A general Question for everyone

[Sherona]

Ok I am just wondering why those who do not like people of one sex to play another sex in a game? Example, I ahve a game with Elandra where she plays a man...She does a pretty good job of it too. Why are those who would be uncomfortable with that uncomfortable if teh person in question writes a convincing role.

This is just stories btw, I am not including ooc play or 'cyber' but talking about the stories that go on here. I can see why it might be uncomfortable in cyber or OOC play.

[Jeramiahh]

'Friad I can't answer that one, seeing as how I've run and played with the gamut of characters over the years. Honestly, I find it an interesting challenge to play the opposite gender, and I've got no problem with anyone else wanting to try it.

[Psi]

I suppose it comes down to personal preference.

Given that I haven't really role played much outside of RPG's such as Diablo etc the idea of playing the opposite gender isn't something that has much appeal to me
Of course depending how much I hang around here and what I get enticed into trying, who knows.
On a computer screen I often play female characters in single player games, not a huge multiplayer gamer, or single lately either.
But if I am going to be staring at a characters butt on screen for hours, its going to be a girls one :p

Cyber I def would not want to play as the other gender, and if the other person is, I don't want to know about it.

[The Lotus Eater]

I don't know about women, but I find a lot of guys utterly hopeless at playing convincing females.  I've been RPing half my life so I like to think I know what I'm talking about.  Many guys tend to play... this ideal version of what they think a woman is, when it just comes across as a painful stereotype.  I think it's because they try to make them too perfect, you know?  With any character it's important to play on their faults, otherwise they're just so painfully unrealistic.  Instead they play a woman with that has everything they like about women, and nothing they dislike, which... just isn't convincing.  Also, you need a degree of subtlety I think, that people often overlook. 

So that's why I find it weird, that and something to do with writing style that I find different from man to woman.  GENERALLY SPEAKING I think that male writers have a more thoughtful, inventive writing style, but nothing really jumps off the page.  Women on the other hand are more natural, and find it better to write really emotional content that draws the reader in.  So yeah, I much prefer playing games with female writers, partly to balance out my own writing style and partly just because I prefer reading what they have to write.  I'm not capable of capturing such feeling and energy in my writing, but many female writers can.  I also find them less willing to attempt to play male roles, possibly because they're right to suspect they wouldn't do a good job?  I don't know.

This is a little unfair, there are some amazing male writers out there of course in which this simply doesn't apply to them.  I think when people get lazy though, these characteristics can show through.   But yeah, that's why and when it bugs me.  I'm actually FOR people playing roles of the opposite sex, but at the same time I can't stand seeing it done poorly.

[Jeramiahh]

I've always found the discussion of male/female writing styles interesting, because I like to watch it in myself and my partners. I find that, when I write, I tend to focus very heavily on actions and concrete thoughts; I set the stage like one might the script for a movie. I describe what's seen, what thoughts are passing through their head, and the key elements for a scene. If a scent is important, it's added. If it doesn't play into the mood, the setting, I'm trying to evoke, it doesn't get mentioned. Similarly, I prefer to try to get emotions across through words and actions, and not by using the words. It's hard to explain, but it feels... hamfisted, to, for example, say "Jane, smiling, happily said, 'I'm so happy!'" That may be a bit of an extreme example; what I'm referring to is far more subtle. But I'd prefer to have something more along the line of "Jane smiled. 'I'm so happy!'" Same words, very different... connotation, even though I only changed a tiny bit around.

Female writers, I find, tend to go into more subtle descriptions. They might describe how she was feeling, how it affected her, leaving the smiling to be assumed. I think that may be the difference; I assume emotions that come tied to actions, women assume actions tied to emotions. [/stream-of-consciousness-rambling]

[OldSchoolGamer]

I play both genders...as an aspiring author, I have to be able to create convincing characters of both genders, so it's good practice.

Of course, there are some guys who can't pull it off convincingly...sometimes they fall into what I call the "Insta-Slut" trap of playing a female character who goes nympho after the third or fourth post.  Perhaps they confuse fantasy with realistic characterization...

I've never understood people who refuse to role-play with players who play a character of the opposite gender.  After all, if it were a tabletop game, would they really want a world that was stag?  Surely they would want some female NPCs in the story universe.

[Sherona]

Why are those who would be uncomfortable with that uncomfortable if teh person in question writes a convincing role.

This was my line that made your post kind of Lotus eater. I understand not playing cross gendered characters when that character is not portrayed well. However we have MANY men on this site that play a damn convincing woman.

When I first joined I did not want to play male characters, but I had no problems playing against a female person playing a male, or a male playing a female. I grew in my writing a bit and experimented and now I do play abattalion of different Male characters.

[The Lotus Eater]

I'm sorry, your writing is really difficult to understand sometimes.

I don't know, some people might be homophobic, or maybe they enjoy it more if they're attracted to the gender of the person on the other side (or at least what they think their gender is, since you can never be sure).  I mentioned writing style... but if that's somehow not applicable here then I guess that's all I can think of.   

There, that better?  :P

[Elandra]

Example, I ahve a game with Elandra where she plays a man...She does a pretty good job of it too. Why are those who would be uncomfortable with that uncomfortable if teh person in question writes a convincing role.

Pretty good? Humph. *giggles*

Obviously I do not have an issue with it, I just felt the need to comment.

[Sherona]

Pretty good? Humph. *giggles*

Obviously I do not have an issue with it, I just felt the need to comment.

*laughs* Well I could have spouted your praises but then it would have just seemed rude not to sing the praises of the many many writers of opposite gendered characters ;)

[Lithos]

Can you link the thread? Cannot really comment on your experience if I cannot see how well played the male role is. For me this is immersion issue that comes from general experience of badly played female characters in RP. To other direction I am not really sure... I have been told that I can play quite good female but I just feel ackward trying to think and act like one, so besides very rare times I do not.   

When cybering, the reason is obvious :P

[Sherona]

*smiles* I am on laggy laggy dial up so I can't link, because yeah going to story threads where a lot of text is on kind o ftakes forever to load fully for some reason. Its The Slavery Question in NC Human Freeform Solo's


Amberghylles currently plays a female in a game with me in the Extremes Preludes-Nayearth in Ex small games...He does a pretty good female as well.

[Von Konos]

Hi
I have run a lot of years of table top and I have had the same problem with the insta slut with some of my male players running female characters, but one of my female playres ran a major slut, her character got so bad I had to ask her to change or stop playing because all she wanted to do was find npc's to have sex with her character wouldnt go on missions or go with any storyline, all she would do was go to the bar and try to find any person to sleep with male or female. 

[Dawg]

Whoa, how did I miss this thread.

I play tons of female characters in strictly rollplay.  Currently I have a Buccaneer half dragon lady in one game and in another a whiley rogue changeling active.  Both are beautiful conniving tricksters who use their wares to get what they need.

I play them pretty convincingly.  My very first female character was actually one that was changed from male to female on a wish spell, and I needed up having her marry her longtime adventuring mate.

Been convinced since then that it can only enhance your skill as both a writer and as a player if you can work on both styles of writng, and yes they are different.

[Inkidu]

I don't mind other people doing it, I just don't feel comfortable playing the other sex. I wouldn't mind if any of my role play partners did it though.

[Cecilia]

I think that people who closely identify their role-play with themselves have a harder time separating what they would do in RL from what they are writing...I see that with guys who don't want to write any guy/guy scenes because they are strictly heterosexual.  I'm with TytheDnDGuy who is an aspiring writer...I want to write convincingly regardless of the role and the things I write on Elliquiy--some of them anyway--are far beyond my personal RL experiences.  (Sorry to shatter any illusions, my dear co-writers!)  :)

I also think people are on E for differing reasons.  I'm here because I want to write--and this is a nice place to practice.  Yes, it is a very enjoyable process,and, well, yeah can be quite fun, too, but I'm not exactly worried about people thinking "Cecilia" is any of the characters portrayed in the stories "Cecilia" writes....I have no Elven blood, have never ridden atop a raging bull, nor have I ever magically conjured a riding crop to swat a cat girl...

[Lithos]

nor have I ever magically conjured a riding crop to swat a cat girl...

Nooo!! you shattered my image of reality there :(

[The Overlord]

Some people will have an issue with this and some won’t; this is a reality.

I consider gender more or less the same as race or class; it's an attribute that one must condition the character by. I have few if any reservations on running male or female characters, and have been told I do a reasonable job with the opposite gender.

[Jeramiahh]

I think that people who closely identify their role-play with themselves have a harder time separating what they would do in RL from what they are writing...

*nod* I talk with my mother about writing, occasionally, and she has a VERY hard time roleplaying, because she is very stuck in the mindset of character=her. To the point that she thinks anyone who cross-gender plays is creepy. Of course, she knows nothing about this site... >_>

[Dawg]

I think that people who closely identify their role-play with themselves have a harder time separating what they would do in RL from what they are writing...I see that with guys who don't want to write any guy/guy scenes because they are strictly heterosexual.  I'm with TytheDnDGuy who is an aspiring writer...I want to write convincingly regardless of the role and the things I write on Elliquiy--some of them anyway--are far beyond my personal RL experiences.  (Sorry to shatter any illusions, my dear co-writers!)  :)

This is very true.  In my stories I tend to relate to my characters very closely, to the point of remorse if one of them dies sometimes.  As the storyline and plot move along I am not thinking just about what they are doing, but thinking. What are thier visions of the future, what memories do they have from the past that may affect their decisions, what are thier thoughts and considerations for other characters and NPC in the story.

Thus I can do female characters in a non-present setting and up to an "R" rating very well.  But when things get to close to home I have a difficult time realting all of the emotions tied in to write with the same vigor.

[Von Konos]

Hey Dawg

my second D&D character on table top find an artifact that turned him into a female, and mty character's best freind and adventuring buddy, fell in love with her(him) and tried all nasty types of ways to get her(him) to marry him. so I think that it is cool that we both had a very close expreince with that.

[Dawg]

Hey Dawg

my second D&D character on table top find an artifact that turned him into a female, and mty character's best freind and adventuring buddy, fell in love with her(him) and tried all nasty types of ways to get her(him) to marry him. so I think that it is cool that we both had a very close expreince with that.

Too funny.  Yes my two characters were playing years in table top (THAC0 style) and where almost Epic when it happened.  That was the first time I ever RP'd a female in a fantasy setting.

[Von Konos]

yea I was playing Advanced 2nd Edition D&D, I was like 5th level but my DM was Magic item happy lol. it was one of the Teeth of (not sure how to spell it now) but it was one of the artifact teeth.