Why I Roleplay Female Characters (As a Cisgender Man)

[ANYM]

<Snipped quote by Dark Cloud>

Well that's kind of the point of this thread; we're discussing the various reasons why men might roleplay as female characters lol. Technically, if you are a cis man, you will always write from a male perspective. And the same goes to women writing male characters. I guess the question would be, why do some cis men (both inside and outside roleplay) feel a intrinsic preference to selecting the female icon in character creation, so to speak.

@Crazytrini85

>Well to that I can't help but ask if it isn't possible to divorce oneself from the perspective that biological sex and gender impart, and in a similar vein, human nature as a whole?

[mickilennial]

*laughs in trans*

[ANYM]

<Snipped quote by Zyx>

Sir this is a discussion about asking men why they RP as women lol

@Crazytrini85

>I'm aware, but the assertion that one always writes from the perspective their gender or sex imparts is one that might not be entirely true, not to mention the fact that it fits into the primary topic of discussion. So again I ask, is it possible to divorce oneself from said perspectives and biases? And if so, could that not be a potential reason as to why a CIS man might play as a female character?

[ANYM]

<Snipped quote by Zyx>

Yeah, but a genderless shapeshifter is like the same thing as a dragonborn; it's so outside the human perspective so we're all working with the same reference material (ie. whatever's established in the setting).

Like I said, exceptions exist, but it's kind of uncanny when you ONLY write from a perspective that has nothing to do with you. Which is why assumptions of people being trans women start flying. If you had 12 character slots and 11 of them were girls, then you are no longer "just trying" out to write from an alternative perspective; that basically is your perspective. The question OP raised isn't a can or cannot; the question is why.

@Crazytrini85

>I see. Thank you for the elaboration.

[Bartimaeus]

I do not work under the assumption that one person is incapable of seeing things from the perspective of another. Understanding how another sees and experiences things is very possible.

I often play characters who are the opposite of my biological designation, simply because it feels comfortable to me. My masculine and feminine sides are both strong, varyingly so, simply dependant on the current moment or attitude I'm experiencing, one could say. A character comes to me - I don't generally try to play a particularly gender identity - it's just who the person is that reveals themselves to my creativity box.

[BangoSkank]

I usually write male characters. Like almost exclusively males.

Humans, halflings, Orcs. Doctors, grunts, cowboys, drunks.

Pretty much always dudes.

Never had a problem with writing as a woman. Just haven't done it.

How fucking boring would RP be if we all just RPed as ourselves?

Most of us have never shot a weapon. Many have never been in a fight. I've never been Captain America personally, or a Halfling looking to throw some jewelry in a Volcano, or an alcoholic Orc Monk with anger issues.

If most of us were RPing as law abiding 9-5ers shit would be boring as hell. Writing about doing what you already do every day wouldn't be much fun. Very little escapism in that.

Right now I've got a female character idea I'm kinda toying around with and it's pretty fun. She's a young, somewhat promiscuous, likely bisexual, Halfling pirate who is trying to overcome what she perceives as her generally cowardly disposition to make something of herself and live up to the legend of her brother. Maybe even find him and join him.

I usually don't write as women but I think it's good as a writer and just as a human being in general to try to write diverse characters and explore diverse mindsets and backgrounds and all that. The ideal being to be able to see the world through anyones perspective and write convincingly in those same perspectives. The inverse of that, the thing to be avoided, would be being quite set in your ways and perspective and incapable of considering or writing in any others. That would be some old bullshit.

[AlteredTundra]

Here's how I've always looked at it: I insert pieces of my life into my characters. Male, female - it doesn't matter. That's how I've always created my character. I use pieces of my life either as a building block for characters I create or as inspiration. Same for tropes. I use them as stepping stones. Sure it is easier to write female characters because that's a perspective a lot of writers (rpers, authors - you name it) like to toy with regardless of their biological gender. Everyone likes confident, badass heroines in their stories. SOmetimes there's a bias and sometimes it's nuanced, but at the end of the day, whether you're a man writing as a woman or a woman writing for as a man, there's nothing wrong with that.

I can certainly tell you I've never run into anyone having any problems with me writing for my opposite gender (I'm cismale for those curious). Sometimes people didn't like my writing style or the characters I made, but that's not really the point of this thread. I've never had to explain why I do it, but for the sake of conversation, I don't have a reason why other than sometimes I have ideas and I try and execute them the best I can. In my 14+ years of writing for fun (including roleplaying), I have never needed a reason past that.

[Ammokkx]

Like I said, exceptions exist, but it's kind of uncanny when you ONLY write from a perspective that has nothing to do with you. Which is why assumptions of people being trans women start flying. If you had 12 character slots and 11 of them were girls, then you are no longer "just trying" out to write from an alternative perspective; that basically is your perspective. The question OP raised isn't a can or cannot; the question is why.

@Crazytrini85

I don't like this idea a writer can only ever write what "their perspective" is. Yeah, I get it, you can never truly disassociate yourself from your writing or you wouldn't be the one writing it, but it's not like people who exclusively play female characters always play the same female character. Most writers at least ATTEMPT to write a variety of personality types, personality types that might not even line up with how THEY act. I'm not a very good writer, but I at least try to challenge myself by playing characters that are completely unlike how I am. Sure, my biases as a person are naturally going to be imparted on them, but I'm at least making the attempt of being different.

That is to say, I don't like it when you call someone a sussy baka for exclusively playing as the perceived opposite gender and calling that "their perspective". It's... rude? Yeah, rude. At least to me it would be, and is.

[Dark Cloud]

<Snipped quote by Dark Cloud>

Well that's kind of the point of this thread; we're discussing the various reasons why men might roleplay as female characters lol. Technically, if you are a cis man, you will always write from a male perspective. And the same goes to women writing male characters. I guess the question would be, why do some cis men (both inside and outside roleplay) feel a intrinsic preference to selecting the female icon in character creation, so to speak.

@Crazytrini85

Now that's kind of wrong, you shouldn't say men can only write as men and vice-versa

[BangoSkank]

I think she's more getting at the idea that even when I write as a woman I am writing as a man writing as a woman, so it's informed by my male conceptions of how a woman might view or interact with the world.

Same applies to anything really. A 25 year old writing as a 45 year old is trying to guess how someone 20 years older might feel. A 45 writing as a 25 year old is trying to recall how he/she saw the world 20 years ago. A middle class American writing as a poverty stricken South American in a war zone is trying to explore how he/she would feel in those very different circumstances. All of these things, their understandings of these things, would be shaped by their own experiences in very different times and/or circumstances.

I don't think it's exactly weird when a man writes exclusively as a woman or vice versa but it is unusual. Logically the easiest most natural way for a person to write is basically a self insert. The easiest viewpoints to explore are your own.

But they're also the most boring to explore because you already know those roads.

[ANYM]

<Snipped quote by Ammokkx>

What you said in your initial paragraph can be attributed to men making male characters. Again, the question is literally why not apply that same logic and make a variety of male characters that have different personality traits? Why is this logic only applied to characters of the opposite sex?

I didn't call anyone a sussy baka, nor do I even know what that means lol. My curiosity is simply wanting to know why some cis men feel an intrinsic preference to select the female icon in character creation, especially in games where they aren't RPing in.

@Crazytrini85

>Well I can't speak for the OP, but so far as I'm concerned it's just like experiencing a different life, or just because I felt like doing it on a whim. But given how vivid and close to lucid my dreams are at times, and the amount of lives and perspectives I've had within them that are not my own thanks to the enforced plot/narratives said dreams have had, I think I'm more accustomed to exploring perspectives that are not my own or not human than most. Or at least more influenced to do so anyway. Although again, I don't write these things exclusively. I do have a preference towards writing characters of my own gender by default, but again to me that's like swapping out parts on a Lego. In the end whatever perspectives or views there are might as well be tools for me to use to further a character's development or the overall story.

[Ammokkx]

<Snipped quote by Ammokkx>

What you said in your initial paragraph can be attributed to men making male characters. Again, the question is literally why not apply that same logic and make a variety of male characters that have different personality traits? Why is this logic only applied to characters of the opposite sex?

@Crazytrini85

It's simple.

The logic is not just applied to opposite sex. It just happens to be that that's what we're discussing, so that's also what my example is. To quote myself:

but it's not like people who exclusively play female characters always play the same female character.

"people who exclusively play female characters" being the example. This also applies to people only playing male, or both male and female characters.

Writing from "your perspective" to my mind would just always be writing the same, one, singular character- which some people do do, even on this very site.

Uh, basically, don't put words in my mouth yeah? Also don't argue a point I wasn't making? Thanks.

[ANYM]

>I still find it hard to understand why writing anything that is beyond your own perspective might be considered weird honestly.

[BrokenPromise]

@Crazytrini85

I don't feel like it's in the spirit of a discussion that's in the RP section, but why not? Here's why males play females in videogames:

-Females can receive better treatment and are more frequently gifted items in MMOs. Picking a female avatar helps sell the illusion.

-Female characters often have access to more aesthetically pleasing designs, or might lean towards an aesthetic the player desires. This does not always mean it's sexual but it certainly can.

-They want to see more kickass female leads in the world, so they make their own. Alternatively, said game is oversaturated with male characters.

-Cis guys are guys 24/7/365. They may wish to pick a sex that is not their own because they are looking for escapism.

A more interesting question I feel is why woman don't play as male avatars as much. This is so prevalent that Leauge of Legends has been releasing female champions pretty regularly. They discovered most female players weren't selecting male champions, like, at all. That's a game where certain abilities are tied to specific champions, so by not playing as certain champions you could hamstringing your team. There hasn't been a lot of discussion on why this is. But I digress.

I put no stock in twitter accounts dedicated to picking apart how some men choose to write woman. Most of the time the writing being "critiqued" is from a novice or the writing's intended audience is men anyway. People do have fantasies and sometimes wish the opposite sex behaved a certain way. Much like how men in harlequin romances are total badasses up until it's time for the female PoV to tame them.

I'm going to side step the argument that men (or even most men) cannot write female characters. But I'll say from personal experience I get called "her" on nearly every message board I'm on. This is from people who have watched me write female and male characters for years. Even woman have make this mistake.

[Ammokkx]

oh shit crazytrini got banned and nuked

edit: ngl even if they were getting banned I kinda wanted to read the messages back still because I wasn't done reading through all of their arguments. or parsing some fully.