females to be inherently illogical, which I do, at which point you just do the opposite of whatever the logical choice would be....

Hows that for sexism and closet homophobia.

Also, dark-elf females are just so much cooler than the sniveling males of that race, that I can very rarely bring myself to play a male dark elf.

>Hows that for sexism and closet homophobia.

I'll give it a c+. The sexism is there, but you're not really selling the closet homophobia.

Seriously. Men are just as illogical as women. To some extent our society does teach women that they're just little girls and can't be expected to behave rationally. In situations where men and women are held to the same standard there's usually no clear difference in who's more logical.

Men and women tend to have different areas of irrationality, which makes it easier to just assume that the other gender is the crazy one.

> Part of my reasoning for asking this question is that I am virtually always surprised at the number of female characters i can't in anyway tell are female except by reading their description.

For the most part, other than my desc and role, my female characters "act" about the same as my male characters. That doesn't mean I'm ignorant of the fact that the character's female (i.e. if a male character oggles me, I might react more harshly than I would as a male character being oggled by a female), but I don't act especially "emotional" or "bitchy" when playing a female. If anything, that's the opposite of sexism.

Not much respect for women it seems. And a lot of closet homophobia too.

And barring the 'elite' and 'imm' crowd, I'd bet the vast majority of CF'ers struggle with any type of interactions with women.

Given certain segments of the playerbase, I'm surprised there aren't caveman-level remarks about races and religions yet!

Most of the women who come through the immstaff have a pretty thick skin, largely because if they've managed to stay here for a couple years, they needed it. Sadly, every female staff member I can think of at present has been accused of sleeping with someone at some point in their career, with the implicit or explicit accompanying accusation that it's the only reason they're on staff, regardless of any other evidence of competence. I'm sure if a staff member came out as openly homosexual, they'd see a lot of pointless hate thrown their way as well.

I'd guess that 90% of it is the usual suspect-- quasi-anonymity leading to Internet Tough Guy Syndrome. (The other 10% are ignorant bigots, who are in no shortage in RL either.) I like to think that most of the moronic sexist comments that get slung around are just posturing for attention, and nothing they'd say if an actual female was in the same room. So take it with a grain of salt.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

I'm not sure I'd completely agree. On the moronic part, yes. On the posturing, not so much. I think that falls more into the war of the sexes thing and just plain not understanding each other than anything else. Ignorance may be bliss, but it sure does make people look like idiots.

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jimi Hendrix

Why is it sexist to think a woman is inherently less adept at physical combat than a man?

Would you view it similiarly if you were comparing say, bulls vs cows?

I think there's a point where being 'political correct' also means being 'factually incorrect', and I don't like chilling in fantasy land too much if I'm not CF'ing.

My reason: I'm actually a lesbian trapped in a man's body!

I think the best answer for me is that some roles and character concepts just lend themselves to being female. I wouldn't want to not play those roles simply because they require me to try to warp my normally logical thinking into the illogical thinking that embodies women. I'd say that about 20% of my characters are female.

I have NO DESIRE whatsoever to experience life as a woman, though. I've seen what my wife goes through, and I'm fine with that being as close as I get.

Kastellyn the Devourer of Magic, Lord of Legends

Why do people play:
-Swift Felars?
-Strong Giants?
-Undead Mages?

Making a char female is just another attribute/perk that dictates in some way how you play and how you (and others) percieve that Character.

We don't play those characters foe a percieved weakness, it's because we see a percieved strength.

Behold the feminization of America!

When I was an avid Table topper, we wouldn't allow cross gendered characters. Just too ####ing wierd.

Conversely I keep my coms at a minimum with females here until I'm certain they are female.



Edited to include the obligatory Seinfeld: Not that their is anything wrong with that.

I've played my fair share of female characters. Basically, and maybe this makes me sexist, but I feel like it's easier to role-play a "badass" as a female character than as a male, because many/most people have different expectations about how a female character "should" act. So if you're a female character that's a cold, ruthless killer, it's somehow more "extreme" than a male character who acts in exactly the same way.

Plus I like killing people who underestimate me. Female characters tend to be underestimated more often than males (either because people suspect female characters are actually played by a females and assume female players are substandard, or because they think female characters are only played by people for whom RP is the focus rather than PK).

And I don't like it. Here's why.

I've played my fair share of female characters. Basically, and maybe this makes me sexist, but I feel like it's easier to role-play a "badass" as a female character than as a male, because many/most people have different expectations about how a female character "should" act.

>>>There are societal norms and behavioral norms. Females should seem feminine in some way, unless you are meaning to play a Bull-Dyke

So if you're a female character that's a cold, ruthless killer, it's somehow more "extreme" than a male character who acts in exactly the same way.

I disagree. Women attempt to commit murder as often as males, they just do it in a less direct way. They poison, get men to do it, set up elaborate traps etc.

Plus I like killing people who underestimate me. Female characters tend to be underestimated more often than males (either because people suspect female characters are actually played by a females and assume female players are substandard, or because they think female characters are only played by people for whom RP is the focus rather than PK).

Since I assume every female I encounter here is a guy, this doesn't apply to me. I think your assumptions of what other people are thinking af females are your own feelings about women surfacing.

For rather obvious reasons that involve anyone who doesn't speak english as a frist language.

My beliefs don't preclude me having an oppinion, they are themselves an opinion.

I want to see some references, because I think you're making stuff up.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics...

In 2004 (I could get more recent stats, but these were the top of the Google and I'm lazy and I doubt there's a whole lot of difference), males were 10 times more likely than females to commit murder.

Additionally, only a third of the females incarcerated in the US are in for a violent crime compared to half of the males incarcerated being in for a violent offense.

I see nothing anywhere that suggests that women attempt murder as often as males. They do use poison and other indirect means more often than men, but you have no way of quanitfying that in a way that is suggestive of identical attempt rates.

I'm willing to accept that I'm wrong if you show me where you got your information. But working in a prison with women, only two of which are in for murder, leads me to believe that you're incorrect.

Many people are killed as a result of a woman directing the act.

Such information isn't available persay. It's often nothing more than an inference.

Last night My bestfriend nearly shot a woman that came at him with a steak knife while her boyfriend was compliant and respectfull.

You just can't tell about things like this based on sex.

Of course men are more direct and violent, I stated that.

I don't give a #### about the topic too much. I just disagree with his take on women.

>There are societal norms and behavioral norms. Females
>should seem feminine in some way, unless you are meaning to
>play a Bull-Dyke

If we were following societal norms then most of our characters would be farmers, craftsmen or shopkeepers. Not massively powerful adventurers. So I'm not sure my female heroine needs to conform to every societal norm. And no, I don't play them butch. Think more like Mystique or Phoenix from X-Men 3.

>I disagree. Women attempt to commit murder as often as males,
>they just do it in a less direct way.

Without having looked up numbers, I'm pretty sure this is false.

>I think your assumptions of what other people are thinking of
>females are your own feelings about women surfacing.

No, I think they're accurate, just not universal. Some people treat female characters like they do Heralds. That is to say, they view them as more likely to be easy pickings. Not everybody does, but enough for it to be a trend.

If I come across a female role of a "badass", I tend to take them much less seriously, its kind of like Lil' Kim acting like a badass gangster. I see something like that and its "Whoa Whoa Whoa, timeout Green Bay, sell that #### to the tourists." If I punch her in the mouth, she's just gonna lay there and bleed, where if I punch someone like say...50 Cent in the mouth, I'M just gonna lay there and bleed. Badass females are very few and far between, I just can't take them seriously.

>its kind of like Lil' Kim acting
>like a badass gangster.
>I see something like that and its
>"Whoa Whoa Whoa, timeout Green Bay, sell that #### to the
>tourists."
Difference is, this is a fantasy game. It involves RP.
Lil' Kim would be a Copeham inn bard mob, with an avg 4 dagger.
I am sure female characters like Dulmisa would generally scare
your character, but RP immersion differs from player to player.

>If I punch her in the mouth, she's just gonna lay
>there and bleed,
That is why she is a real-life rap artist, not an imperial assassin
murderer, specialized in assassinating people, and still can kill
people in straight combat. Or a Scion shapeshifter who can turn
into a lion and rip you open. Try punching that in the face.
Check the Copeham mob comparisation.

>Badass
>females are very few and far between, I just can't take them
>seriously.
In mainstream REAL-LIFE, that is perhaps likely, maybe debatable.
In movies and science-fiction, nah, not even close.
In CF ? That that is just ludicrous and silly.

It is all about RP immersion.
Admit, Lil' Kim would look quite more powerful when she can
sing up that fiend to rip your guts without the help a XTC tablet
from your part, compared to the usual 'charm person' spell she tries
with her inflated chest IRL that has not much chance of lasting longer
than 3 seconds. This is a reason why carrionfields and fantasty
is awesome.

<51 Elf Hea> (PK) Laudanewalyn the Protector of Faith = free frag

<51 Duerg Sha> (PK) Ghugula the Asskicker of Doom, Empress of Thera = 'ninja vanish;quaff return;quit

Mainly because the former one I assume is playing a female to abuse the 'giggle' social, and the latter one I assume is playing a female to abuse female_only eq that will 'OMG OMG OMG LOLOLOL PWNED' me to death within the span of 1.3 melee rounds.

As for why I would play a female... just to wonder why the hell these stolen potions are scourging me . Oh, an Empress is most definately more sexy than an Emperor.

In order, I'd say:

Role - as others said, some roles just work better.
Challenge - takes more effort to rp convincingly
Variety/Distinctiveness - most characters are male, rolling female
Powergaming (gear, areas, loney nerds + giggle social = free stuff)

I play a female character maybe 10% of the time.

Seconding Mylinos's thoughts here. Some roles, say, a bitter cynical wizard just "live" easier in my head if they're male, whereas an intrepid, sly thief would work either way, and a wise, kind healer as a female. Mostly it depends on the role details, really.

Females do get some better gear anyway, so that's a plus.

when I do it is because the role I have envisioned fits a female character more apporpriately then a male. I don't see it as funny or a subconscience desire to experience life as a woman, anymore then playing a necromance is a desire to experience life as a twisted, demonic mage. So all in all, it is just for RP reasons for me at least.