Can we have a Male Healer and a Female Tank?

I know this will probably get lost amidst the flog of Live Letter "feedback" but I figured I'd try. I was answering someones question about lore, specifically the BLM from the Warriors of Darkness's party, why he's a he and not a she, like Warriors of Light's party, and the promotion material. so this got me thinking about which jobs are represented by which gender. Initial promotional art, not all subsequent art; since the promo art is supposed to represent the "newest" Warrior of Light in the ever growing party of Derplander, Meteor, Bob or whatever his name is, XD.

Male - Tanks (PLD, WAR, DRK), NIN, DRG, SAM, MCH, SMN

I am placing SAM in the male section since, regardless of how androgynous it looks, the features seem to lean more on the male side. Not to mention that RDM is female so it would make more sense, kinda

Female - Healers (WHM, SCH, AST), MNK, BRD, BLM, RDM

As you can see, the listings are diverse, no one gender capitalizes on everything, race aside. But you'll notice that each does capitalize on a role; tanks for male and healers for female.

Now it may seem insignificant, but I would like to see the promo art for the next tank and healer jobs be of the opposite gender of what they have been. Does anyone agree?

TLDR: Artwork for tanks is always male, artwork for healers is always female, would you like to see this reversed for the next tank and healer released?

They do certainly seem to lean towards those stereotypes. Maybe it's something they can mix up when they add new jobs. Though if the new job is Dancer as a healer, all bets are off. The marketing team is probably not going to want that to be a male Roe...

I guess it's because historically, females do tend to play healer and males tend to play tanks. (I'm a girl who plays healer so I fit right in there...lol. And my friends always make fun of this because all of the girls in our friend group main heal while the males either tank or dps) But I agree 100%, it would be really nice to see some diversity and change it up a little. Some representation for all them healer dudes and tanky ladies out there. :)

Because the artist would be too "uncomfortable" doing anything else

dont care who gets what as long as the gear looks nice, goes with job, and doesnt clip horrid

They can't bring themselves to design masculine or cool healing gear so they can't advertise the role with a male character.

The gear sets for healers and tanks seem to follow this trend as well. There are very few (if any) feminine tank outfits and masculine healer outfits. I'd like a more form fitting and elegant looking plate set at some point because it sucks to have leather and cloth be the only feminine options. People playing male healer characters probably have similar complaints too.

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Originally Posted by Reinha

TThere are very few (if any) feminine tank outfits and masculine healer outfits.

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I agree about the shortage of styles, but I imagine part of the difficulty is designing tank armor that's appropriately feminine without veering into "boob plate", a trope this game is often praised for avoiding.

The Hellfire tanking set is the most feminine "tanky" armor design that comes to mind, and even that one caught a lot of flack for the giant exposed chest window.

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Originally Posted by Tridus

Though if the new job is Dancer as a healer, all bets are off. The marketing team is probably not going to want that to be a male Roe...

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If they use an outfit roughly similar to the MNK AF3 outfit they can have it be a Midlander. That sort of style could work for a dancer and still be on a guy chara without too much backlash.

I mean, there's tons of people making fun of male Roe casters and healers... I wouldn't be surprised if the art team veered away from putting masculine characters in "feminine" roles just so they don't get backlash. I don't personally care because I still play the jobs.

That's not to say I'd be against a healer being advertised with a male character; especially if the artifact gear compliments the male form. Bartz's Dancer outfit is a good starting point for DNC AF for male characters, even Galuf's is a good starting point because of how flamboyant it is, but it's still somewhat masculine. I hate the trope that healing/casting is only for females.