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Greenstorm · 07-28-2004, 01:53 PM

This is a pretty comprehensive question.

I'm a female RL, and I play both males and females, so that's where I'm coming from.

I also play (and staff) on Chia and OS, so I'm in a very heavy-RP environment which is about 50% female by character numbers. I can also see which people have alts of both genders.

I've been RPing for about seven years now, three and a half of which were spent in heavy RPing environments with lots of social interaction. Previous to my heavy RP experience, I played a mix of males and females on MUCKs and such. There wasn't deep interaction between the characters on those places, and so it was very easy for me to play the males. As to whether I did a good job, I tend to think I avoided the major pitfalls.

I then took a break from male characters for about a year and a half on OS, and resumed playing them again on Chia. Currently one of my favourite characters on Chia is a male.

I find that it takes a lot more chutzpah to play a male. My boys are more flamboyant, they talk more to strangers, they do what they want more often than the girls. The take the initiative in things more. They are less subtle. This is true even outside the context of Chia's gender-segregated medieval world.

I don't set out to play these differences deliberately, they just boil out of the character. This is probably a sign of my gender socialisation iRL, and I can see how some of my actions RL support the beliefs that guys are expected to take initiative, etc.

The pitfalls of crossgendering from female to male that I've seen are two in particular: cheesiness and attention-centered characters.

As a female in a roleplaying environment, for many years I expected attention for my female characters simply because they were female, and I often got that. When a roleplayer of that type comes to OS or Chia (as I did) they make a female character in a relatively balanced world gender-wise, and less attention is forthcoming simply because you're female. If you rely on male initiative to approach you, you get less RP than you're used to and you miss out on RPing with half the MUSH.

Many people who've gone through this then make a male character, because with all these girls around then guys will probably get attention, right?

It doesn't work that way, though. So often someone with three or four female characters pops out with a male who, after a week or two, just languishes away until an idlepurge comes. I'm not sure exactly why it should work this way, I think it's because the character isn't much thought out beyond being attractive to women... there are no hooks for the player to get in character and enjoy the experience.

These characters are also pretty cheesy sometimes. Because they are designed to attract women, they often wander around murmuring things like, "you are so beautiful, milady," and "let me kiss your hand." It's kind of humorous to watch, and it really doesn't work. People tend to seek out well-developed characters to have relationships with, and cheesiness and overdone romanticism does not a developed char make.

I'm by no means saying all females who play males are like this. It's a stage I grew out of, I've seen other people in it, but it definitely happens.

As for playing females on Chia? Like I said, you need a character. You can't count on femaleness. And I notice that females *do* get approached more often than males, and that it does even seem to be split along player-gender lines, so guys playing guys approach girls playing girls.

I wonder if this is where the 'guys play slutty females' idea comes from? Because they tend to approach people more?

The women chars on Chia for the most part aren't standoffish to other women, and the men approach you for RP. Those are both good things. I think the pitfalls of playing inly women on Chia are that you sort of lose initiative after awhile, you tend to expect other people to initiate close friendships. Now, that subtle dynamic might add to the RP atmosphere, but it sucks in practice.

Hm. And that's about what I think about that. I do think everyone should try crossgendering, even if the attempt only lasts a week. It's an interesting experience.

07-28-2004, 01:53 PM	#3
Greenstorm Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 30	This is a pretty comprehensive question. I'm a female RL, and I play both males and females, so that's where I'm coming from. I also play (and staff) on Chia and OS, so I'm in a very heavy-RP environment which is about 50% female by character numbers. I can also see which people have alts of both genders. I've been RPing for about seven years now, three and a half of which were spent in heavy RPing environments with lots of social interaction. Previous to my heavy RP experience, I played a mix of males and females on MUCKs and such. There wasn't deep interaction between the characters on those places, and so it was very easy for me to play the males. As to whether I did a good job, I tend to think I avoided the major pitfalls. I then took a break from male characters for about a year and a half on OS, and resumed playing them again on Chia. Currently one of my favourite characters on Chia is a male. I find that it takes a lot more chutzpah to play a male. My boys are more flamboyant, they talk more to strangers, they do what they want more often than the girls. The take the initiative in things more. They are less subtle. This is true even outside the context of Chia's gender-segregated medieval world. I don't set out to play these differences deliberately, they just boil out of the character. This is probably a sign of my gender socialisation iRL, and I can see how some of my actions RL support the beliefs that guys are expected to take initiative, etc. The pitfalls of crossgendering from female to male that I've seen are two in particular: cheesiness and attention-centered characters. As a female in a roleplaying environment, for many years I expected attention for my female characters simply because they were female, and I often got that. When a roleplayer of that type comes to OS or Chia (as I did) they make a female character in a relatively balanced world gender-wise, and less attention is forthcoming simply because you're female. If you rely on male initiative to approach you, you get less RP than you're used to and you miss out on RPing with half the MUSH. Many people who've gone through this then make a male character, because with all these girls around then guys will probably get attention, right? It doesn't work that way, though. So often someone with three or four female characters pops out with a male who, after a week or two, just languishes away until an idlepurge comes. I'm not sure exactly why it should work this way, I think it's because the character isn't much thought out beyond being attractive to women... there are no hooks for the player to get in character and enjoy the experience. These characters are also pretty cheesy sometimes. Because they are designed to attract women, they often wander around murmuring things like, "you are so beautiful, milady," and "let me kiss your hand." It's kind of humorous to watch, and it really doesn't work. People tend to seek out well-developed characters to have relationships with, and cheesiness and overdone romanticism does not a developed char make. I'm by no means saying all females who play males are like this. It's a stage I grew out of, I've seen other people in it, but it definitely happens. As for playing females on Chia? Like I said, you need a character. You can't count on femaleness. And I notice that females do get approached more often than males, and that it does even seem to be split along player-gender lines, so guys playing guys approach girls playing girls. I wonder if this is where the 'guys play slutty females' idea comes from? Because they tend to approach people more? The women chars on Chia for the most part aren't standoffish to other women, and the men approach you for RP. Those are both good things. I think the pitfalls of playing inly women on Chia are that you sort of lose initiative after awhile, you tend to expect other people to initiate close friendships. Now, that subtle dynamic might add to the RP atmosphere, but it sucks in practice. Hm. And that's about what I think about that. I do think everyone should try crossgendering, even if the attempt only lasts a week. It's an interesting experience.