Playing characters of the opposite gender

[avin]

This again? *sigh*

Roleplaying other gender in a mature way is just fine for me.

 

[Desdichado]

This came up in one of these threads from years past:

Acting like something that does not exist, no matter how alien, is easier than pretending to be an otherwise mundane member of the opposite sex, because we KNOW what someone of the opposite sex is "supposed" to be like. We have a frame of reference to judge your performance by.

That's why you're weirding us out.

You're in the Uncanny Valley, and millions and millions of years of human evolution tells me you aren't getting out.

That's not actually the part of Treebore's post that weirds me out. The fact that he rather blithely talks about people who are so socially inept as to see women as mysterious as poisonous psionic insect people is what weirds me out.

 

[Desdichado]

In addition to Old Crone, my repertoire also includes Slutty Barmaid.

And Old Barmaid.

And very occasionally, Slutty Old Crone.

I've really been stretching my cross-gender roleplaying chops as a DM when the players all made a trip to the Lost City of Naked Amazon Hotties Who Ride Dinosaurs.

 

[Oni]

This came up in one of these threads from years past:

Acting like something that does not exist, no matter how alien, is easier than pretending to be an otherwise mundane member of the opposite sex, because we KNOW what someone of the opposite sex is "supposed" to be like. We have a frame of reference to judge your performance by.

That's why you're weirding us out.

You're in the Uncanny Valley, and millions and millions of years of human evolution tells me you aren't getting out.

Wait so the better you are at playing the opposite gender the weirder it is? (Assuming you don't reach the point of being indistinguishable from the real thing.)

 

[pawsplay]

...which is ironic because now one of our female players (my best friend's wife) has decided she wants to play a slutty tiefling swordmistress eek

Oh, well... this is going to be interesting

If I had known it was going to be that kind of party...

 

[pawsplay]

A thought occurs to me:

I suspect some women cross-gender RPers might feel more comfortable doing manly things like killing and action in a more manly persona.

Or, they could just want to avoid PCs and NPCs hitting on their female characters.

That's how you can spot female players on MMOs... men playing women will say, "It's none of your business if I'm a man or woman in real life. I have no interest in being hit on." Women will say, "I am a male truck driver with a tattoo of Jenny McCarthy tattooed on my flabby, unattractive arm."

Just kidding. Mostly.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Well, the name I - a heterosexual human male - chose for myself is that of a female ice fairy from a Japanese doujin game series.

So uh.

Yeah.

Edit: As for "How to play a female character," you don't know how. I don't care what your gender is. If you want to find a problem with the way someone is playing a character, you will. No matter their gender. To quote Annie Carlson:

"[On women on the internet]Or many just don't join and go HAY EVERYONE I HAVE A VAGINA, so you don't even know they're female. I was on a message board once for a full year and everyone assumed I was a dude because I had a Brak avatar and didn't go HELLO GOSH DARN I AM HAVIN MY PERIOD. We all have our own presumptions about gender and none of them are fully right for anyone."

 

[S'mon]

I know my wife when she plays D&D much prefers playing a male character. Her female PCs behave like real people and shrink from danger. Her male PCs charge in and hack it to death.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Okay, everyone. Let's try to keep things civil and the thread can continue. Remember that any stereotype is dehumanizing.

 

[Oni]

Well, the name I - a heterosexual human male - chose for myself is that of a female ice fairy from a Japanese doujin game series.

So uh.

Yeah.

I, for one, am shocked to find out that you're not an ice fairy. O_O