On RP and Sexuality

[Ursus Astrorum]

No, how you play your RP character generally doesn't have an effect on your real personality. This applies to both sexual and non-sexual RP, as well as whether or not you choose to play as a character of the opposite sex. Generally, you RP for the mental stimulation, expression of imagination, and the challenge. In that sense, many RPers make at least one RP character of the opposite sex because it is more challenging to do so. Playing as a character of the same sex is easier because you pretty much know the basics of what that character can be like. Playing as the opposite sex gives you a whole new set of challenges to overcome to make that character believable. Basically, playing as a character of the opposite sex, or doing things you wouldn't do in real life like partake in a homosexual RP relationship, don't reflect some hidden inner desire, nor do they actually change how you view your sexuality. Many people just do it because of the challenge and the fact that you must think about different things.

Someone who does that sort of sexual RP, like making a character of the opposite sex or having a homosexual RP relationship, is someone who is generally comfortable with their sexuality, and knows what they like in real life. In many cases, they do it because it is more challenging. If a straight girl decides to make a lesbian character, it doesn't necessarily mean she is questioning her sexuality or that she has some deep desire to be a lesbian but is scared to in real life; she could just be doing it for the added challenge. Frankly, people who do these things aren't usually the type that are uncomfortable about their sexual desires or feel embarrassed when doing them, or let what happens in an RP effect their personality. Sure, some might be doing it because they are unsure of their preferences and are seeking some sort of guidance, but many don't. Many just do it because it provides an added layer of challenge.

This applies to non-sexual RP too. Playing as a character with polar opposite views than yourself in real life is VERY hard. It is hard to play the role of, say, a sex-crazed vampire that seduces women into sex, or just rapes them, before feeding on their blood and killing them when the real you is a caring, shy, pacifist individual. Really, someone who can pull this off and keep the character consistent has a good imagination and a strong will to make their character do something they wouldn't do in real life just to keep that persona intact.

Or, maybe they are just perverted guys that like to whack off to text descriptions of two lesbians banging each other with a double-sided dildo. Certainly there ARE people that use RP as a way to regulate their urges. A more mentally stimulating alternative to pornography, if you will. But, certainly not all RPers who do sexual RP are doing it because they are horny perverts.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, now that I think more on the topic, though I think there are more horny perverts than challenge-seeking RPers.

You're definitely right on the challenge part, though. Two of my WoW characters, one female who is a cruel manipulator that wields anything from twisted diplomacy to seduction to bend people to her will, the other one a male and an outright psychopath that will kill for no other reason than he wanted to, are very fun and challenging for me, a calm, caring, and modest person, to play. The first because of her ego and the extremity of her prejudice and actions, the second because of the sheer evil he commits. And though I love my good/neutral characters (a traveling sage with a dark past, a ranger who lends her bow to an enigmatic society, a wandering mage whose only motive for exploration is "This looks cool, I'm going to check it out"), the evil ones are the most fun to play, mainly because I have to sit back and act differently than I usually do. And the manipulative girl doesn't sleep with people because I want her to, she does it because it's in her nature to seduce folks into following her without question, only to dispose of them when they no longer prove useful. Though I should probably see someone about the satisfaction I experience when I get an OOC whisper of "Wait, what?" whenever she kills/abandons the character that was currently functioning as her personal henchman and bodyguard.

 

[Fuuten]

You'd have thought someone would have done it already, but then you remember that it would be hard. Developers would have to create three times the actions/emotes, plus devote significant time to working out the physical dynamics of the exotic species.

Though that cloud of spore parasites would be awesome in combat. Vulnerable as hell to fire and explosions, highly resistant to more direct weapons and sadly lacking in loot capacity

They wouldn't need loot, they'd use energy to evolve and gain new abilities. I'd actually love to see a game like that, although I'm not sure I'd love to play it. As for the OP's question...

I meant it as less question and more of an invitation for discussion. I just like seeing how people think ;D

All the same, I'm glad to see people providing some interesting responses. : 3

 

[CoverYourHead]

Personally I find it difficult playing a female character in such as Fable or Mass Effect who then has a relationship with a man, I guess I treat the character as myself even when they're massively different.

It goes beyond sexual things as well, I really struggle to play an evil character nowadays due to finding it awfully uncomfortable. To the extent that I've had to rethink how I wanted my character in Fable 2 to develop.

So I guess my overriding point is that it depends on how you view your relationship with your character, if you become your character, or if you view them as a separate entity.

That's weird, because I almost exclusively play as an evil character, hmm...

But back to the OP, whenever given the chance I prefer to play a male character as I think of them as an extension of myself, only good at life.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I think that whatever you do online most of the time has no reflection on what you do or are like in real life. See, I try to be as polite as I can online and respectful, but in real life, I give respect to those who deserve it. I do this because online, chances are I'll never see them again, and I really don't like ruining people's day. I will be respectful to those who deserve it in real life because, for one thing I'm a republican, and also, I believe in the golden rule.

 

[ZacQuickSilver]

I think there's a spectrum of people.

I know a couple of friends who play the opposite gender character on WoW "because I would rather look at a (man's/woman's) ass".

I know someone else, who I've bumped into in several places online who prefers to play a female, despite being male, for the benefits in social settings (people more likely to give you a deal, or just something for nothing).

Granted, I've never done much sexually-themed role-playing, so I can't speak to those places (though I do remember spending some time looking at a MMO in early development that was Tentacle Monsters vs. Female Hunters. Stopped looking because it wasn't going anywhere), but I know for myself I prefer male characters, though I do have a few females floating around.

 

[Jaythulhu]

Hmmm, a very interesting question. I play female toons in 3rd person games just because i'd rather spend my time looking at the female anatonmy (regardless of quality of modeller / artistic ideal) than I would a male one, simply because the female anatomy is far more attractive to me than male, no matter the source.

You do pose an interesting conundrum though.

 

[Elurindel]

I'm beginning to think, at the age of 22, after having been exposed to the internet since the age of 14, that sexuality is very much overrated. Looking at how people can spend their whole lives thinking they're straight, then masquerading as females, or having gay encounters online. People act out things they're afraid to in real life. Does it make them straight, bi, gay? Honestly, I don't think it matters, as they're three very straightjacket terms that can't really show a mindset with much degree of clarity.

 

[PlasticPorter]

I dont know about sexy video game experiments as an extension of ones own inner psyche but i do know blitzing the trade channel
with "WTS cyber" has literally no end in its hilarity

 

[NickNegral]

I used to be a big WoW addict and my main excuse for having a female toon is, i play this game more than i dont and i dont want to be looking at some muscley male figure who puts me to shame. I want a nicely formed female character who i can control and do as i please (Bondage refrence maybe?) But yeah, basically i treat my characters as just that a Character of me and not me entirely.

Fable is a good example of that, i like to be as mean as i can, as soon as someone turned away i was taking something or about to hit them and kill them. I didnt really care but it always gave me enjoyment. But thats only part of my RL Persona. Other games i would be nice and do the good thing.

 

[Neosage]

In fable I did get married to a blacksmith but some other blacksmith took his place (with the same name, AN IMPOSTER!) so I didn't get any discount I divorced him, I did try to have sex with him but couldn't figure out how.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

In Mass Effect I went with a female Shepard because I found the voice actor and dialogue more appealing. As well I went with the Liara relationship because Kaidan Alenko was a serious bore. Now had a relationship with Garrus been available, that would have been much more interesting, at least he was a male character with some personality.

 

[Fuuten]

I'm beginning to think, at the age of 22, after having been exposed to the internet since the age of 14, that sexuality is very much overrated. Looking at how people can spend their whole lives thinking they're straight, then masquerading as females, or having gay encounters online. People act out things they're afraid to in real life. Does it make them straight, bi, gay? Honestly, I don't think it matters, as they're three very straightjacket terms that can't really show a mindset with much degree of clarity.

That's one of the more interesting responses so far. I like the way you think, and agree with you to a good degree. : 3

 

[Fuuten]

In fable I did get married to a blacksmith but some other blacksmith took his place (with the same name, AN IMPOSTER!) so I didn't get any discount I divorced him, I did try to have sex with him but couldn't figure out how.

... If I could spend just one day in your mind...oh the secrets I would learn...

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

I believe this is a "your mileage may vary" issue. The kind of people who look for new and interesting characters to role-play are going to be more likely to change their gender or explore a different mindset from their own through the use of a virtual avatar. The anonymity provided by the Internet does allow for one to expand their horizons in terms of relationships and self-exploration, provided they're interested in that sort of thing rather than killing more digital wombats to enlarge their electronic phallus extension.

 

[Neosage]

In fable I did get married to a blacksmith but some other blacksmith took his place (with the same name, AN IMPOSTER!) so I didn't get any discount I divorced him, I did try to have sex with him but couldn't figure out how.

... If I could spend just one day in your mind...oh the secrets I would learn...

Whatever do you mean ?

 

[Fuuten]

In fable I did get married to a blacksmith but some other blacksmith took his place (with the same name, AN IMPOSTER!) so I didn't get any discount I divorced him, I did try to have sex with him but couldn't figure out how.

... If I could spend just one day in your mind...oh the secrets I would learn...

Whatever do you mean ?

That comment just felt so damn random that I thought it'd be fun to hang out in your head for a while. I dunno : D

 

[Caliostro]

Just stuff like: Do you feel that someone can be straight, yet play bi-sexual or opposing sexual roles within a fantasy environment without endangering thier RL personas,

I'll say this: if you willingly take up bisexual or gay roles in "fantasy" environments, where you don't even get the raw physical pleasure and instead do so only for the psychological pleasure, you're not really as straight as you like to think you are.

It's ok, most people are actually bisexuals and just refuse to believe/accept it.

I must say I laughed when I read "endangering their rl personas" I had to laugh out loud... Cause accepting you're bi or gay endangers you to anything more than public stupidity? You're subject to that either ways.

 

[Fuuten]

Just stuff like: Do you feel that someone can be straight, yet play bi-sexual or opposing sexual roles within a fantasy environment without endangering thier RL personas,

I must say I laughed when I read "endangering their rl personas" I had to laugh out loud... Cause accepting you're bi or gay endangers you to anything more than public stupidity? You're subject to that either ways.

I suppose "Endanger" was a bit of a strong/odd term for my meaning. : D I guess I was shooting more for whether or not people thought that this meant a change in the subject's thinking or sexuality. I was just curious to see if people thought that if someone made a gay/bi character then would someone say that the person themself is gay/bi in RL. I don't personally believe so, but the whole point of this was to get some ideas and opinions shooting around. ; 3

 

[Caliostro]

Just stuff like: Do you feel that someone can be straight, yet play bi-sexual or opposing sexual roles within a fantasy environment without endangering thier RL personas,

I must say I laughed when I read "endangering their rl personas" I had to laugh out loud... Cause accepting you're bi or gay endangers you to anything more than public stupidity? You're subject to that either ways.

I suppose "Endanger" was a bit of a strong/odd term for my meaning. : D I guess I was shooting more for whether or not people thought that this meant a change in the subject's thinking or sexuality. I was just curious to see if people thought that if someone made a gay/bi character then would someone say that the person themself is gay/bi in RL. I don't personally believe so, but the whole point of this was to get some ideas and opinions shooting around. ; 3

Fair enough.

That said, as I mentioned before, if someone willingly roleplays these situations then they are not as straight as they like to think they are.

 

[Elurindel]

I'm beginning to think, at the age of 22, after having been exposed to the internet since the age of 14, that sexuality is very much overrated. Looking at how people can spend their whole lives thinking they're straight, then masquerading as females, or having gay encounters online. People act out things they're afraid to in real life. Does it make them straight, bi, gay? Honestly, I don't think it matters, as they're three very straightjacket terms that can't really show a mindset with much degree of clarity.

That's one of the more interesting responses so far. I like the way you think, and agree with you to a good degree. : 3

Thank you. I also believe that it's often a healthy outlet for feelings we'd otherwise build up inside and drive us mad. Like how my boss at work looks at redtube.com when he's at home sometimes, but he's a perfectly ordinary decent guy otherwise. Hell, I've seen all sorts of things, a lot of which I wish I hadn't, and I haven't degenerated into some kind of child molester or something. Anyway, I'm rambling now.
Sexuality: I think the usual terms are at the same time restrictive and restricting, like the alignment system in most RPGs. But then there's the Kinsey Scale...I forget what the exact formula is for that. Anybody else know?