Crossdressing.

[Rahcel]

This is something that has been in the game since its start: Male/Female specific clothing.
And while I can see the reason on certain garments, ones more revealing or shaped specifically for that gender, what I cannot see is disallowing a male character to wear a dress, or even a proper skirt. We have one skirt option, the "plain long skirt," and I think the name alone says how little this really means. What I would like is for this to go further, dresses, namely. For one, Hildebrand has shown that males can indeed wear a woman-suited dress, why not allow actual player characters to express themselves even more powerfully. My goal with this post here, is to open up the glamours that have been slowly being added to FFXIV up for both genders. As it is there is more favor toward females, more stunning designs in dresses, especially the gowns from the Eternal Bond. Male on male, and female on female marriage is allowed.. why can't we pick and choose what we'd like to wear for our partners?

[Rahcel]

EDIT: The post this was in response to has been deleted.
You bring up valid arguments, but I have counter arguments.
One: True gender identity: This comes down to a mainly RP standpoint, but affects real life as well. What if the character is, say, male by birth and identifies as female? Not even to mention that there are more than two genders. Agendered people exist, and can easily have their own representation ingame by simply removing restrictions on wearing certain pieces of gear.
Two: Guessing the gender of the character: Should this really matter more than the player of that character wishes? If they choose to present themselves as, say, a male lalafell in a dress, why should it matter to others what their actual gender is? Just look at the cute lalafell in a dress. If you really do need to know, there's nothing stopping you from kindly PMing the player of that character to find out.
Three: It's disgusting: This is opinion, which you are fully entitled to, but does not present a valid argument against it.

[Rahcel]

Update, it's possible to get close... but it's still no wedding gown.

[Eggnook24]

I'm definitely not against cross dressing. However, Eorzea is a different world with a different outlook on characterization. There seems to be a line drawn when it comes to identifying as a male or female, and as a Japanese game, their culture is pretty evident in the game. Hildebrand clothed in a dress was for comic relief, nothing more. Even the weddings can't truly be considered LGBT, as the Dev team has very specifically steered away from "Marriage" to a generic "Bonding." Being a video game, FFXIV has been very forward thinking, and compromised due to the collective fan base's requests. There's still a long way to go in the real world when it comes to gender equality, a MMORPG isn't going to be the groundbreaking civil rights leader.

That being said, that dress is fabulous. But I doubt wielding an axe in a dungeon wearing that garb would be easy, tripping over the hem every time you throw up a berserk.

[MissD]

I agree with you Rahcel. No reason why in this day and age we should have "male" or "female" specific gear. If I wanna be a fabulous princess then I should be able to. However, I think it's more of an issue of clipping and animating then it is Square being against our freedom. Certain outfits just weren't created for the male character bodies.

[Kalamari]

100% agreed, gender restrictions on clothing in FINAL FANTASY? Do you even FF Square? The series is famous for highly vibrant and colorful clothing on both their female and male characters.

[JeniLinsky]

I don't entirely understand your argument about transgender characters, but you know, I don't have to... I just have to agree (and I do) that people should be able to play their characters the way they choose, and should have cross-dressing options if they want them.

[Sainya]

ummm also there is a certain boss in coil who ends up being not what they seem... not being specific because don't want to spoil others story progression

[Xakery]

[Ooshima]

FFXIV has been very forward thinking, and compromised due to the collective fan base's requests. There's still a long way to go in the real world when it comes to gender equality, a MMORPG isn't going to be the groundbreaking civil rights leader.

This guy put it very well. IMHO this is a game. The devs aren't politicians nor some civil/human rights leader. We should really keep these issues out of the game and enjoy the game, as a game, period. Stop making the devs "wasting" their time to even ponder about these tacky political issues when they should focus more on developing the game and gameplay. The fight is in the real world to fight for real world rights which is where we want it to happen and where the value is at. Having all your LGBT whatever rights in a game have no meaning when there is none in the real world.