ngenius
Adventurer
Nice statement about the hormones, die_kluge, because they are one sure way to tell a male or female charater. Statistically, males with high testosterone levels once angered to extreme levels, reach a point of total stupidity and engage in "pissing contests". Once a character starts getting into stupid fights at the risk of life and limb, that character is most likely male with all his brains in his balls.die_kluge said:...
This is all "nature versus nurture", and probably should be lumped in with "religion" and "politics" in the category of things best left undisturbed on ENworld.
I think all things being equal - men and women really are the same, but things aren't equal - women have more estrogen, and men have more testosterone.
I'm reminded of a quote by a woman who was undergoing a sex-change operation, and they had given her massive doses of testosterone, and she said, "I now know what it's like to be a horny 17-year old boy now."
Our genetic and hormonal makeups *do* make us different people. How much nature plays a role and how much nurture plays a role will continue to be highly contested for years to come.
I would also add that the gender test thingy could be vastly simplified by asking more poignant questions:
1) Do you sit down or stand up to urinate?
2) If you lived in the early part of the 19th century, would you have had the right to vote?
3) Which is more important to you: having toned hips and thighs, or huge pectoral muscles?
Personally (and this may sound stupid), I like playing female characters in RPGs because they usually come with better fantasy artwork (most artists love drawing women, whether beautiful or the lewd type). I prefer the beautiful strong types, that look like the ones who attract attention but are always ready to kick the idiots who do not respect them so hard, those masculine scum become eunuchs.
In reality, female characters have things more difficult since most human societies have tried to surpress the rights of women. And this once again maybe due to the fact that biologically speaking, women are superior to men. Biologically a race of all women can exist, because women can give birth to new offspring. Men are just useful for propagating variety in human genes. If creatures were more sensitive to enviornmental mutation, females can clone themselves and mutate enough to be a practical species.
Back to the gaming dilemna. I would advise that players simple study the cultures of the fantasy setting in which they wish to play and adapt their female characters as closely as possible to seem believable within that context. Same goes for the male characters. The Drow society is one where the females are domiant and is a good starting point for male players, since most males players may be used to enforcing dominance. Then they may try other cultures, to truly appreciate why females under oppression have complained for years about the unfairness of most societies.
Those desparate to use female sex as a bargaining tool, can also try playing in societies where the males are so few that it is now the females who are desparate to find a mate and not the males, with the males protected like treasured children.
Just my ideas.
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