Why do I play female characters?

[sagacious]

Sorry to hear that you experienced that, though am not surprised to be honest. I played STO for over a decade and the social scene there is pretty damn toxic. I recall visiting Risa on several occasions (outside of the summer event) and being accused of being an "ErPiSt" due to the fact that my character was wearing swimwear and standing in very close proximity to another female character wearing a bikini. I quit STO too - the toxic community and the drama generated by said community being one of the many reasons I did so.
Interestingly, I'm fairly sure that the male/female player ratio in STO leans heavily toward the majority of players being male. Make of that what you will.

As you say, the community in FFXIV is far more open-minded and it probably helps that the male/female player ratio is far better balanced.

That aside, I don't see the issue with players making a character that isn't their R/L gender in any MMO. Its a game - the whole damn thing - every single aspect of it - is about escapism and anyone mocking another player's choice of character gender is either a troll or, frankly, not very bright.

Did you play as a green Orion slave girl?

[Carin-Eri]

Did you play as a green Orion slave girl?

Nope - not at all.

[ErryK]

i used to play only female characters until 2015, then i switched everything to male characters, idk why. but implying playing female-only is homophobic is crazy.

[ArcaviusGreyashe]

I've been playing males and females for as long as I remember, undiscriminately depending on what I thought looked good at the time. Doesn't necessarily have anything to do with gender identity nor sexuality, but might have... long story short : it doesn't matter, play whatever you like, there will always be people arguing about anything you might do. Don't take shit from them, just say you want to play "this character" atm, and shrug.

[Gullis]

I used to only play female characters before, when I was younger because "lol boobbz hot"


Now I only play males, because its easier for me to immerse myself in games when I play the same gender that I am. Times change.

[Kranel_San]

Q: Why do I play female characters?

A: I don't even know you to say why you play female characters.

[CaptainOblivous]

When I first started playing MMO's (star trek online) I started out playing males but quickly changed to female because it felt weird dressing them and watching them from behind (0.0) I realized I smiled a lot when I dressed my female non-modestly (o.o) and watched her from behind because it felt normal and still does. Problems came from other players(males) who ask me why I play female characters and I replied, love watching them from behind and dressing them up non-modestly. I love kicking ass with my beautiful female (Angelina Jolie - tomb raider) character. They called me homophobic and harassed me continually and made cat calls. I quit playing that game and started playing this one where 1/2 the player base's characters are female .... Thank you ffxiv

I absolutely get this.
I played STO from it's beta days, and I absolutely get where you're coming from. That community used to be pretty ok, but it degenerated over the last 5 years into a toxic hellscape it is today. It's part of the reason why I left there to come to 14. Carin-Eri can attest to that! (Hi Carin! :P). That game always had an element of badness in the community, but the decent folks left over the years, leaving behind the morons and the mass of people who don't talk there.
These days, it's rare to see anyone talk in that game, and if they do it's toxic, hateful BS meant to provoke people.

I started off playing a male character there, but the character models for males in that game just look...off. They look weird and I found it near impossible to get a character that looked somewhat normal! The female character models just worked better. It was actually the first time I ever played a female character by choice!

[Carin-Eri]

I absolutely get this.
I played STO from it's beta days, and I absolutely get where you're coming from. That community used to be pretty ok, but it degenerated over the last 5 years into a toxic hellscape it is today. It's part of the reason why I left there to come to 14. Carin-Eri can attest to that! (Hi Carin! :P). That game always had an element of badness in the community, but the decent folks left over the years, leaving behind the morons and the mass of people who don't talk there.
These days, it's rare to see anyone talk in that game, and if they do it's toxic, hateful BS meant to provoke people.

I started off playing a male character there, but the character models for males in that game just look...off. They look weird and I found it near impossible to get a character that looked somewhat normal! The female character models just worked better. It was actually the first time I ever played a female character by choice!

Agree with all points.

As for STO male characters - well, it doesn't help that players there tend to favour this sort of nonsense:

Shoulders McShoulderson

It's ridiculous in a way, if you think about it - I'll wager that a good many of the sort of player who'll bemoan someone else's choice to play a female character are playing male characters that look like a walking steroid overdose!

[Swampking]

When I first started playing MMO's (star trek online) I started out playing males but quickly changed to female because it felt weird dressing them and watching them from behind (0.0) I realized I smiled a lot when I dressed my female non-modestly (o.o) and watched her from behind because it felt normal and still does. Problems came from other players(males) who ask me why I play female characters and I replied, love watching them from behind and dressing them up non-modestly. I love kicking ass with my beautiful female (Angelina Jolie - tomb raider) character. They called me homophobic and harassed me continually and made cat calls. I quit playing that game and started playing this one where 1/2 the player base's characters are female .... Thank you ffxiv

My personal reasons are 1. I love different armor types on female characters. 2. I love to make tough girl characters hence my roe being a goth and a lifter. And 3. I love to be something different. I see a lot of cat girls and lalafells but not to many roes.

[CaptainOblivous]

Agree with all points.

As for STO male characters - well, it doesn't help that players there tend to favour this sort of nonsense:

Shoulders McShoulderson

It's ridiculous in a way, if you think about it - I'll wager that a good many of the sort of player who'll bemoan someone else's choice to play a female character are playing male characters that look like a walking steroid overdose!

That's the problem I was referring to. It's incredibly difficult to get anything resembling an average guy in that game. Though it must be said the character creator really did let you go crazy with meme characters, though! Especially with the "alien" species xD