I wanted to start this thread, because recently I started wondering about gender roles in a lot of games. I know a lot of other guys who like to play as females in games and such, while I know a good number of girls who tend to take offense at that. What are you all's opinions on this? Do you think it is weird for a guy to play as a female? Also, at the same time do you find it strange for a girl to play as a male when she has a choice?
Gender in Video Games
- Thread starter Sora
- Start date
I don't think it's weird at all. I mean, there are some gender specific games (i.e. Harvest Moon: AWL and Harvest Moon: Another WL) which are tailer specifically for guys and girls. However, I don't think it's all that weird. For example, in Borderlands 2, Entei Slider played as Maya as he and I went through the Campaign again and it wasn't weird. She's a really good character top play as. I think it's only weird if you make it weird.
oath2order
#Porygon2024
There's a bit of hypocrisy here. Not against you, Sora, I'm not calling you a hypocrite. You say that there are guys who like the play as girls. This is true. While I am not one of them, I do have seen a few posts on Tumblr calling men creeps for this. Yet you never see it the other way around. I used to follow the Skyrim tag on Tumblr, and in Skyrim, you can choose to be either male or female. Men who played as women were criticized, yet the women who played as men never got criticized, and actually got congratulated for creating an awesome looking character. Why is that? Why can't men play as women?
I personally think there's nothing wrong with it. Play as whoever you want.
I personally think there's nothing wrong with it. Play as whoever you want.
Bubble Pop
Senior Member
Well... Personally I don't see this as a problem myself, I love playing as females and male characters. I love to play as Peach and Samus on Smash Bros., Lara Croft is kick ass and I usually always pick the female trainer in Pok?mon just because I like their designs better! I agree with Bacon Boy it's only weird if you make it weird!
Dustbunnii
Senior Member
I don't have much of a problem with it.
I personally prefer playing as a female character whenever possible, but I don't have much of an issue playing as a male character. I just connect with female characters more and feel more comfortable that way.
I feel like the main reason that men are criticized so much for playing as female characters is because it's assumed that they're just playing as one in order to look at her totez hawt pixelz and with no other reason beyond that... and that's probably not the case most of the time. Even when it is the case, I'm sort of 'whatever' about it.
The frequent sexualization of female characters doesn't help this either, but I'm not going to get into that for reasons.
As for females playing as male characters... females don't have the same "perverted" stereotype that men do, so it doesn't get as much negative attention, I guess. Not that I've noticed. Like I said, when I have the choice I play as a female character so I don't have any experience with that sort of thing.
Also, most games feature male leads and have a male audience in mind, so female gamers won't have much of a choice in those cases.
Not to mention the fact that many people are still surprised when a girl is just as into video games as guys are... when that's the case, they're going to get praise from the guys in the community for being into the same things that they're into.
But yeah.
I have no problems with it and I think that people should really get past the stereotypes that exist... :I
I personally prefer playing as a female character whenever possible, but I don't have much of an issue playing as a male character. I just connect with female characters more and feel more comfortable that way.
I feel like the main reason that men are criticized so much for playing as female characters is because it's assumed that they're just playing as one in order to look at her totez hawt pixelz and with no other reason beyond that... and that's probably not the case most of the time. Even when it is the case, I'm sort of 'whatever' about it.
The frequent sexualization of female characters doesn't help this either, but I'm not going to get into that for reasons.
As for females playing as male characters... females don't have the same "perverted" stereotype that men do, so it doesn't get as much negative attention, I guess. Not that I've noticed. Like I said, when I have the choice I play as a female character so I don't have any experience with that sort of thing.
Also, most games feature male leads and have a male audience in mind, so female gamers won't have much of a choice in those cases.
Not to mention the fact that many people are still surprised when a girl is just as into video games as guys are... when that's the case, they're going to get praise from the guys in the community for being into the same things that they're into.
But yeah.
I have no problems with it and I think that people should really get past the stereotypes that exist... :I
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What I think is weird is anyone who is offended by someone playing a game as a character that is opposite their gender. I'm a lady and I usually choose to play male characters in games, but I also pick female characters; what I choose mostly depends on who I think looks cooler, ha. Anyway, I certainly don't care if a guy wants to play a girl even if it's just to oggle at her butt... or vice versa, because I've known girls who do the same thing. Just play what you want.
Treasu(red)
Senior Member
I play as a girl 100% of the time because I'm a girl irl and I enjoy being a girl but I totally understand lots of guys pick female characters because they get to watch that booty sway the whole game.
It depends on the character models. If the dude looks generic then I'll choose the girl character. If it's a game like Saints Row then the obvious choice is a girl. Why would I want to stare at my dude character's ass all the time?
It depends. If it's a game like Mario Kart or Smash Bros, I don't care what people think of me if I play as Peach or Zelda.
If it's a game where you can create your own person, I'll create both because why the hell not.
Also, I don't give a damn about what people do. If they play as a guy or as a girl, it doesn't matter to me unless they start being obnoxious about it.
If it's a game where you can create your own person, I'll create both because why the hell not.
Also, I don't give a damn about what people do. If they play as a guy or as a girl, it doesn't matter to me unless they start being obnoxious about it.
Officer Berri
Cousin Redd's Nightmare
Why on earth would it be weird for a guy to play as a girl? Girls play as guys literally all the time! My boyfriend loves to play as female characters and he usually chooses to play as females in games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect.
If I can play as a girl I usually play as a girl. But that's because getting to play as a girl is less normal than having to play as a guy, usually.
If I can play as a girl I usually play as a girl. But that's because getting to play as a girl is less normal than having to play as a guy, usually.
PoizonMushro0m
Nintendo GameCube fan
I really don't care which gender I play as, as long as the game is good. I usually play as a guy, but if I feel like making a girl character, I go ahead and make one. I really don't care about people's opinions since I'm always under fire over my choices by even my closest friends so other people's opinions really don't matter to me all that much.
I don't think it's weird to play a character of other genders in games. It's perfectly normal and a lot of people do this.
I think that, for many people, games are a way to escape from what's familiar and put yourself into an unfamiliar situation, but in the relatively 'safe' and controlled environment that is a videogame. One of the ways that people explore those unfamiliar situations is by playing a character of another gender. It can be as simple as the fact that they just want to try on a different 'skin' than what they've got in real life.
One other point I'd like to make is that a lot of videogame characters are pre-determined, like when you play Snake in a Metal Gear Solid game. Women who play that game, for example, don't have any other choice but to play a male character. 47% of people who play videogames are women, so that's a lot of gamers who are playing games where they have to be a character of different gender. So, then, it's not really that strange at all!
I think that, for many people, games are a way to escape from what's familiar and put yourself into an unfamiliar situation, but in the relatively 'safe' and controlled environment that is a videogame. One of the ways that people explore those unfamiliar situations is by playing a character of another gender. It can be as simple as the fact that they just want to try on a different 'skin' than what they've got in real life.
One other point I'd like to make is that a lot of videogame characters are pre-determined, like when you play Snake in a Metal Gear Solid game. Women who play that game, for example, don't have any other choice but to play a male character. 47% of people who play videogames are women, so that's a lot of gamers who are playing games where they have to be a character of different gender. So, then, it's not really that strange at all!
Unless they're on the internet. Internet right now acts like a girl playing game is only a girl who wants attention. It's stupid.
I don't care either way. Play as whoever you want to play as. I personally only play as a girl, if possible. Either way though, it isn't that big a deal.
I tend to play as females because I typically write female protagonists when I compose short stories, because in the grand scheme of literature, female protagonists are underrepresented, even though there are many great examples of books about strong female characters. The same could be said about my reason for playing as women in video games. I also respect women a lot considering I require permanent home nursing and my nurses have been predominantly women. It is a comfort thing, I suppose.
You are not necessarily a direct representation of your character or avatar. I have no problems if you choose to pick a character of the opposite gender (I do it all the time). Choosing an option besides your own sex neither threatens your masculinity or femininity. It is just a game.
I play as a guy sometimes, usually only because I have to. In Harvest Moon I usually play as both in order to experience both sides of the game. I suppose it's all up to personal preference. Me? I don't think it matters. We gamers can do what we want.
