RPing the opposite gender

[Morreion]

Storyboard: Say yes to the dress (Massively)

Observe

We'll assume for the purposes of this discussion that you really want to play a convincing female character, but haven't the vaguest idea of where to start. We will also assume that you're a man seeking to play a female character -- the advice is equally applicable for the other side of the fence, but missteps are a bit more common on this side of the fence, so that's where we're looking.

So how do you kick things off? By paying attention. By watching the characters whom you have no trouble identifying as women and seeing how they act around others.

Focus on similarities

...Don't spend all of your time thinking about what it's like to be a woman. Focus on the common points, the elements that are familiar. Just like you probably don't spend much of your day thinking about the fact that you're a man, women don't spend most of their day mentioning they are female.

Make them unattractive

...Why should you do that? Because it ties in perfectly with the whole point of focusing on similarity between the player and the character. Instead of focusing on how your character is the hottest thing on two legs, you're focusing on actual character traits. As paradoxical as it sounds, the best portrayal you can get is one in which you stop thinking of the character as a woman and start thinking about her simply as a character. Removing the vector of attraction helps.

Don't make a big deal out of it

...The best thing you can do when playing a character of the opposite gender is to not make a big deal out of it. At all. Treat that gender as exactly what it is: a trick of genetics at conception that had a fifty-fifty shot of going either way. You can't change your gender any more than you can change your hair color, your skin color, your favorite foods, or any number of other things. You got a choice when you created the character, but the character herself didn't get to choose any more than the player got to choose at birth.

[sinaedh]

Interesting article.

As a woman who plays both male and female characters, I have to say that usually men who are not roleplayers playing women are easy for me to spot. They are overly aggressive, overly sexy, and... well, just easy to spot. In fact, I argued for a long time with guildies on Percival about one of the female leaders of the realm, and was eventually proven correct, to my great amusement.

Having said that, it didn't really matter. I don't know why that particular person chose to play a female character, except that... it IS true that female characters are given freebies a lot more than male characters. Having played both (with the same me at the controls) I can attest to that. Perhaps that's one reason some people chose to play female characters. There is, of course, the claim that they'd rather watch the butt of a female character than a male, but with cloak on... eh, who knows.

As for myself, sometimes the character just IS male or female. I don't always start with a plan, but in creation, they just become one gender or another. Thus, Bartt the Mercenary, who was planned as the illegitimate son of one of my guildmates on Percival, was planned to be male. I love the char, and think he worked well, until the demise of the guild, Percival, and the rise of TOA. Lhoghann the hero likewise simply had to be male, that was just a choice in creation. I'm not sure why. Cartimh, a current member of Far Journeys was sort of planned as a cousin of Sinaedh (who she doesn't know has followed her to the lands near TNN). I haven't really begun that storyline yet, it is just a tiny mote in my mind. I have several UO characters that are male, some planned, some just serendipitous (is that a word?).

I think that this is an intriguing topic, perhaps because it does impact me personally. I wonder what people think (or if they think anything about it at all) when they discover I play male characters. I have known male and female guildies on Perc who would NEVER consider playing a character of the opposite gender, but who were never critical of me doing so (if/when they found out it was me behind the mask). I have also known folks who became rather strange if they found out. For that reason, I always tend to keep my cross-gender characters rather close to the chest (so to speak). I don't want knowing who the person is behind the character to affect how the character is received.

Geez, that was rambling. Off to school with me!

[Morreion]

Good comments, Sinaedh. This is an interesting topic, definitely. I remember playing a female character many years ago and noticing the difference in how others responded to me; I stuck with males after that. I do remember drama in DAoC surrounding some cross-gender players. It can be an emotional flash point!

[Regolyth]

I used to play female characters (in UO and the beginning of DAoC). I never RPed back then either. I chose females simply for the aesthetics of the class I was playing (I always made my bards female for whatever reason). I noticed that I did get treated differently as a female character, even though I never pretended to be a female at the helm. I got lots of freebies.

However there was this one time in DAoC, that I was getting hit on while playing my bard. Again, I wasn't RPing a female, just playing as a normal player. Ever since thing, I haven't played a female character again. I took that character through the MLs just to get them, and only used her if our group absolutely needed a bard. Other than that, she stayed shelved for the remainder of my time in DAoC.


On an odd note. Everytime I spelled "female" in this post, I typed it out "femaile." Weird. =/

[Rakul]

Sept 7, 2010 8:38:01 GMT -5 Regolyth said:

On an odd note. Everytime I spelled "female" in this post, I typed it out "femaile." Weird. =/

Thinking of a woman in chainmaille? ;D

[dotty]

Sept 7, 2010 6:57:04 GMT -5 sinaedh said:

I don't want knowing who the person is behind the character to affect how the character is received.

This!! This is my pet peeve, and for this reason. I really really don't like people knowing my alts. Treat them all as different people, because they are.

I only RP females. I didnt feel comfortable playing a cross-gender role, even though my females are far from the ditsy-blonde/drama-queen/shoe-shopper types. My one and only experience at playing a male character went too well. Apparently I am very convincing at the role, which kind of worries me. hehe

[EchoVamper]

It's interesting to read your remarks, Dotty. Normally I roleplay males exclusively. In DAoC, something different happened. I made a female alt, a Bard, whose name was a contraction of my daughter's names (she's a musician and poet). That character was traveling through Mag Mell one day and was befriended and guilded by an RP guild. I ended up enjoying the character, the class, the guild, and the alliance so much that I just roleplayed her as my main. I centered the RP around singing and poetry rather than gender-specific behavior and it seemed to work out all right. The character was reasonably popular and even years later many people never suspected that I was a man simply trying to create a good character, and/or upon need simply imagining what my wonderful daughter, Katie, would do. My advice to people: if you want to cross gender roleplay, fine, but just try to let your character be first and foremost a real genuine "person". People respond better to that type of roleplay anyway.

[Loendal]

I have only ever played one Female character and didn't really stick with her, I just couldn't do it right. I kept trying to step into the female shoes and never felt right about it. She was Popo's cousin. I suppose it's some kind of deep inner-conflict of my own, but it was just creepy to me.

I have to agree with dotty about alts though. My alts back in live DAOC were all kept pretty much separate. As I began to stop playing more and more frequently, I didn't keep them secret. I didn't see much of a point since I was on my way out anyhow.

I sent people's head spinning when they found out I played both fun loving, bouncy Popo and the ever-an-asshole Eagis