Do you play the opposite gender?

[Talraen]

RE:BroodingFicus: People solicited you for ERP? *blinks* I play a female miqote as you can see.... and that's not happened to me, not once. I think the worst I ever got was a /whistle. I shrugged and moved on.

But then other than my occasional Shisui Paladin, I don't wear provocative clothing. *shrug*

Same here, I'm shocked that there are several people here who have been sexually harassed in game. Admittedly I filter out most public chat, but I don't think I've ever received a social /tell of any kind except to complement me on my style sometimes (which is pretty cool, that certainly doesn't happen in real life lol).

Getting a little deeper into the original question in the thread, one thing that appealed to me about playing a female character in the first place was the possibility of getting a taste of what it's like to be treated as the opposite gender. That hasn't really happened much, though, as I think most people (I suspect most men at least) assume everyone else is a guy anyway. Gender dynamics are an interesting study, but MMOs are not the place to study them.

[ko_]

I didn't think people still tried to -hit- on people ingames anymore. Then again people think I'm flirting when I use emotes. I had a friend who flat out told me using the emotes are a way of flirting. Like I get the dote emote and hug an what not. But the laugh or the silly poses? Guess I'm just too old lol.

[AmemeAmeklin]

I'm shocked that there are several people here who have been sexually harassed in game.

I know in passing (catcalling, etc) it's rather rare but acquaintances who meet you in game via FC, find out you're female, and proceed to be incredibly gross/stalkerish is sadly a bit more common than it should be. It happens most often with the younger women who are generally friendly/outgoing towards others, don't have a lot of experience with spotting red flags, and don't know when to shut it down. Pair that with super insecure, undersocialized, desperate guys and you have a recipe for disaster. On top of that it tends to happen in private, or is not taken seriously by leadership, etc.

And as my NPC alt, I am the target of many /hug and /dote emotes. I'm probably the safest target known to Eorzea for it, though! I continue to be impressed by the range and accuracy of the /dote heart attack.

[Saraphin]

I...balance my characters. I'm Female, but my Main is Male. I have 2 more Male Alts and 3 female Alts (for RP purposes on the females)

Dante started out as a Male Miq'ote, and I've gone female Au Ra twice: Once for the EB with my Offline Fiance and then again a few months ago. I was often DM'd for ERP and that ended up that i was on /busy a lot just to get away from those. So I pretty much stick to Dante being Male and slinking over to my female Alts when i feel the need to be female in game.

[Talraen]

I know in passing (catcalling, etc) it's rather rare but acquaintances who meet you in game via FC, find out you're female, and proceed to be incredibly gross/stalkerish is sadly a bit more common than it should be. It happens most often with the younger women who are generally friendly/outgoing towards others, don't have a lot of experience with spotting red flags, and don't know when to shut it down. Pair that with super insecure, undersocialized, desperate guys and you have a recipe for disaster. On top of that it tends to happen in private, or is not taken seriously by leadership, etc.

To clarify, I am (unfortunately) not surprised that actual women are sexually harassed when their gender becomes known. That is far too common, from what I can tell. I'm not sure I'd reveal my gender in most games if I were a woman. I'm just surprised people harass female characters sight unseen.

[xLucia]

I'm female, and I would play female whenever I'm given the choice. I just don't see myself playing a male. I find it easier to get attached to my character if it's female, especially in MMO's. Plus, they are usually the better looking ones <3

[Ayer2015]

I used to when I was younger. Females always got the better looking outfits.
These days I tend to make male characters though.,,, usually a male elf, if it is a possibility.

[MOZZYSTAR]

Same here, I'm shocked that there are several people here who have been sexually harassed in game.

it's rather rare but acquaintances who meet you in game via FC, find out you're female, and proceed to be incredibly gross/stalkerish is sadly a bit more common than it should be.

Honestly, I think it's a bit of a rarity in FFXIV, at least for me. I've only really only had two "strange" instances myself that I honestly wouldn't call sexual harassment anyway. There were just a couple of guys who were interested in dating me, but more for the fact I was female and less for the fact of who I am (if that makes sense).
They were both pretty much desperate for a girlfriend but both came off very differently. One of them was honestly okay, but tried too hard . He seemed to struggle more for being really shy, quiet, and insecure in some ways (confident in other ways). This one liked the idea of being dependable and desirable to his partner, but how he came off was concerning (for him and his safety, not me)... The other guy was just narcissistic with a really sick (bad sick) sense of humour, and yet whined and wailed how he couldn't keep a girlfriend or how he always got the "crazies." -Deadpan- ... ... ..

Neither of them sexually harassed me in anyway, but they both did voice their interest in me. Out of the approximately 5 years I've played in FFXIV, I don't think that's bad at all. But that's just my own personal experience.

Vice versa, I totally internally gushed over dudes with nice voices before, whether it's FFXIV or something else. But I personally have no interest in dating, so I never went "hey, hey, how you doin'? ;D"

To clarify, I am (unfortunately) not surprised that actual women are sexually harassed when their gender becomes known. That is far too common, from what I can tell. I'm not sure I'd reveal my gender in most games if I were a woman. I'm just surprised people harass female characters sight unseen.

I've met another actual female player that laments about her love for some FFXIV dude because he isn't into her. She likes to make a bit of drama about it and... whatever else she does. I'm not sure if it's considered as sexual harassment, but she is pretty... fierce. (She somehow fell for him the moment she saw his avatar, so... that goes with your last point as well) So, it does happen vice versa, too - just to throw it out there.

[Sukocat]

I play a few female characters, as I feel the same as some others on this thread do. A character is an entity, nothing more. Though, I do get a little weirded by the catcalling sometimes, but I get it sometimes on my male characters as well, so... /shrug. I do RP on my female characters, and I get a little weirded out when, after someone finds out my real gender, they still speak to me OOCly as though I were female. I used to RP with another guy playing a female character who, after learning my real life gender, still called me kitty and other cutesy names. It kinda made me feel like they thought I was homosexual, or maybe bi, or bi-curious, which I'm actually Kinsey 0 Heterosexual irl. So it didn't quite sit right with me.

[Stormfur]

Female IRL, play as male character mostly because I don't wanna see some chick's behind all through the game.