Playing characters of the opposite gender

How do you feel about players making PCs of the other gender?

  • I forbid/don't like/feel uncomfortable with such heroes in my games

    Votes: 17 10.3%
  • I actively encourage such heroes in my games

    Votes: 43 26.1%
  • I love playing such heroes

    Votes: 59 35.8%
  • I never/very rarely play such heroes

    Votes: 43 26.1%
  • Neither of the above

    Votes: 51 30.9%

In the last campaign I started, several years ago, I started with a very large group of players: 6 men and 3 women, plus me as the DM. To aid me in running a brand new game, and to better avoid some confusion, I asked people to create characters who matched their gender. This saved a lot of time with avoiding pronoun problems, believe me! I also reminded the group that I run games with little or no sexual content, as it is just not an area of RPGs I care to handle. That, however, is a different topic.

While I do not strongly object to people playing characters of the opposite gender, I find that few do it well or with the purest of intentions. I find the same is true of a great many people who play characters of a different sexual orientation then the player.

Does this mean I do not ever allow cross-gender or alternate sexuality characters? No, but I do not actively encourage them.
 

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I like playing female PCs, I'm very happy for male players to do so, and female players to play male PCs. I doubt I would play in a game where the GM forbade such.
 

I encourage such as a GM, I have only one female player, and I like to have a more balanced mix of characters.

As a player... right now (between differing rotating games) I play two women, two men and an other (a man sized amoeba from the Andromeda galaxy who breeds by mitosis - a supers game).

To me it's no different than playing a race other than human. You play something you are not.
 

At least this time around we were spared the whole "I don't allow such characters because they're never played right" argument.

[...]

1- Romantic interactions between PCs are going to be awkward regardless of the player's gender so we generally avoid them.
Excellent ironic juxtaposition!
 

Other.

I neither forbid it nor encourage it.

I do expect the player to role play it. If a male is playing a female I don't want the game to deteriate with "easy" jokes and the such.

I have done played female characters before and yes it can be uncomfortable at times. (weird to truely act sexual or romantic with another guy... doesn't work for me) thus why I often avoid the subject for ALL players when I GM.


Avoid is different from saying no or encourage however.
 


I have played numerous female characters over the years, Jade, Jesmond, Callis, and Ailanon to name a few. I find it interesting and challenge to try and look at things from a female point of view.

I have no problems with other guys doing the same. I have no problem with straight guys playing gay pink wearing Paladins either. Or gay people playing gay characters. As long as everything is kept "tasteful".

Thats my only requirement, being tasteful.
 

...The notion of exploration is the same as playing a tri-keen - an exercise in playing something with a totally alien mindset and mannerism, to see if you can weird out your friends...

:eek:

Wow. I thought I had a poor understanding of the fairer sex, but I never thought they were on par with 6-legged, poisonous intelligent insects :)

I also never dreamed that their portrayal would "weird out" my friends unless done really poorly :)

(which is, admittedly, almost always the case)
 

:eek:

Wow. I thought I had a poor understanding of the fairer sex, but I never thought they were on par with 6-legged, poisonous intelligent insects :)

I also never dreamed that their portrayal would "weird out" my friends unless done really poorly :)

(which is, admittedly, almost always the case)


I've seen plenty of guys "wierded out" or confused about woman. Plus we often see the "other sex" (male or female) referred to as being aliens from another planet. (MArs/Venus) So acting like a 6 legged poisonous insect may not seem like much of a stretch to some people.:lol:
 

I've seen plenty of guys "wierded out" or confused about woman. Plus we often see the "other sex" (male or female) referred to as being aliens from another planet. (MArs/Venus) So acting like a 6 legged poisonous insect may not seem like much of a stretch to some people.:lol:

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.
 

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