=RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (Full Version)

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Ryu Viranesh -> =RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (3/16/2014 18:30:01)

As Role Players, the question of whether or not we could or should play a character of a gender opposite to our own often comes up in conversation, and it is not the easiest of topics to broach. There's a lot of consideration that goes into designing a character to begin with, and there's an additional amount of trepidation when dealing with something that to some can be seen as very unfamiliar territory. Let's face it: some people find it difficult to understand their opposite gender, and in Role Playing, they can scare them away from attempting to play such a character. While this is certainly not the same for everybody, with some people even finding it easier to play characters of an opposing gender, the topic in and of itself is worthy of discussion.

This thread is to be used to discuss any specifically gender-related RP subjects, which may include (but are not limited to): which gender you personally feel more comfortable playing, how to help others ease into attempting to play a character of a gender that they're not comfortable with, what you've learned about character-making in general from playing a specific (or both) gender(s), and how such has affected your Role-Playing style in a more general sense.

Credit to Arthur for the original thread idea.



Eukara Vox -> RE: =RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (3/17/2014 1:43:19)

I will admit that I was a bit hesitant to play a male RP character. It wasn't that I didn't understand a male character's perspective, I spent most of my teenage years befriending guys more than girls. guys were simpler and, well, they weren't all worried about their names, their hair, their make-up or the gossip about who was after who. I relate more to guys than girls. Still do to a point. I was always the girl who caught snakes and spiders, built and repaired machinery, and took things apart just to get why they ticked. Then, I was divinely gifted with an all male household.

It was more... can my words truly convey this correctly?

I've not played male characters often, but I think I did rather well the times that I did. There are ways of thinking I had to leave behind, attitudes and directives. I will admit the first two sessions were odd. I mean, I had to not only play a male, but be one, even for that small amount of time. I don't know about everyone else, but when I RP, I am that person. I am not play acting, I am not on a stage. It is real. So, I had to evacuate all female whatever and think like a guy. Fun times, ahead, yes. But, oddly enough, once I caught a rhythm, I was okay.


I do, though, prefer to play my own gender. I may be able to relate to the male side of the species, but I don't know the complete ins and outs of being male. Being female? Oh, that I do know, and know how to take advantage of such knowledge. I know the limitations of my species, I know the strengths and weaknesses. I know what it requires to accomplish certain things, how to become stronger, how to become faster, when it is optimal for such things vs when dreams of wonder and need of such things are far past.

Just a short post to help get this discussion launched.



Arthur -> RE: =RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (3/17/2014 2:55:37)

Eukara's last paragraph is the exact reason why I cannot play females. Because even though I am around them, I talk to them or hang out with them, I have not the slightest of ideas as to how their thinking works. Might be because I still have ways to go in my life and perhaps I'll understand humans better as I move on.

Nonetheless, the closest I came to stepping out of my zone was with 2 characters.

Firstly, a boy named Aerell. I had never played a boy before so this was new and I could relate more.

Then, a Drow by the name of Ell Ravens who lacked that masculinity that my male characters usually display.

Honestly, I'd rather understand females and then RP as them as opposed to making up artificial personalities and characteristics which in the slightest way resemble a female.

One of the many reasons why we need RP Coaching Threads here to ease people in.



Legendium -> RE: =RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (3/17/2014 12:09:38)

I tend not to think about genders when RPing. I get a character idea, and make it.
Of course, being male gives me a bias when coming up with character ideas, but actually playing and executing female characters? I usually treat them the same as males, and try not to let their gender define them. This is probably a bit of a mistake, but I consider myself gender-neutral in real life, so my RPing habits sort of mirror that. From my perspective at any rate. I don't truly know what things are like until others tell me.

But I certainly don't let the unknown stop me from testing out a character. I've made female characters before, at least one, so I'm sure I can learn how to RP them realistically.



TJByrum -> RE: =RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (3/17/2014 13:02:37)

As a guy most of my characters are male, obviously, but I have created several female characters. I would compare using the opposite gender in RPing to:
-Writing a book where one of the characters are the opposite gender
-Playing a video game with choices (like Skyrim) as the opposite gender

Although reading a book, watching a movie, or playing a game where the only playable character is of the opposite sex is almost equal to that. So I think people have had more experience "playing as the opposite gender" than they realize.

I myself have created very few female characters to use in RP's, but the thing is I always fail to come up with a good background. My men are usually experienced warriors who lived a lifetime of training and fighting, but that's not exactly fit for a female. I did have a female character once, and I really liked her cause her personality was directly affected by her history and because she seemed 'real', but her background wouldn't exactly 'fit' in a PG-13 setting.

However, I have created countless amounts of female characters in games like Mass Effect, Skyrim, Fallout, Fable, (and a lot of others) and it makes it feel different. I have played as female characters in games like Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, Tomb Raider, and The Last of Us (Ellie was one of the best female characters I've seen in a video game).

I wouldn't say I feel more comfortable playing as a male, although I'll admit it's probably easier to create a male character. When I created the aforementioned female character I had to think more; it made me forget everything I used in a character bio and start from scratch, so I think that by trying to come up with an opposite-sex character it will make you 'think' differently than if you made one of the same gender.

Unfortunately, I have never really RPed as a female character for an extended time, although I look forward to it.

EDIT: And I want to mention that I like female characters who are portrayed in a 'real' sense. I don't like the "hot, attractive, seductive, beautiful women who gets every guy she wants" or whatever... that just seems fake, to 'perfect'. Males and females are surely different in terms of the way they act and perceive things, but we're all human and as such I think we all have that same mindset of how we perceive others (in the sense that we're all just a bunch of humans).



Tdub -> RE: =RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (3/23/2014 23:30:31)

There was a point in my Role Playing experience where I came to a realization. It wasn't anything that I had started thinking about before. It may have been something I was trying to avoid, or perhaps I just didn't care. I could play as an incredibly strong, large warrior with ease, even though I'm the exact opposite. Yet, one day it suddenly hit me.

I was scared to play a female character.

I was scared I would completely mess the character up. I believed that I would say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Somehow, I made myself feel that I wouldn't know what a female would do when faced with a certain situation. No matter that I would have designed her entire personality from top to bottom, and no matter that I knew the character more than any other, I was scared that I would end up playing a male character in a woman's body. I

I faced these fears creating Syl, a fiery she-elf I specifically designed to be a feminist. That RP lasted about two posts, and then I created Is'ira Beliard for the Championships. I realized that, at least in a combat setting, playing as a female really isn't all that different from playing as a male. I realize that other styles of RPs will probably be different, which is why I'll still usually default to a male character. But I know that I can play as a female if a certain role needs to be filled.



TJByrum -> RE: =RP= Gender-Based Character Discussions (3/24/2014 16:46:42)

@Tdub: Well put. A common problem in video games it that playable females tend to just be "a man in a woman's body", and that could also be in RPing as well, like you said. And I agree that while fighting... fighting is simply fighting, it doesn't matter if you're male or female.

I feel like most guys tend to get mixed up about making their character to female, or not female enough. Everyone is different. There may be some obvious differences in males and females in terms of behavior and personality, but no matter what everyone is different.

As long as you don't make a guy in a woman's body, and you don't go overboard with girlishness, making a female character shouldn't be as hard as one would think.

I would compare it to playing as a god/goddess, or even a demon or orc. A guy is much closer to relating to a girl than to a demon or orc.



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