Yeah I'm gonna be straight with you, nobody here on this forum finds it weird for people to play cross-gender characters. I know far less people on here that stick to just one gender than I do people that, y'know, don't.

Your friend giving you a weird look is probably because they're [i]not[/i] a dedicated RPer like most anyone on this forum's going to be. Your friend doesn't get the hobby, nor its appeal. It's not the first time a discussion thread like this has popped up, but the conclusion is always the same: most people say "I'm writing a character, not myself" and the ones that stick to only one gender go "I just don't feel comfortable writing an identity that's not close to mine" (or similar reasons on either end; don't take those examples as absolutes.)

I primarily play girl characters and I don't feel a need to justify to anyone why that is. I just do, and I find people that find that weird of me (note: not people who only prefer to play one thing themselves, only people that find it actively weird) to be the weird ones in turn. Writing allows you to express yourself in a way you can't physically. Is completely normal. Everyone here already intrinsically understands this, or they wouldn't be looking to RP in the first place.

[url=https://i.imgur.com/zNrO5wx.png]I am the single cutest miqo'te this side of Eorzea and nobody's gonna stop me from being that.[/url]