Why do guys play as female characters in the game

[Opus]

Things I've noticed about the topic in general:

-- If you play a female toon, almost everyone assumes you're male, unless you say otherwise. So, if you're a male and you get purposely tricked by a female toon, thinking there's a RL woman on the other side, you pretty much deserve it.

-- No one cares if a woman rolls a male toon.

-- I see a lot of 'I like staring at a woman's ***,' when men are asked about it. I don't call BS on it's use, but I do call BS on it's frequency. In all honesty, it feels like a lot of males say this to keep the answer simple, funny and masculine. Which is understandable, given how many of these threads have popped up over the past month, a few of which have taken nasty turns. (Thankfully, this one hasn't.)

I just see a toon's gender in game as just a preference and don't bother with the whys. It's an avatar. I mean, I am not an 816-year-old vampire. But I am a woman, and I am blonde -- that much is true. Just in case there's any confusion.

[Schwa]

This is the Internet. Everyone is male, unless proven otherwise.

[Beta582]

To not have to look at some guys a ss all day as you run around.

The truth of this post is blinding.

[IGears]

The truth of this post is blinding.

unless your avatar has a butt like the Mayor Amanda's butt from the show, then i could see a reason to have a female character

[Azver Deroven]

Ultimately we'd get into the situation where fellow player is just another player despite avatar. And for most of us thats true but there are certain situations where you would want to have a female avatar and imply you are a female, namely those where you're up to no-good assuming the game allows it. Based on my own experience in eve-online, running scams and similiar frauds isn't all that different despite your avatar but when luring people into traps to be killed, it helps to imply you're female to invoke the +1 trust of male-induced supremacy over the 'weaker sex', namely white knight-ism.

Mind you my first CEO back in eve was a female and was one of the shrewest conners I've seen.

Excluding abuse of the goodwill of white knights, there's very little avatars gender actually matters and as you pointed out, the arse-staring is a good way to summarise it without over-analyzing it. Also most games run same size hitboxes with armour making up for the female genders usually smaller size, or just buggers it all and throws us some space-amazons (And no, not saints row 3's amazons!). Afterall in the era of chest-height walls something like shorter stature would mean you can't shoot over that chest-height wall. Thus breaking the gaming era once and for all.

[Jym]

If you're an old role player like me (PnP) it just doesn't sit right to give my female avatar a name like Big Jim Slade :O I tend to take a role players view on it, I see each of my characters as part of a team, and I like to have girls in there.

Why doesn't it "sit right" with you to be perceived as a male?

If someone (who's thought of as straight) was to tell their friends and family that they role play as either Hercules or Xena in a MMORPG, which do you think is more likely to cause significant concern? I think almost all of them could understand you role playing as Hercules, because it's not far fetched to assume people have fantasized about being a hero of their same gender. You can't honestly say the same for you being Xena.

With that said... I can understand why guys, who role play as females in MMO's, aren't seen in the same light as guys who prefer to be guys.

Good night folks.

[fallout]

never thought this was such a big issue i don't care if people do it i just wanted to know why they did that is all

[BrassRazoo]

To not have to look at some guys a ss all day as you run around.

Correct. I'd much rather look at a Women's arse while playing and I also get to play dress-ups and drive pink cars.

[IGears]

never thought this was such a big issue i don't care if people do it i just wanted to know why they did that is all

its always a good debate... but the moral of the story is, Welcome to the Internet.

[Cyripax NeoPrime]

Well I know growing up I always just choose female characters in games, chun li in street fighter, the princess n mario 2, any rpg where you had a choice I choose the female, sonya in mortal kombat....dont really know why I preffered them throughout my life, I certainly had no reason back when I was younger, but as I got older and grew into who god made me today I could possibly see it as underlying sexuallity traits since I have been bisexual for quite some time now. Of course it hadnt surfaced back then though. I dont think its wierd at all for a straight guy to choose a female character either. I have a friend whos mother was abused when he was a kid and he always played females because he had the idea that since games gave us male heroes for most of the 80s, playing a female and kickin *** was empowering and vindicating. Why should a male be forced to play a male? Why should it be wierd to be female? Is it wierd when a female plays as a male character?

I have 2 female characyers, and 1 male character in defiance . Plus I just dont like how bulky the outfits are on the males in this game. Its not like were making loving relationships in this game and hookin up so to speak.lol, does it really matter? Anyone who has a mic in chat well know if they are male or female.

And im ALWAYS the siren in borderlands.