Discussion- Roleplaying the Opposite Gender

[Fatalis]

I'm curious to know people's stances towards roleplaying characters of a different gender to themselves.

In the past, I've seen and understand why people can be awkward about it, but I find it's better from a roleplay point of view- You're actually playing the character. It's not an extension of your own personality as it may be if the character is similar to yourself.

How do you feel about it?

[Fruityla]

Been there, done that @_@ Find it easier to play my own gender though.

[Fatalis]

Been there, done that @_@ Find it easier to play my own gender though.

Any elaboration on why?

[GT-Hiro]

For me its dependent on whether one has a good view of the opposite gender or not while will make it akward or not depending on the situation. I've run into and made situations like that a few times on older RP boards that I ran. So imo I find it as a role that extends oneself and not just a character. If a guy can RP a girl well, well, that just means that the guy is very fimilar with the female throught process and vice versa for girls RP'ing guys. Although you do find more girls rp'ing guys better then guys rp'ing girls.

[Aaronock]

I enjoy actually roleplaying the opposite sex more, which in this case of course are male.

Why?...Well I suppose because of all the male influences I had in my life and all my friends for a short while were mostly male. I enjoy being able to play the opposite gender because...well I just enjoy being something that I'm typically not! However, I have played plenty of female characters in roleplays, and enjoyed them just as much, but somehow playing males just struck me always as more fun.

[Fruityla]

Been there, done that @_@ Find it easier to play my own gender though.

Any elaboration on why?

How to explain this @_@

I guess I can just relate to the character better, therefore making it easier to get into character. Never was very good with guys anyway, for some reason they end up being very...feminine

[Avalon_Fates]

Combine a shatted personality with enough Anime, Manga and Books to fill a house.

Sadly cant force myself to do it most of the time, my personality has to already be in that general direction but if it is I can RP probably anything.

P.S My English is better when i'm RPing as a girl. Dont know why, no I cant do it all the time.

[ScarletSen]

Avalon_Fates: The reason your roleplay is better when your playing the opposite sex is because your more prone to making mistakes, and therefor look out for them. The most common one I've found is mistyping "her" for "his" or any other similar mistake.

I have roleplayed everything during my years when I used to obsessively play Neverwinter Nights. From a small female child to a non-gender specific celestial. Never played a female dwarf though, and kind of refuse to.

I prefer to roleplay my own gender but I have this nasty condition of O.C.C.C.D (Obsessive Compulsive Character Creation Disorder) and tend to make characters of any gender to suit the personality I just came up with.

I do recall having a male character that was quite odd. He was an elven Necromancer that spent most of his free time developing a Belt of Gender Changing in order to "see life on the other side." in which he failed, of course, and somehow managed to turn into a hermaphrodite but more feminine. That was a good bit of roleplay.

Got a little off topic there, but I doubt many people will mind. Regardless, there are many reasons why people choose to play the opposite gender exclusively, so it all depends on personal preference. Me? I'll stick to my Dwarves.

Sorry about the ramble. Just woken up late for a job interview (by about 3 hours) and I'm in abit of a funny mood. I wonder if I should make a thread detailing all funny things that have happened in roleplay that people can share...

/Sen

[Pyronic]

I feel gay if i act like a girl (not saying being gay is bad so dont flame me saying im a prejudist blah blah blah ) so i stick to my gender as well

[The Legendary Joe]

In game, I play girl characters for??the shallowest reason's (I don't like looking at the butts of guys and I hate their clothes, and the girls are cute/hot depending on class) and I laugh my butt off when it comes to those awkward times when someone does actually try to hit/propose on/to me, but due to my??passive (passive/agressive) and bitchy personality,??more than a few people??are surprised or suspicious when I tell them I'm actually male. I guess when i play??Girl chars, I come off very Tomboyish-ly. Whereas??when I play male characters, noone ever thinks anything of it. (And the fact I only have to describe my actions in game is a big plus if I choose to RP. @me ftw~)

On paper, when I RP??I generally RP males, Spoiled, Arrogant, bitchy and oftentimes Narcissistic. Anywhere from a 5 year old to a drunken geezer. The few times I did RP girls, on paper, it felt plastic and stiff when describing??appearance. Hell I didn't want to sound dirty/funny when I'm writing something serious. As a guy, I hear a lot of things about them, but I have NO Idea what it's like to be a girl, and??it's hard to??describe something you do not know. Too much detail can be just as bad, or worse than not enough detail, and I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist.

Personally, I view all of my characters as having a complete lack of character, and I've no choice but to fill the gap with whatevers on my mind at the time when I need to RP, and I guess that means their closer to me than my own persona.