Cross gender roleplay

[Rip Van Rabbit]

Depends on what I'm doing:

Creative writing: I tend not to write my character's actions according to their gender.

Gaming: Given the option, I will always play as a female. I'm a guy on a daily basis, I play games for fun and escapism. It's a nice change of pace and it's always interesting to view things from a different perspective. Plus females are underepresented in gaming in my opinion.

Cosplay: Get in a dress? Sign me the fuck up. I refuse to feel shame for outdated perceptions of what people should/shouldn't wear. Besides, I'm doing it for fun...isn't that what cosplay is all about?

It is very hard for me to imagine a way I could cosplay as a female character and get away with it. It would be neat be able to throw on a dress and not have to care about outdated perceptions and whatnot, but I don't know how that could actually work in my real life.

Understandably, it's different for every person and not everybody will feel comfortable. Plus I can completely understand if it might portray a confusing image to friends and family. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps this is just me, but you also don't necessarily have to get away with it in the sense of "looking good", sure that can be a personal factor for others, but I'm in it for the fun aspect. I just don't think that it's much of a big deal and therefore don't take it too seriously, but I can understand if others might think otherwise.

Cosplay to me, is about personal expression by showing dedication/love/passion or care for a character and the intricacies of costume design. It can also just be about goofing around with friends and enjoying the ridiculousness of the situation. Regardless, I like to think that there's a character for everyone.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

Depends on what I'm doing:

Creative writing: I tend not to write my character's actions according to their gender.

Gaming: Given the option, I will always play as a female. I'm a guy on a daily basis, I play games for fun and escapism. It's a nice change of pace and it's always interesting to view things from a different perspective. Plus females are underepresented in gaming in my opinion.

Cosplay: Get in a dress? Sign me the fuck up. I refuse to feel shame for outdated perceptions of what people should/shouldn't wear. Besides, I'm doing it for fun...isn't that what cosplay is all about?

It is very hard for me to imagine a way I could cosplay as a female character and get away with it. It would be neat be able to throw on a dress and not have to care about outdated perceptions and whatnot, but I don't know how that could actually work in my real life.

Understandably, it's different for every person and not everybody will feel comfortable. Plus I can completely understand if it might portray a confusing image to friends and family. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps this is just me, but you also don't necessarily have to get away with it in the sense of "looking good", sure that can be a personal factor for others, but I'm in it for the fun aspect. I just don't think that it's much of a big deal and therefore don't take it too seriously, but I can understand if others might think otherwise.

Cosplay to me, is about personal expression by showing dedication/love/passion or care for a character and the intricacies of costume design. It can also just be about goofing around with friends and enjoying the ridiculousness of the situation. Regardless, I like to think that there's a character for everyone.

I was mostly talking about getting away with it in the sense of avoiding abuse insults and other bits of unpleasantness. That is what I imagine happening, but at the same time I do exaggerate and blow things out of proportion in my mind. My perception of what would happen may just be skewed or clouded by things.

 

[BanicRhys]

My current DnD character is a female so you know what I think.

Although, she is a dwarf so there's not much difference.

 

[votemarvel]

I am male. I honestly find it easier to role play as a female character.

This is because when playing as a male, I tend to make the choice I would in that situation. When I play as a female, I do tend to think more about what that character would do.

 

[Something Amyss]

Is there something wrong with white males in fantasy? Why are you self-shaming for who and what you are?

How, exactly, does it get to self-shaming?

I don't see why this would be an issue in any way?

To begin with, in many games with RPG-elements you might be forced to play as a guy, or the female designs are so horrible I'd rather go with a guy.

In fairness, it's usually only a one-way issue. I've known few women who have had a problem playing a man and few of them ever raise so much as an eyebrow. It's only with the reverse that seems to be a problem. Kind of like cross-dressing or the "gender of the protagonist doesn't matter!" argument.

 

[Shodanbot]

^ Hey community man, how you been?

Anyway, if I was bothered to learn the rules and play a table-top role play game, I'd be:

A wizard who permanently transmutated himself into a beautiful woman by accident. Instead of looking for a mcguffen\deus ex machina to get his meat and potatoes back, he\she uses his\her beauty and gender to his\her advantage and retire from the old adventuring game to become a mediocre but very rich actress.

I'd also probably consider playing a stone golem who, upon his abandonment by his master because of her desire to pursue an acting career, has lost his place in the world until an artist introduces him to solipsism.

Maybe I'd be an incubus as well, who feels deep down in his heart, he should have been born a succubus. He just needs to find the wizard up to the task.

And quite possibly, a down-on-his-luck sculptor who just needs the right muse to release his masterpiece from the marble.

But I think I'll stick with chess. Some RPG rules are damn complicated stuff and I struggle as is with Monopoly. I was drunk the last time I played Monopoly, mind you.

 

[FPLOON]

Well, I seem to do cross racial roleplaying more than cross gender roleplaying in terms of video games because I'm always too lazy on my first playthrough to do anyting meaningful in the character customization section... With that said, I have no problems with cross gender roleplaying in general and, if I wasn't lazy, I would do it more often on my first try at times... (Plus, completely self-inserting myself can get boring at times if the character in question is doing stuff that I would have done in a similar situation...)

 

[Plasticaprinae]

Usually my first run through is female (my own gender) because it is comfortable and allows me to feel integrated into the game. Though I usually avoid being human. Being female grounds me. Then in my next play throughs I start making "characters" and try various shapes and sizes and try different routes with them.

 

[Autumnflame]

I play soley female when i play games if given the choice.

I like to play as a woman and exp a game from a new persepctive thats not my own

 

[ecoho]

Depends on how im feeling when I make the character. That said I tend to make more female characters then male due to the fact that I like small and agile characters and female ones get that without me having to be a Halfling.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

In MMOs, any games with the female or male option, Online Roleplay, Pokemon... I always go female. Why? I think it's a ton more fun and I like getting into the character and personality. I've lived 21 years as a male. I at least wanna live the fantasy in the gender I have a much more interest in being. When it comes to more real stuff like D&D, I tend to go male. But, being female could be fun. I like making things awkward for people XD

 

[pearcinator]

If I am playing an RPG like one of Bioware's I often play as a girl. I would much rather look at a sexy lady-butt than some man-butt the whole time. Also Bioware games do have some nice female animations (in KOTOR I used to walk slowly and marvel at the lady hips swinging back and forth).

I often play as both though. Depends on how I feel like playing. For example, in Dragon Age Inquisition my first playthrough is going to be a female elf mage because why the fuck not?

 

[DeimosMasque]

For video games with selectable gender I always pick female (I am a male) unless I really, really, really have a good male concept for it.

For non-video game RPGs I tend to be a bit more in between sometimes male, sometimes female.

I'm part of two online MU*'s I am on I'm currently playing 3 men and 1 woman (though technically 5 women but it's complicated) But at my biggest character set it was 3 women and 3 men (I dropped multiple characters due to lack of RP)

For STO Online I play a woman.

Skyrim, Fallout/New Vegas, Mass Effect, Saint's Row, etc. All female.

 

[Drummodino]

If you'd asked me about a year ago I would have said always male. In games like Skyrim, Fallout, Mass Effect I never felt comfortable playing as a woman for some reason.

These days though I probably play more women than men. I played a couple of games with female protagonists like Persona 3 Portable and Tomb Raider and really enjoyed them. Now I've played many games as a female, I like to create stories for my characters (both male and female).

In my forum RPs that I've gotten into this year I've played about 50% men and 50% women. It really just depends on the type of character I'm trying to write.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

Initially I would lean towards female characters just for something different (playing mostly male protagonists when I was younger) but I've come to enjoy it because I like roleplaying as someone as far removed from myself as possible.

The only other reason I've specifically picked a female is because I liked the voice actor better (Jennifer Hale in Mass Effect, Tara Platt's Russian voice in Saints Row 3, Laura Bailey in Saints Row 4). Also a good reason to play a male character in Dark Souls, he has one particularly hilarious scream, I think its the "falling to your death" scream.

 

[Midnight O'Connor]

Eh personally I make a point to play female characters in table top or male characters who are nothing like me. I have always maintained if you play yourself in an RPG, you're not roleplaying. In my mind the point of roleplaying is to be someone else. In regards to online roleplaying, MMOs etc, I would much rather play with someone who I have no clue what their real gender is because they're that good at RPing. I also usually call my online friends by whatever gender their main character is, even if I know the opposite to be true in real life.

 

[happyninja42]

I want to maybe talk about cross gender roleplaying. So, right off the bat, is this still a thing? I mean is it still an issue. In my younger days, I recall there was a fair amount of debate and controversy surrounding the act with most of it leaning towards the negative. Now, I don't see much talk about it, and I am wondering if things have changed.

Are you talking about cosplay? Video games? Tabletop roleplaying? What context?

One friend of mine always plays female characters. I don't really know why, but he always has, and still is. Playing a female Twi'lek in a star wars game currently.

Personally, I only play male characters if given the option. Not out of any aversion to playing female really, mostly because I find it easier to roleplay from the mindset of a male character, since you know I'm male. Trying to actually "get in the head" of a female PC is always strange for me, because I always end up just making choices like the guy I am, but now I'm in a character body with boobs, which just seems disingenuine to me.

I've studied this in comparison with my wife, and asked her, when she plays the same game as I do, and makes drastically different decisions. When I ask her why she made those choices, her reasoning is totally different from mine, and usually is something I just didn't consider. She viewed different characters with more/less empathy and affection than I did, and for different reasons.

So yeah, personally I don't gender swap when I play any kind of game, if given the choice. If the game is designed to have a female protagonist (Like Remember Me, or Mirror's Edge for example) I'm fine, as it's something outside of my control. But if given the choice, I pick male.

 

[white_wolf]

Depends on what I'm doing:

Creative writing: I tend not to write my character's actions according to their gender.

Gaming: Given the option, I will always play as a female. I'm a guy on a daily basis, I play games for fun and escapism. It's a nice change of pace and it's always interesting to view things from a different perspective. Plus females are underepresented in gaming in my opinion.

Cosplay: Get in a dress? Sign me the fuck up. I refuse to feel shame for outdated perceptions of what people should/shouldn't wear. Besides, I'm doing it for fun...isn't that what cosplay is all about?

It is very hard for me to imagine a way I could cosplay as a female character and get away with it. It would be neat be able to throw on a dress and not have to care about outdated perceptions and whatnot, but I don't know how that could actually work in my real life.

Understandably, it's different for every person and not everybody will feel comfortable. Plus I can completely understand if it might portray a confusing image to friends and family. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps this is just me, but you also don't necessarily have to get away with it in the sense of "looking good", sure that can be a personal factor for others, but I'm in it for the fun aspect. I just don't think that it's much of a big deal and therefore don't take it too seriously, but I can understand if others might think otherwise.

Cosplay to me, is about personal expression by showing dedication/love/passion or care for a character and the intricacies of costume design. It can also just be about goofing around with friends and enjoying the ridiculousness of the situation. Regardless, I like to think that there's a character for everyone.

I was mostly talking about getting away with it in the sense of avoiding abuse insults and other bits of unpleasantness. That is what I imagine happening, but at the same time I do exaggerate and blow things out of proportion in my mind. My perception of what would happen may just be skewed or clouded by things.

Theres quite bit of cross cosplaying girls will do guy characters and try to hide their chest others won't they'll just be doing the if she was the hero with his looks the femversion like femEzio or femTestament or femGackt I've seen some men not many that caught my eye like I saw a guyKami he did it really well and was skinny as a rail anyhow so pulled it off making everyone do double and triple takes since the girl he cosplayed as also was very small busted.

If you do cross dress at a con male wise and you're doing a fem character or the male version of her (like MaleKasumi) then you do want to make sure your body can pull it off showing up in a lolita dress with unshaven leg,arm,and beard with a body build like a tank is like a no no if you're going to do it then do it and make sure the look is right for you! Girls also have this issue with playing male or female characters if it isn't suiting to your body frame or you can't make it so then you should probably avoid it I haven't heard of anyone having negative things happen to them when they did bad cosplays but you surely aren't going to get any fans that way and people will ignore you.