Playing cross-gender PCs

[Psychic Warrior]

I don't get it? I mean this game is based on imagination and fantasy.

It seems to me that these people that say "no cross gender characters" are just lacking imagination- something that is a must in RPG.

Not sure I get it- I am male, hetrosexual (never had a "relationship" with another male (never wanted one), sexually interested only in females, and I play quite a few females (not quite 40% but I haven't taken a count either). I guess I could be called prejudice, I mean I am mutt white and I have never played a African American, played a few Oriental and one hispanic character- but that isn't by conscious design.

Emm- if someone capable of a none flaming conversation could explain it, I would like to understand.

Thanks

Who, exactly, is saying no cross-gender PCs? I see about 30% of the responses to the poll have been "I only play PCs my own gender" does that constitute them barring cross-gender PCs? Seems like specious reasoning to me. Of the replies to the thread only one has said they discourage cross-gender PCs that I can tell. Does that imply a lack of imagination? I think you might be projecting a little much into the actual results of the poll.

 

[Haradim]

My characters are probably 50/50 in terms of gender now.

I have no overriding reason for picking one gender over another. In most of the games I've played in, character gender is almost irrelevant; doesn't matter to the players, doesn't matter to the NPCs, and the monsters typically have little to say on the matter. There may be occasional hijinks if there is a mixed gender party, but that's to be expected, and nothing ever develops from it (problem or otherwise).

When making a character, I usually go with whatever gender first comes to mind as I consider the concept. There's no real gender-based limit on possible personalities, so I don't worry much if a female character hews more towards the male stereotype, or vice versa. That said, I've never played in a setting where either male or female stereotypes were particularly strong - nobody bats an eye if a female Fighter takes on 10 goblins and wins easily, and we have the standard pseudo-medieval settings.

As for resistance, there was a bit early on in the group's development (I attribute it more to a lack of desire to put much effort into roleplay than anything else), but I think at this point genders are evenly divided amongst characters for everyone. Since competance and the ability to contribute are generally known very quickly, there really isn't even a chance for someone to pick on how someone else is playing a given character's gender - you don't want that character to ignore you as you lay bleeding to death on the ground (and such things have happened).

Regarding problems, I don't think there ever have been any - well, none that really show character gender to be the problem. One player's characters are, regardless of their genes, always rather annoying stereotypes. The rest of us have our moments, but it generally isn't serious. I'd say that the only thing that annoys me is playing up stereotypes like the 'promiscuous lesbian amazon', or the 'randy, violent psychopath male'.

 

[davidschwartznz]

I've had ideas for female characters, but in retrospect, I don't think I've ever actually played a female character.

I have played a misogynist ghost who only possessed women (based on an Arlo Guhtrie song, of all things); and a gay samurai (in two games that were short lived, so no one ever noticed).

As I DM, I don't mind cross-gender stuff. My current game of Grimm has girl playing a male nerd (every time someone refers to her character as 'she', she cries 'I'm a real boy!'), and a guy playing a girl (to balance things out). And the characters have had to disguise as the opposite gender on more than one occasion. Not to mention facing gender-confused villains. Hmm, thinking about it, these prepubescent characters have had to deal with more sexual issue than the characters in my 'adult' vampire game. Creepy.

 

[smootrk]

I am male. I have only partially played female characters, usually as a cohort of my main character (which makes them sorta NPC's). Other than that only male characters.

Now, online, I have played female characters. In a graphical game like NWN, it is just more interesting to look at a female most of the time. They just look nicer, and it is nice when the male characters give you stuff (I guess it is the nerdy way of flirting).

 

[der_kluge]

'randy, violent psychopath male'.

You mean all guys aren't randy, violent psychopaths? I'm doing something wrong.

 

[der_kluge]

It's statistically irrelevant at this stage, but I do find it curious that there aren't any females who only play female characters out there. Maybe that will change...

 

[Haradim]

You mean all guys aren't randy, violent psychopaths? I'm doing something wrong.

Most things are fine in moderation

If only the players of such characters realised that...

 

[Ace]

while I no longer allow cross gender RP in my games (do to bad experiences with it) I have played a female character on one occasion -- at that time I also allowed cross gender characters

I am not likely to do this again though unless I allowed cross gender characters IMC fair is fair

 

[Amadan]

I've played some female characters before.
As someone above said, if you can imagine a mintaur ranger, what's so hard about playing the opposite gender?

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Most of the time I play male characters, but my longest running character, a campaign that spanned 10 years during 1st and 2nd Ed., was a female character. I enjoyed running her, but it was a bit of a pain at times, especially in an all male group during the high school years. Many stupid jokes at my characters expense. In the end, outside of the jokes, most of the rest of the group just ignored the fact that the character was female, and I didn't do much to emphasize it except when it could make a difference in the game.