male playing female PC

[Aloïsius]

A Question :
When you play your chracters, do you say "I" or do you use the third person, or do you switch between the two ?

It's important, for suspension of disbelief in cross-gender roleplaying (or anytime you play something really difrerent).

Imagine the following scene (a middle aged bearded male gamer playing a young elven maiden)
1st case :
"I search for my mirror to check my face after this devastating dragon acid breath"
2nd case
"Grimacing in pain, Alzinielle take a little mirror from her sack, and stare at her once gentle face, her eyes wide open with horror"
Not the same, huh ?

 

[fusangite]

Y'know, I feel deeply sorry for fusangite...

He must have been burned pretty bad in some previous games to be such a hardliner. If he's still playing with the same group, I feel doubly sorry for him. One of his groups, somewhere in his dark past, must have really sucked.

Truly, is he not rather deserving of our pity, than our flames?
Seriously though, I don't understand his argument that the female psychology is so alien to the male psyche? I mean, it is different, but as some poster (was it Kahuna Burger, mayhaps?) said previously, a character is more than just his/her gender. A character is a combination of his/her culture, upbringing, and personality.

I think fusangite's problem is that he's making huge generalizations, ie, all women have basically the same motivations and thought processes, ditto for all men. Plus his assumption that men are inherently simpler than women, thus, a man finds it impossible to RP a woman "correctly" because the female psyche is such a complex, alien thing to him. Plus he's basically telling all roleplayers everywhere the Right Thing To Do. Me, I think he's either got a real bad group, or some serious issues with the opposite sex.

Well, Bob, here's how my thought process works: there is a phenomenon that I have observed a number of times (men playing female characters badly). It's a phenomenon I don't like. I have therefore done two things in response: (1) I have attempted to develop theories to explain the pheonomenon and (2) I have made house rules in my game to avoid this unpleasant phenomenon happening again.

Theories, by virtue of their nature, are constructed from generalizations. Your post suggests that you believe all theories are wrong because generalizations are sometimes wrong. I think your position was better expressed by someone whose name escapes me at the moment who said, "All generalizations are wrong."

For the record, Bob, I don't game with people I find problematic. My campaigns are sufficiently popular that I don't need to waste a second on problem players. They're out of my game if they're difficult. Unfortunately, throwing people out of games is disruptive both socially and narratively; therefore, I've developed policies so that I don't have to kick people out.

Although I'd have a full-time job responding to all the absurd sophistry that's being employed to argue against me, I must make an exception and respond to your assertion that because I think women are more complex than men that this somehow means I think all women are the same. On second thought, I don't need to respond; I think my summary of your point covers it.

Finally, although I think I can rely on other posters to elaborate this point, just to reiterate, believing oneself to be right is not the same as telling everyone what to do.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Just a quick reminder not to snap back at other posters even if they're being close-minded poohheads that won't listen to your Very Important points.

 

[fusangite]

Just a quick reminder not to snap back at other posters even if they're being close-minded poohheads that won't listen to your Very Important points.
__________________
Cry Havoc and let slip the Dog of war.

Your comment is well-taken but also extremely funny in light of your sig line.

 

[WisdomLikeSilence]

I'm going to sidestep most of the issues that have been raised and respond to Logiqc's original question.

Yes, I've seen men roleplay high charisma women well, it wasn't freaky, and everyone at the table enjoyed it immensely.

I've also seen some pretty poor examples of cross gender roleplaying, and some bizarre table dynamics, so I do understand why you might be concerned.

It sounds to me like you're taking a pretty reasonable approach. Good for you for being willing to give it a try for a few sessions.

My hope is that the player will do well, pretty soon the beard won't matter, and you'll find cross-gender roleplaying a lot less weird in practice than in theory.

And if not, well, you will have learned something pretty important about that player and what works for your group.

-WLS

 

[seasong]

My, what a big state you have here. It certainly is big, despite being nowhere NEAR the size of Alaska, Har Har Har. It must be nice to live in the SECOND-biggest state, Har Har Har.

Oh, sorry, I didn't specify. I was talking about LAND, not some ice shelf that would melt down to about the size of our panhandle if they had a human climate like we do.

 

[mistergone]

[Disclaimer: Some people may find post inflammatory. It is not meant to be. Please do not flame, and if you do, please give warning...]

Y'know, I feel deeply sorry for fusangite...

He must have been burned pretty bad in some previous games to be such a hardliner. If he's still playing with the same group, I feel doubly sorry for him. One of his groups, somewhere in his dark past, must have really sucked.

Truly, is he not rather deserving of our pity, than our flames?

Look, you can't say "this post is not inflammatory" and then proceed to flame the person. Well okay, you can, but that's sociopathic. We humans have a basic social unspoken contract with each other that pretty much states, that along with not killing and raping each other in the streets, we don't act so blatantly contrary towards each other. Ah well, obviously you exist in a different moral mode than others. That's fine. What in your past makes you act that way? I kind of pity you.

Feel free to pick them apart and otherwise abuse them to your heart's content...

done and done

here's my obligatory

 

[Tisvon]

ya'know, this thread has grown past the original question.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Wow, makes me apreciate my gaming group even more. We are 7-8 people all male rangeing in age from 30-50. Until this thread and the last I never gave any real thought to the issue.

Currently I play a female Asimar Bard/Cleric/Mystic Wanderer with a 20 Cha (with magic bonus) and +20 diplomacy. I don't play a stereotype, just my character. We have another player who plays a female human Rogue again without any stereotyping. Our DM was a player in the last game who played a female Drow Cleric and a female Elf Sorceress in the game before that. Both of those had the female aspect as just another part of the character.

We don't play out sexual actions, but our genders and charisma and diplomacy are not ignored. With my current character my DM makes sure that the effects of my stats are something I can't ignore with NPCs having both the positive effects of improved reactions (as per DMG) and negative effects in the form of obsessed villans (Nothing too "mature" or "immature", just motivation).

I suppose if you are in a group that has had players who play accross genders badly you would have a negative opinion of this. From my own experience with my group not only can it be done without a problem but it has been done successfuly several times. So I will thank my blessings for this group who has made me blissfully unaware of any problem.

 

[Thresher]

Im of much the same opinion as Brown ^
Mixed gaming group, aged mid20's to early 30's, dont care what you play as long as you play it well.

Over the years Ive played with a lot of girls who would trot out a male character and no one really thought twice to be honest about them doing it.
Small blessings for open minded friends, having fun and not taking it real seriously I guess.