When they do it, it's ok. When I do it, it's weird.

[Azaradel]

(mainly aimed at former or current WoW-players)

Why is it that a man playing a female character is completely ok, but when I, as a woman, chose to play a male character it's weird?

I've been playing WoW for some 1 and a half year by now. My main character has always been male. And I'm always asked why (or, well, since the recent sex change option was added, I've been told I should get one).

Why is it that I get questioned because I've chosen to play as a male character, while men playing as female characters is seen as normal? Perhaps it is because, I confess, I play as a male draenei shaman, and before that, I played as a male night elf druid. However, of the women I've met online, none have been playing anything other than female characters and I just can't seem to grasp why.

I guess what I'm trying to get to is why people seem to have such a problem understanding why a woman would play as a male, while the other way 'round is perfectly fine?

 

[Ace of Spades]

That's not weird at all. I know plenty of women who use male characters.

 

[theSovietConnection]

Personally, I would think it the other way around. I really don't see much point in playing a character that isn't your gender if you aren't forced into it. But if you're going to play as the opposite gender, there is no real problem with it in my books. Then again, I don't play WoW, so maybe there is some unwritten rule there that forbids people from doing such things.

 

[NeedAUserName]

I view it the other way to be honest, I see men playing as women weirder then women playing as men... I think one some games though, a lot of female players play as male characters mainly because there's some proper weird perverts out there, that just go up to people and say some strange stuff.

 

[the captain]

Because if guys did't play as female charecters on WOW then there would only be a couple dozen chicks per server. Its like going to a party with 20 guys and 3 girls, the ratio is way off and all you can think is "Welcome to the Internatioal House of Sausage". With guys playing as girl it at least gives the illusion of diversity, and for most people, that's enough.

Kinda like a brochure for a college that is almost completly white having 2 whites, 2 blacks, and an asian as the picture on the front cover. It might not be the truth but as long as no one looksat the elephant in the room it's ok.

 

[FallenRainbows]

Well I see both parties as not weird but... well weird. But i personally love weird things the unfortunate fact is that allot of males playing females are to put it bluntly doing it for the attraction of females (yes I will flame you if this is why, go meet real girls not play as a virtual one if this is the case) or so I have been told... But providing the unspoken corner of internet relationships (?) I see nothing wrong with it. Majority of males (particularly the internet) fails to see that girls are people... I notice that you are though... A divide between sexes is stupid one cannot survive without the other. So a rule for one a rule for all should be exercised in this case. But not finding it weird i cannot say why people do.

(?) I don?t mean the random sexist psycho's on every game where girls may exist MMO's are generally an exception to this rule.

But rather the genuine attraction between people. Though i fail to see how that happens without contact. (Not flaming just saying).

 

[MassiveGeek]

I get your point, and agree that it is that way. Im a female to, and I would play male if I could, but I simply cant really play a character that isnt my gender for some reason. Maby becuse I cant really "live the game"(Im an RPG fanatic) if Im not playing as a character thats my own gender. I dont really have an answear to this, but maby people feel the same way as me, and guys want to be hot for once by playing female characters?

 

[Clemenstation]

As a non-WoWer, I have no idea if there are any gender bending 'norms', per se, within the game. A lot of MMO research (albeit a few years old) points to more women opting to play male characters than the other way around, though. Maybe you get hassled because you let people know that you're a ladyperson in real life, whereas others avoid disclosing their actual gender?

 

[ThePlasmatizer]

Hi Im a boy gamer! (jk)

I think it stems from the fact avatars are in-game representations of yourself and it's not the common choice to go for a created character of the opposite gender.

It does happen a lot though. The fact it puts you in the spotlight is probably because of your gender tbh.

 

[Ionami]

It is considered weird for guys to play as girl characters sometimes as well. It depends on the people you ask. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[ZeroMachine]

(mainly aimed at former or current WoW-players)

Why is it that a man playing a female character is completely ok, but when I, as a woman, chose to play a male character it's weird?

I've been playing WoW for some 1 and a half year by now. My main character has always been male. And I'm always asked why (or, well, since the recent sex change option was added, I've been told I should get one).

Why is it that I get questioned because I've chosen to play as a male character, while men playing as female characters is seen as normal? Perhaps it is because, I confess, I play as a male draenei shaman, and before that, I played as a male night elf druid. However, of the women I've met online, none have been playing anything other than female characters and I just can't seem to grasp why.

I guess what I'm trying to get to is why people seem to have such a problem understanding why a woman would play as a male, while the other way 'round is perfectly fine?

I don't think it's any weirder than when a guy plays as a girl.

Either one strikes me as odd, but it's not the sort of thing where I'd ask "what the hell is wrong with you?????" I'd probably just raise an eyebrow, say "really? oh." and then continue on. It doesn't really matter.

Off Topic: Love your avatar. Soren is a freakin' awesome! XD

 

[Sewblon]

Its the stigma that MMOs are just a bunch of guys pretending to be lesbians.

 

[Princeps senatus]

I don't play WoW but I always play a male character (in games with gender choice). I knew that some female characters were likely played by males but when one of my friends chose to play a female character I found it strange, not "Omg whats wrong with you" more like "Hmm... so you kept your childhood toy as a souvenir".

I don't know why but I think it helps me to relate to the character.

 

[thiosk]

i prefer female charachters in any over-the-shoulder game. If you are going to look at someones backside, might as well be an attractive one.

 

[JeKaWo]

i prefer female charachters in any over-the-shoulder game. If you are going to look at someones backside, might as well be an attractive one.

Seconded!
And BTW the point being made about men playing women to keep an appeareance of diversity is too true.

 

[Xorghul]

One reason for people to chose the opposite sex in-game, is that they'd rather have the opposite sexes animated ass in front of them for several hours.
'Couse let's face it, you'd rather look at a woman's ass than a man's(I know I'd rather). And vice versa. Unless you're gay. Or lesbian.
...
Off Topic: It's rather odd really. The word "gay" I mean. It actually means "happy". And we've made it into something bad. I'm not saying that I have anything against homosexuals or that it's something bad to be homosexual, it's just that we use the word negatively.

Now why did I start rambling about that...

 

[tiredinnuendo]

i prefer female charachters in any over-the-shoulder game. If you are going to look at someones backside, might as well be an attractive one.

This argument always gets brought up when people ask about the guys playing girls thing, but the people saying it never seem to think it through.

What you're essentially saying here is:

1) You find pixel girls attractive.
2) You do not see your character as an avatar, but rather something to oggle [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUt48ZwoX1s].

I've never understood why people still think it's a valid excuse. Just say you wanted to try playing as a girl. It doesn't really make you gay.

- J

 

[kawligia]

People who call other people weird for playing an opposite sex character are simply too egocentric to understand that people have different perspectives.

Some people view their characters as representations of themselves. Their character IS them. They BECOME their character when they enter the game world. This kind of player would no sooner play a female character than they would wear a dress IRL. That is perfectly fine, but its not the only way to look at things.

Some people view their character as a puppet or a tool. The character is NOT a representation of the player and the player does NOT "become" the character. Rather, the player is the general and the character is the soldier who obeys the player's commands. A person can command a female soldier just as well as a male soldier.

Personally, I jump between these two perspectives depending on the game I am playing. In a truely immersive game like Fallout 3, I really did feel like I was in the Capitol Wasteland and started to identify with my character. Rather than make my character take actions that I thought would be interesting or funny, I made my character do what I ACTUALLY would have done if I were really there. In that game, it did feel slightly odd when I tried to roll a female character.

But in a less immersive game like an MMO, that didn't happen. For the brief few months I played WoW and WAR, I played both female and male characters. The deciding factor was really what names were available. I picked the class I wanted to play and picked the names that I liked which best fit that class and wasn't taken. If that name sounded more like a girl's name, then I made a female character. If it sounded like a more masculine name, then I made it a male character. So in Warhammer Online, my Blackguard named "Furious George" was a male, and my Witch Hunter named "Divine Intervention" was female.

 

[Symp4thy]

I wouldn't worry about it much. Normal, sane people wouldn't find that weird, it's just a game. Weirdos would find that weird.

 

[Azaradel]

I get your point, and agree that it is that way. Im a female to, and I would play male if I could, but I simply cant really play a character that isnt my gender for some reason. Maby becuse I cant really "live the game"(Im an RPG fanatic) if Im not playing as a character thats my own gender. I dont really have an answear to this, but maby people feel the same way as me, and guys want to be hot for once by playing female characters?

I guess in the end, the reason people are bummed by it probably boils down to a question of the race I've chosen to play, since my character is an equivalent of a blue steroids-addict with horns and a ponytail...

Off Topic: Love your avatar. Soren is a freakin' awesome! XD

Why, yes. Yes, he is.