Why are you playing as your race / gender combination?

[Lynde]

As for the other question of why I play a female character since I'm male IRL? It's not so simple to explain for me. I feel like i express myself while playing far more easier when playing a female than a male, as well as creating them. Apparently I do it so well at times, people think I am actual IRL female as well before I tell them. I'm kinda feminine for a guy anyway so I'm sure that's part of the reason.

And to those with the attitude of "oh you just wanna stare at their butts all day" or "your in love with pixels in a game", that's not always the case for people. I for one, don't like always having to stare at my character's back, I prefer to swivel the camera to the front so I can see her face when I idle. And to the other, while yes I am attached emotionally to my character, I don't see her as like some "waifu" for me to drool over. She is an extension of me, projected into the game. All characters I make usually are.

[NaesakiAshwell]

I play Male Roegadyn because I love beards and I love the bara aesthetic of them <3 He is my big cuddly teddy bear. I'm cuddly too irl, just my Roegadyn is 100x more muscular than I'll ever be xD

I'm also making up for it now as back in FF XI, those where my inside the closet years and I resisted playing a Galka, yeah I know makes no sense but I was a young teen at that point so I played a TaruTaru instead >.>

[AkashiXI]

I play Elezen due to playing Elvaan in FFXI. My brother and I played XI together, and since I'm the younger brother, I was coerced (forced) to let him choose our race. Actually, I was a female Elvaan (because he chose the exact model I wanted, so I chose the "sister" type of his..... lol, what a weird childhood I had), but switched to Male in 14. I stay Elezen as a nod to my past and an ode to my brother, who I love very deeply. So playing Elezen is more than just a physical feature for me, it symbolizes family.

Also Elezens look cool, imo .

[MeeDeggiThePunisher]

Wanted to play BLM when I started XI and Tarutaru had the best stats for it.

[Chalbee]

Male Keeper of the moon

I chose a miqo'te because they have my favorite face option, are kinda short, and have enough muscle definition without being "beefy." I think earrings look really good on them too because they are more obvious on the cat ears. I also like their emotes, that worried expression punches me in the chest every time. they're basically my perfect man.

basically catboys are hot and I'm extremely gay for my character /thumbsup

[Lufkin]

I started the game as a Highlander Male WAR. I ended up primarily as a BRD though. I couldn't stand being a muscular male in tights and a blouse, so I switched to a more feminine body type (Miquote F, then Au Ra F in HW).

Ultimately, I would rather play male, but I don't the look of too many BRD armors for males.

[ErryK]

I started the game as a Highlander Male WAR. I ended up primarily as a BRD though. I couldn't stand being a muscular male in tights and a blouse

What?

Highlander BRD/MCH glamours here

That first one is a joke glamour, but the rest look really good.

[Zigabar]

Obviously because Lalafell Master Race.

[Tharne]

Male Highlander Hyur.

I like beards.

I raise you Male Roe because I like beards too but also having eyebrows.

[Vhailor]

Personally, I'm playing as a female Miqo'te (I still think of them as Mithra, though). My motivation was as follows:

(1) I prefer smaller character models.
(2) I played a male Tarutaru in FFXI, and wanted a change from that specific race.
(3) I absolutely despise the overly-soft feel of the male models in FFXIV, most especially the male Miqo'te, who constantly look as if they're thrusting out their package for the world to see.

So, on release, that basically left me deciding between a female Hyur or a female Miqo'te. Of the two, I felt like something a bit more exotic, so Miqo'te it was.