Is is weird to play male character when you're female?

[Navy]

I always play male characters, and my sister always teases me about it.

She says it's weird, but I just prefer playing males for a couple of reasons

 

-I tend to like the custimization options more

-On MMOs girls are constantly flirted with which makes me uncomfortable (some guys even pretend to be girls to get free stuff)

-I just like it?

 

I asked some friends about it and they all seem to agree with my sister that it's weird and that it's like lying to everyone else.

 

[Duma]

I disagree that it's weird. As long as you don't actually say/pretend to be a guy. (Well, even that is acceptable if it's just as a little joke) I know a bunch of guys who always played with a female skin just because they liked the look for female skins more.

For me, I would just take the skin I like the most as well and I would keep my real gender hidden as I really prefer to be anonymous online. Only my friends will know (not just irl friends, but friends I made in the game after a while will get to know too, just by talking).

 

I think it's perfectly fine as long as you don't do it for evil reasons, like to get stuff out of it.

[wolfponies]

It is far from weird!

I totally understand when you say you wanna avoid all the flirting. When I played World of Warcraft, girls were treated almost like Gods...guys worshiped them and kept giving them stuff. Some girls enjoyed it while others felt uncomfortable. Sometimes I entered the role of a girl only to see how far people would go. I made quite some amazing discoveries :P

 

I'm a male and have always played female characters no matter the game. In WoW I preferred female characters simply because of the models. I also may have been a bit nerdy back then...around Christmas I used to dress my character up in sexy Santa clothes and go dance on a roof haha :P

On neo, all my pets have been and are females. The reason for this is the customization opportunities. I like the female clothing much more and I kinda like to dress them up girly :)

 

A piece of advice...be yourself and do what you like. It's much more fun to be accepted for who you are and not who you pretend to be!

[Angeló]

i don't think it's weird .. when i used to play Mortal Kombat or other fighting games on Sega .. I always chose the female characters :D

[beruichi]

If I had a choice, I'd always, always pick a female avatar. But seeing as most games have male protagonists, I often find myself playing as a male character. It's not weird at all.

 

Consider this: a video game is just another storytelling medium, not much different from books or tv shows or movies. Except the part that you can't progress in the story if you can't beat a boss or something. (:

 

So, if it doesn't feel weird watching and rooting for a male character in those other forms of media, then there's no reason to feel weird playing as one, is there?

 

Of course, that's in reference to RPGs; MMORPGs are quite different since you're interacting with other people, who'd react differently depending on your character's appearance. People can and will be irritating biscuit crumbs, that's a given. Just ignore those you'd rather not associate with. After all, you're playing the game for you and not for anyone else. Don't let them spoil your fun! ;)

[gamer_mommaof3]

I don't think it's weird at all. It's all personal preference in my opinion.

[Naamah D.]

It's not weird at all. Some of my favorite fighting game characters are male. Rig is my favorite Dead or Alive character and he's a guy. Some of the games that I play you don't have a choice in gender.

[HomuraAkemiTheHero]

I don't think it's weird but if I have the choice I choose female avatars because I just like them better but sometimes if the male avatars look better I will choose them. Although most of the games I have are RPG's with male protagonists. I do play World of Warcraft although I don't play as much since my free membership is out at the moment and I haven't been flirted with at all and I played as female characters and I never gave out my age or anything although one guy was following me around one time that was the end of it most of the time people new to the game would ask if they could borrow enough for a ride to somewhere but in the game I rarely ever said a word unless I was in a group for the games or the dungeons but even then it was rare for me to say anything so no one really knew my gender except for the 2 people in my family that play the game. So really I think it's fine as long as you have fun and enjoy the game.

[agrinwithoutacat]

It's not weird in the slightest to pick a male. I choose a male avatar on Unreal Tournament because the girls all look lame, to me. In general I pick a female avatar, especially in games where you can customize the appearance, but not always.

In some games I've been forced to pick a male. There was one wrestling game for the PS2 (can't remember which one, but I believe it was one of the Smackdown vs Raw games) where I basically had to be a guy. They had the option to make a diva, but you couldn't compete in all the match types as one, because in real life you never see a diva in a Hell In A Cell Match (and against guys, at that). So I had to make a male character, which was annoying because I really liked my diva until I found out she was hardly playable. :(

I also know people who are into e-fedding (basically role-playing, but centered around a fictional wrestling federation) who write as the opposite gender. It's totally common and no one bats an eye.

[kamui5267]

my friend was always tease me for always choosing female character

but no choice,

It's not like I want to get free stuff

even they want to give me, I will refuse to accept

I love long hair but male character is often short hair,

making me no choice and forced to choose female

If there is long hair- male character,

I will choose male but sadly mostly no :sad01_anim:

[Novelista]

Ooo! No one's mentioned gender-swapping in the history of theatre! Yay, Daya the Walking Encyclopedia! :laughingsmiley:

 

When theatre was first introduced to the general public, it was considered inappropriate for women to be on-stage, so men played women with regularity. Some all-male theatre groups still exist today, especially in Japan, where onnagata (males who play female roles) are still prevalent and respected. (I believe it was Lesley Downer's book Geisha that said that female actors were too enticing, so the government eventually outlawed it.)

 

Conversely, ladies play male roles in opera and theatre from time to time; they're known as "trouser roles" or travesti. In fact, one of the most well-known trouser roles to the modern American public is Peter Pan! (Mary Martin, anyone?) According to Wiki, Sarah Bernhardt spent a lot of time as a travesti and starting around the 1830s, women of the corps de ballet would step into male parts. (Julius Caesar is also considered a trouser role in opera...I just had to throw that in there. :D )

 

 

Even though all the other posters made a great case before me, you can tell your sister that there is a historical precedence in theatre for females playing males and she can go fly a kite! (I have a feeling you've been waiting for an excuse to do so, anyway. ;) )

[Xepha]

I don't think it's weird. You are playing in a fictional world where you can be whatever you want, or feel like being.

 

Also I have been taking part in text roleplay recently, and I always end up being a guy. It's not uncommon since apparently more female are playing and to make stories interesting you need both genders. :P So yeah, do as you want as long as you are comfortable with it.

[Snowbell]

I have a lot of female friends that play as male characters I don't see a problem in it.

[KrellVitor]

I have played as Zelda in the super smash brother's game because I think shes cool. I also play as Samus too. (Metroid is pretty sweet) Both female, both awesome. If that makes anyone question my masculinity then they probably have self esteem issues to work out.

 

If you want your character to be a guy the do it if it makes you happy.

 

The font size is being weird and I cannot figure it out.

[Coco]

If it's weird then I'm weird! Haha. When I roleplay, I have an easier time getting into the psyche of male characters than female characters. When I try to play a woman, it only lasts for a few months before I lose my muse. As far as video games go, I never seem to take gender into account. Rather than choosing the likes of Chun-Li and Morrigan in Marvel vs. Capcom, I choose Captain America and Spider Man. And I don't really consider myself "tomboyish" in real life.

[Azurablue]

Hey, great topic!

 

I'm a long time gamer, from way back in the very earliest days of video games. This means back in the stone age when there was no such thing as female characters. From that standpoint, there was no choice at all. I suppose I got used to it just because I had to play male, like it or not. When there got to be a choice, it somehow felt weird. Especially when the few females around were pretty much Amazonian: big in the front, big in the back, tiny in the middle, but dressed like a medieval Victoria's Secret model. Not exactly realistic at all. Then came Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. Okay, sure. Still built like a brick hourglass, but this was a strong female character who wasn't just a dude in skimpy clothes. That was when I started to sit up and take notice that there were some good choices out there. (Resident Evil 1-3 comes to mind.)

 

Nowadays, I split my time between male and female fairly evenly. I've done Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas as both. My faves for ES5: Skyrim are female Kahjiit (cat), male or female Nord. In Final Fantasy 12, I favoured Balthier the most (male), but could do all characters well. I can't wait for Final Fantasy 15 - I want to play Noctis (male) so badly, it hurts. I've been dying for that game since it was first announced back in 2006. Diablo 1 and 2 were sorceress all the way. (You can't beat Frost Nova as a power move to clear a room.) I prefer the male in Pokemon games most of the time, though I've been finding the girl fun to play in Pokemon X. I plan to play through as the guy next, just to see the clothing choice difference. Minecraft has no choice - you play as Steve. In NeoPets, I have three female pets and one male.

 

Long story short: I think you should be comfortable with whatever you prefer. Don't worry about being teased for it. That's just insecurity on their part. Be true to yourself and do your own thing however you want to do it. That's what will make you happy and that's what it's all about.

[Naamah D.]

Hey, great topic!

 

I'm a long time gamer, from way back in the very earliest days of video games. This means back in the stone age when there was no such thing as female characters. From that standpoint, there was no choice at all. I suppose I got used to it just because I had to play male, like it or not. When there got to be a choice, it somehow felt weird. Especially when the few females around were pretty much Amazonian: big in the front, big in the back, tiny in the middle, but dressed like a medieval Victoria's Secret model. Not exactly realistic at all. Then came Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. Okay, sure. Still built like a brick hourglass, but this was a strong female character who wasn't just a dude in skimpy clothes. That was when I started to sit up and take notice that there were some good choices out there. (Resident Evil 1-3 comes to mind.)

 

Nowadays, I split my time between male and female fairly evenly. I've done Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas as both. My faves for ES5: Skyrim are female Kahjiit (cat), male or female Nord. In Final Fantasy 12, I favoured Balthier the most (male), but could do all characters well. I can't wait for Final Fantasy 15 - I want to play Noctis (male) so badly, it hurts. I've been dying for that game since it was first announced back in 2006. Diablo 1 and 2 were sorceress all the way. (You can't beat Frost Nova as a power move to clear a room.) I prefer the male in Pokemon games most of the time, though I've been finding the girl fun to play in Pokemon X. I plan to play through as the guy next, just to see the clothing choice difference. Minecraft has no choice - you play as Steve. In NeoPets, I have three female pets and one male.

 

Long story short: I think you should be comfortable with whatever you prefer. Don't worry about being teased for it. That's just insecurity on their part. Be true to yourself and do your own thing however you want to do it. That's what will make you happy and that's what it's all about.

 

I play as both male and female characters, too. Dead or Alive has a lot of awesome female characters like Kasumi, Tina and Hitomi as well as my favorite character Rig. Tekken has Lili, Anna Williams, Kunimitsu and Zafina as well as Raven, Dargunov and the Jack characters. Mortal Kombat has Mileena, Sonya Blade and Frost, but they also have Stryker and Scorpion. Darkstalkers has Morrigan, Lilith and Felicia as well as Donovan. Those are the characters of both genders that I enjoy playing as.

 

Some of the games I play you don't have a choice. In Watch Dogs, you play as Aiden Pearce, in Devil May Cry 4 you play as Dante and Nero and in Call of Duty you play as a guy.

 

There is no such thing as video games strictly for guys or a video game strictly for girls. That means that there is no such thing as a character strictly for male gamers and a character strictly for female gamers.

 

Bayonetta is a female character and you don't have a choice either. Stereotypes should become obsolete :(

 

If a guy wants to play Hello Kitty Birthday Adventures and plays as Hello Kitty I don't mind one bit :)

[Skathi]

I nearly always play as a male character on games, if it something like Fable or Skyrim I prefer the clothes and armour.

[dayday0819]

I'm a cis female, and I play as both characters too. It's not weird at all, it's just a way of expressing yourself in a video game. It's all about a fantasy world, so I don't see at all how it matters. If I replay a game I even make a point to play as the opposite sex just for a slight change of pace.

[CookieGoo]

It usually doesn't matter to me, I only decide by the customization options and any advantages to a certain gender.

[thunderlight25]

If it's for the reason you stated, then no, it's not weird. IMO it starts getting weird if you play an opposite gender for perverted reasons or to take advantage of other players.

 

Of course, we're talking about MMORPGs right? (or any game that lets you pick a gender for reasons other than pure cosmetics, really)

[thatlauralass]

Why should it matter?

Like thunder's said, it's only weird if you're doing it to take advantage of other players or for perverted reasons.

 

So you just enjoy playing as a male character; so what? I RP as a male all the time. I don't think it's weird. I feel sorry for people who think it is, really, since it must be quite limited in such an ignorant frame of mind.

[alola9]

I don't think it's weird at all. Having known some people who do that, I don't see a problem.

[blender]

Not weird at all, I love playing games as both male and female, for differences in customization and storyline usually. Fun to get the whole perspective in my opinion.

[blackberrypatch]

Not weird at all! I tend to play females because they tend to be long-range battlers (e.g. sorceress, amazon). I've noticed in single player games (e.g. Arcanum) the female NPCs flirt with my character whether my character's male or female. ^_^