[quote=@GeekFactor]

You're right, that's exactly part of my point! It just makes it a little easier to spot "guy RPing a girl" and can damage the feeling of immersion and authenticity sometimes. 

[/quote]

Gotta say though, most stories (non-roleplays) have a tendency to be written by a single author. While it's hard to put my finger on, it is clear that woman and men write their characters a particular way. Do you find yourself being pulled out of immersion when reading books?

[quote=@POOHEAD189]

But I agree with GeekFactor that you don't need to have diverse characters to have fun. A lot of roleplaying isn't about you being someone you're not, but [i]experiencing[/i] things you usually do not. If you feel like being something you're familiar with, more power to you. It depends on the players/user, honestly. 

[/quote]

I think the problem with people treading old ground isn't that people dare to play themselves, but that they tend to go for the Mary Sue-esque rolls without much variation. Which is almost understandable. I mean, inexperienced writers usually don't have a lot of real world experiences, so they write from what they know. And they know themselves, so they usually just write a character that is more or less a self insert with powers. This can cause problems down the pipe when the character has to take a loss or is criticized for anything. Because it's no longer the character, but the person playing them that is being asked to lose/be criticized. 

I also think if you're going to be a GM, you want a certain level of diversity. Wouldn't it be weird to play in a Tolkien-esque RP where you travel the entire world, but all of the key NPC/villainous characters are edgy swordsman with dark pasts? This probably goes outside the scope of your comment, but I thought it was interesting to bring up.