Is it weird to play as a female character?

Before I go on, I would like to state that this isn't any kind of pro or anti feminism thread and that I am a straight happily married man. This is simply to avoid confusion and answer a possible question or two.

In any game that gives me the choice of selecting a gender of my character (Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Saints Row, Pokemon, Borderlands, World of Warcraft, etc.) I will always choose to play as a female. There have been a few times that I have been told that I am weird for doing so and often my response has been that if I want to stare at the backside of a character for 30+ hours, it has to be someone with some curves.

So I ask you, is it weird?

not if the reason you do it is unsexual. I've been playing as females quite a bit lately, more for variety's sake.

It's not weird at all. I think a lot of people do it for different reasons. Seeing as how playing as a female character in most games doesn't alter your character's abilities in-game, it comes down to what you like.

It doesn't make a difference to me but If givin a choice, Boobs will always win ! It was annoying when I had to finnish President Evil 5 as Chris before they unlock Sheva. Totally not cool.

Chris had the more stylish pose with the Hydra though, so he wins.

@ Randolph

true but Sheva has Boobs ! Insta-Win ! :p

Plus she could go places Chris can't.

I never let her touch the Hydra though, she just Can't do it justice. Also Helena Harper weilds the Hydra way better than Chris.

Nah, it aint weird to play as the opposite gender. 'Sides, where's the fun in playing as one gender your whole gaming life?

Nope Im the same...if there's a choice it will be female...why?...one is same response as yours..if Im gonna be staring at a characters backside then I'd rather it be a female one..and second I usually play high dex/agility class/characters..so female character tends to suit that look.

No, but your reason is weird and lazy. That's the default "try to be a tough guy" response because no one wants to think of a legit reason. To that statement I ask two things:

1. Why are you staring at your character's butt for 30+ hours?

2. Why are you sexually attracted to a video game character? This is a little understandable I guess since it seems to be common, so I refer back to question 1.

I play as female characters sometimes to experience the different interactions and dialog. I can't handle it when it's one of the giggling, heaving, giddy type voices though.

When given the option, I very frequently go for a female character. I don't find it odd or weird at all. I made both male and female characters in Mass Effect, Oblivion and Skyrim, and a fair number of more games that have given me a choice. Maya and Lilith were my main characters in Borderlands 1 and 2. Most recently, I went with a female character in Pokemon X. And of course, Metroid is my favorite series. I even went around as a female Spartan in Halo: Reach from time to time, back when I still played online vs multiplayer.

It's good for variety. You get some new things, like a different voice actor, and well, most lead characters are ho-hum males anyway. Why not choose another gender? Not weird at all.

Yeah it's pretty creepy. It seems like people who like anime like to play as female characters in games... I find both weird, so yeah...

I don't think it is. The majority of games simply don't give you a choice, you play as who they tell you to play as, and a good 95% of the time it's a male character, and that's fine, but among other things, I want some variety and playing as a female is just another option towards that, and while I don't do it every time, when I have the choice it's a good 80-20 in favor of female characters.

Also for me Commander Shepard will always be female, I honestly believe it seems to fit the character better. I also read once (I don't know how true this is) that Bioware originally intended for Shepard to be female, but decided to opt for the additional Male option, as well as make him the default, because they didn't want to scare off gamers by having a female lead.

@darthgumballs: What's wrong with liking anime? Not all of it is flashy upskirt shots of school girls. Actually, most of it isn't (from what I've seen).

People are always going to think something is weird that does not fit into the norm and they will usually try to make that very clear numerous times. I am male in real life, I prefer to use a female character simply out of pure preference, just as a male generally would prefer to use a male character over a female character if given the option. I normally find a female character cooler and I like the idea of being able to have a cute female character to play as. Although I would not label PlayStation Home as a video game, I had this exact problem on PlayStation Home. I was a male in real life, but I preferred to have a female character like a male in real life would prefer to have a male character for PlayStation Home. I fought many battles until I truly understood that no one would be accepting of me and that I could no longer use PlayStation Home as a result, among other reasons why I had to quit. I had people thinking I was gay, trans-gender, etc. I acknowledged they had no respect for me and possibly no respect for people who really were gay or trans-gendered. Males in real life trying to use female avatars for malicious reasons on PlayStation Home did not help either, it only hurt my image and others who simply preferred different.

My rule of thumb is to not tell people, unless you are okay with them giving you criticism regarding it and they may not let up and keep making it clear to you that they have a problem with it until you do as they want, especially if it is an MMO etc. If I feel a male character fits my preference, I will go with a male character, although this is rare if I am given the choice. Then you have video games like Super Mario 3D World, sure I like Mario, Luigi and Toad, but I probably spend more time playing as Rosalina or Peach overall; I simply like female characters more, in terms of their character design etc.

I feel video games do not use female characters enough and if they do, they try to have the character sexualized, which I do not like.

If there's a choice, I'll always go with the guy the first time around. If I make another character, I might pick female. I don't think it's weird, and sometimes it even changes the experience, if but a little bit.

This is what I was going to bring up.

I usually play choice games like that as a "what would Jordan do" experience, so I play as a male character and do the things that I would do. Then if I have the urge, I'll play through again as more of a role-playing experience.

With Mass Effect, I played through the trilogy once as good male Shepard, because that's how I would play that game in real life, then once as bad male Shepard, then again as bad female Shepard. The renegade female Shepard was by far the best experience. The character has so much more personality for some reason. I don't know if it's voice acting alone or different writing or what, but it was great.

I feel like this bother's people because they're looking for a mate and so a guy playing as a girl constitutes some kind of deception in their little world. Well, given some of the whispers I receive on my female toons in MMOs, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of women playing as male toons just to avoid the nonsense. It's never mattered to anyone in any of my guilds, many of whom also role a girl toon on occasion...it's just the people who playing online games like they're an interactive e-harmony app that seem to have an issue.

Also, I'd say to devs, a lot of us don't want to play as muscle bound freaks, so more lithe, athletic options for male toons would be nice. If my choice is some Gears of War looking block headed ape with shoulder pads that come up to his ears or a slender female...probably going with the female.

The only people who would find playing a girl in a video game weird are immature little boys, and men who are secretly gay but haven't admitted it or realized it yet.

QFT

@ turtlethetaffer

And some of us are proud perves ! :p ofcourse the participants must be able and willing, no matter how fictional they are. others wise its just harasment !

Doesn't matter if you play as a male or female, it's Computer game lol it's just a created thing infront of you in a shape of a man or woman so it doesn't matter they all accomplish the same thing and thats entertainment, I mean i don't get anything more out of playing tomb raider over uncharted, a games a game, if the creators want to give it a female role so be it, if it's a man, go aheadas long as i can believe the story and it fits the character involved then i'm good, just like any film sometimes they get the actor right sometimes they don't

I am a female myself, and after choosing a female character in MMO's and getting the "attention" of "hey I can craft you an armor" etc, I decided I really don't want it and been playing as male characters since.

This has transformed to playing as male characters in single player games too.

So to say, I don't think it's weird at all to play as another gender, not really. To be honest, I personally like male voice actors in games better - therefore if my character can speak, it sounds better to my ear as male voice.

Personal preference, personal preference.

I can't say all those who feel weird about playing as a female are sexist. Some just like to relate to the main characters in games\books and stuff. Not that you can only relate if you match gender wise but some can only relate that way.

I see where you're comiong from TC. I used to play as Chloe in Uncharted 2 multiplayer all the time so I could stare at her huge round ass.

Weird to play as a female? not really its just pixels on a screen. but when i have a choice i play as "myself" meaning male since its more fun and its easier to relate. i know most of my friends do the same.

So is it weird for a guy to always pick female when there is a choice, not really but it all depends on why you chose them.

Is it because you like to look at females or is it because you really have a desire to become one in rl :D

Personally I'd 9/10 choose male so I could link his actions to my own much like Jacanuk said. My brother on the other hand has a female avatar on his PSN ID and Gamertag (picture and avatar) and all his online multiplayer and single player are female if given the option. When I asked him his answer was "I don't know. I just do".

NOTE: We're not aware of he's sexuality yet either (He's 15 now) so I'm not sure if it would tie in with this. He also doesn't watch anime. I know a lot of people who watch anime only choose female characters because of anime.

It's good to see some people with open minds.

@superbuuman: It's not really doesn't matter if they have certain attributes or abilities. If a female character just happens to have a good abilities and/or attributes then it's just a bonus.

@Jacanuk: No, I don't have any desire to be one. I guess the real reason it that it just may be a nice change of pace from most other games.

@guynamedbilly: It may the "lazy, tough guy" answer but that tends to be good enough for those who question me about it.

Girls in games aren't really girls anyway. They are like comic book heroines. A real girl game would be Beyond Two Souls if Jodie didn't have the powers of Aiden, and just hung out in her apartment wearing her underpants and T-shirt while watching T.V and eating crisps, only tidying up and having a shower the last minute someones expected to visit.

The games climax!

Did you sometimes ask why people had a problem with it...?

As for the answer to the question: No.

Your assumption is wrong. I like anime and rarely play female characters.

Anyway, it is not weird to seek an understanding of your opposite sex. If games and any other medium of media offering similar perspectives are your only ways to do so, I see no reason for anyone to be further hindered by their own doing.

@loafofgame: I did not need to ask why, I basically always knew why, except for those unique cases where I guess I did not know why. In terms of PlayStation Home, I knew people either had a problem with it due to their religious belief, wanting me to be myself even though I was, wanting to date, or they had a problem with it because they group me along with the males who would use a female avatar on PlayStation Home for malicious reasons; people were easy to judge me, so I could not continue using it and most people on GameSpot would probably hate PlayStation Home anyways.

In general, people will usually have a problem with it due to a lack of understanding of why it is being done; if it is being done for the reasons they do not know. Sure you will have people who do it for sexual reasons and possibly other reasons, but then you have people like me, who do it for simply preference etc.

No. I'm happy to play either a male or female character.

In the same capacity, I'm currently reading Wonder Woman and intend to read Batman and Superman. Sometimes, female characters just happen to be more entertaining than male characters, and sometimes not. Is it weird that I'd rather follow the story of a Superheroine instead of a Superhero? No. That's ridiculous.

Or men who are both secure and comfortable with their sexuality and gender, and therefore don't feel the need to limit their gameplay choices out of fear of being seen as "gay".

I'm male. I always go as the female character when given the choice.

In Saints Row 2, 3, 4. I've always played as the female Saint, voiced by Laura Bailey.

In the Mass Effect series, I've always played as "Fem-Shep", with only one occasion. The one time I did play as the male Sheppard, Miranda said a comment about love. The male Sheppard responded (with the choice I made), "Who said anything about love? I'm just trying to take you to bed." I thought that was hilarious.

In Dragon Age 2: female.

Other female characters I enjoy playing: Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII (LIGHTNING, WILL YOU MARRY ME?), Bayonetta, the Divas in the WWE series (and my custom made Divas).

I have nothing against male characters. I enjoy playing the male characters too. But, I do enjoy playing an attractive and beutiful female character. I do enjoy creating an attractive, beautiful and sexy female character when given the option.

It depends the game, really.

Mostly enjoy playing as the stereotypical muscle-bound, bearded-viking esque character and go guns/swords blazing into battle.

Sometimes I play as a female character, such as in unreal games because the physical model was significantly a much smaller target to hit - hence a real world gameplay advantage.
If the role is right, or as a second character I play as a female as I can identify them more as a "magic" user such as a witch.




I'd say: all-in-all it depends if I'm playing with friends or not. I remember playing torchlight 2 with my girlfriend at the time, we played opposite genders, then proceeded to mock eachother as that gender in good jest.

Yes its weird. I making a general statement in the following

Guys who play as females normally objectify women and it can be a variety of reason for this. I personally find it disturbing mainly due to the prior statement.

On a side note the claim that you would be staring at the backside of a character for X number of hours seems to side track the real issue. If you are playing a game with a clear objective the sexual desire that you are supposedly seeking does not play a role in the actual game. Do you have thoughts along of the lines of "I wish Kratos was Kratia so I can look at a fine ass female while killing monsters." ?

@f22_king_raptor: Touche. Nothing wrong with good enough.

Way to make a generalization about people. What do you have to back up the statement that "Guys who play as females normally objectify women"? I play as a female 3/4 of the time, and I don't objectify women.

On some level, Evil_Saluki is on to something. Not only is the character you're playing as gender irrelavent. They may not even be human. Characters like Lara Croft or Anya Stroud are basicly pretty Robots and killing machines no different (in terms of function) from Marcus Fenix or the Cole Train. I think games like Mass Effect have a better concept of gender but its still extremely weak.

People who find find that are simply insecure of themselves. No other way around. Making a big deal over a fictional character that you create, or one that is already created from games like Tomb Raider, are the ones with insecure issues.

because nobody wants to touch that. A developer can't possibly anticipate all the ways some angsty you-tuber or "professional" journalist is going to misinterpret the difference between the male abilities and female abilities, so they just make sure to make them identical to avoid unintended controversy.

Short of manipulating an NPC with sexual suggestions (which some games do allow for) there's not much of a point of introducing gender differences in your typical modern videogame narrative. Something has to die and you're the one to kill it; sex doesn't factor into the equation.

not really, but i prefer to create a character that represents me. thats why i dont make female characters.

I don't see why it would be weird. I purely go for which ever gender looks better in which ever game i'm playing.

No.

I don't think it's weird to play as a female. I do it about half the time.

Because when given the choice why not be girl?

I respect guys playing as a female character, but I do find it kinda wired though. Although I may play a female character online if there were some extra slots to make more characters. I'm a guy, so I like playing as a male character.

I find it weird if a choice is given. Otherwise if no choice is given, it's usually to coincide with a story, like Tomb Raider, it has to be a girl because of the written story, which was about a women.

My response to this is to ask "Why the heck would you be staring at a characters backside in the first place if you were playing as a male?" lol Honestly, I play as male characters but, I don't stare anywhere I shouldn't be... It's more that if I'm given a choice to pick a character's gender, I'm going with male because I want the character to feel like my character as close to me as possible.

@ Ish_basic

LOL. I was afraid thats what it was going to come down to.

Maybe they could start slow, do it in Robots 1st. They could make P-Body more flexible and Atlas much stronger, then work they're way to living creatures and then finaly, humans ! But whos got time for that.

I could stare at Princess Toadstool's pixely ass all day in Super Mario Bros. 2.

My brother and I have this conversation from time to time. He commonly chooses females when given the chance, I do the contrary. If I am to choose a female protagonist, my level of immersion is damaged, as I am no longer playing as an accurate representation of myself. Despite finding fantasy and the act of fantasizing pleasurable, the altering of the main character's sex from my own (when given the choice) has never interested me. However, when no choice is offered, I have no trouble playing as a female; in fact, I admire characters like Samas Aran and Wonder Woman. Interestingly, I find the " If I have to stare at a behind for X amount of hours, I want it to be female" excuse is often mimicked throughout the gaming society, indicating that it is not a genuine thought of the individual in question, rather a response induced by shallow inward analysis or confused nervousness, possibly both. Though not unfathomable, the odds of several individuals determining the gender of their character solely on the premise of butt shape seem infinitesimal, especially considering the time investments required by the average RPG.