Why do I play female characters?

[Carin-Eri]

Most people would ask the forum why they play a female character in order to be able to relate to its members. Interestingly enough, fewer would actually start a whole thread about why they chose a female avatar, so everyone can to relate to them.

Kudos to them for it though, in my view, considering the lousy experience they had in the previous MMO they played. Something I can sympathise with since I used to play that game too and experienced how toxic the community there tends to be.

[LianaThorne]

Oh for me it's very much third person. I take myself completely out of the character and play her as I make believe a female warrior of light would be. I have been married to a beautiful wife for a long time and know what she goes through on a daily basis being female. I take what I've learned from her and express that with my character. It has been an eye opening experience, experiencing the female side of things in terms of emotion, friends, and daily living.

Welcome to the world of sexual harassment and unfair stereotypes (speaking as someone who deals with it on a regular basis and have people assume I need to be carried because I'm not a man). I'm glad you're getting the experience but I genuinely also hope you're educating your male friends and others on it as well and how harmful that type of behavior can be. It's actually extremely demotivating when I work hard to be the best I can be in the game and take on challenges that are considered hardcore only to have it devalued because of my gender and get told: "There's no way you can do this, let a real man help you baby."

[Hurlstone]

I am a guy, and when I was young the idea of playing as a female character was a big no-no in my mind. I remember when I did make my first (A Mithra in FFXI!) I was so scared my brother would find out and bully me and fearful it meant I was gay! (Oh internalized homophobia...) Now I am older, and things have changed. 99.9% of the time I will make a female character. Honestly kinda feels weird nowadays not to play as a women. Why is that? Well its something I have often asked myself and there are a few answers.

For starters, I just love female badass characters. Warrior women like Red Sonja, Wonder Woman, She-Hulk etc are often my favourite in fiction and despite what people may say, they still are not as commonly accepted as their male counterparts. This seems especially true in RPGs where often women are often given the more support/magic role over actually fighting on the frontlines, or exist in the story just to drool over/be the prize for a male protagonist. Not that I am saying thats bad in itself. Aerith is by far my favourite FF character of all time, and she could be seen as one of the series most major ‘support class’ characters. Its just a trope that I do roll my eyes at nowadays, so when a game like FFXIV gives me the chance to make an important female character who can swing an axe around like its nothing, then you bet I will!

There is also the obvious fact that I am openly a pervert who likes sexy characters, and especially in JRPGs, you get allot of female characters who are designed specifically to be sexy and draped in revealing clothes. Then again I am a bi guy with more of a little more of a male preference, so why do I not make more male characters to drool over? Well I think one reason is that games still do not make male characters to be sexy. Armor is often not revealing on males, and even the models often lack any of the sexualisation females have. Character like the Hulk and male Roes are not buff to be female eye candy, they are more often that way as a male power fantasy of strength and masculinity. Its changed in recent years mind, and FFXIV has done a decent job with the husbandos and sexy bunny boys.

Then again even in games that lack any sexualisation I will still go female. I have been an avid DnD player for years now, and only once have I ever played a male character. It makes one wonder if perhaps my gender identity is not strictly in the male camp, and perhaps in a more open environment its something I would explore further, but this reality/my country still sucks for trans folk and expressing gender identity, but thats a different tale!

Anyway, thanks for the therapy/TED talk and in the end, just play who you want. No one should gatekeep gender.

[HeyMcFly]

If the male toons in ffxiv actually had chest hair & beards as the men I like do, I'd play one (I'm a woman irl)

but I play a Lalafell & a fem Miqo

[VictorTheed]

Mostly
Men
Online
Role
Playing
Girls

[Gwen_Lavellan]

My char is a woman because I'm a woman, it's that simple.
Being playing games since my childhood, wwhen female toon wasn't always and available option, I play now as my own gender as soon as it is possible.

But yeah, I must admit: most of the time, female characters allow better possibilities for glam too. My husband had always played a male hyur on FFXIV but since we are together and he can see the glams I am able to do ingame, he started playing a female hyur two years ago.

[Puc]

Main game as a kid was grandchase which has 3 starting characters all female, so I never thought that deeply about it until Tera where people got creepy about it and I played Elin (master race). But now its just female by default cause males usually look like trash or have trash outfits.

[Lionfernot]

I think is the first game I'm playing as a male character, even though still planning to level up a female character later. I really liked the immense amount of customization options, it's been a good change.

[Midareyukki]

Mostly
Men
Online
Role
Playing
Girls

Well, it's not hard to guess why given how half the male wardrobe is pretty bleh in comparison to what the girls can wear.

[RitsukoSonoda]

Well, it's not hard to guess why given how half the male wardrobe is pretty bleh in comparison to what the girls can wear.

Sadly... that's kinda how things are in the real world too... Hell their fabrics even feel better when worn... >.>;