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I've only once tried to play a male character (the opposite gender) and it didn't turn out so well. I felt that it was less believable even that my females that are polar opposites to my personality, and constantly wondered when people would realize that I wasn't really a guy. I met a female char who started trying to flirt with me via tells (that is ooc). This was on a mostly H&S mud, so that sort of thing was sadly commonplace. When I failed to really respond to her flirtation, she told somebody else that I was "SO WEIRD." He was a friend of mine and so promptly told me and we had a good laugh. But I never really felt in the skin of this male char, didn't get into playing him much, and have never again tried a male char.
I have noticed the overly-courtly male chars of female players, and f-me female chars of male players. Female players are just as guilty as males at making their characters unrealistically attractive and having stereotypical feminine attributes.
I think the tendency with both genders is to make our personal ideals; the character of the same sex is the person we wish we could be, and the opposite sex is who we wish for in a mate. This is rather unfortunate, since the most interesting characters are those who are not ideals, but as flawed as possible while remaining likeable.
Plusses of playing a female character... It is a lot easier to get help. This isn't due to the attention factor, but just because women can admit to weakness without embarrassment, while men like to always seem capable and in control. So when a newbie, you get a lot more help if you are cute, vulnerable, mildly flirtatious and female, without having to resort to going ooc to ask for help. Also we have so many more options for clothing.
Pitfalls...there are none! I used to be annoyed with too much attention, too many idiots hitting on me. I mean, there are more interesting things to roleplay than romance and relationships. But I've since changed muds and get treated more naturally now, so it's all good.
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