Gender-Bending - playing as the opposite gender

[Deleted]

Female 29 years old

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?

I don't, I prefer to play female characters

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)

I don't like playing male characters as, not being male, it just doesn't feel right. Doesn't make the game easier in any way just more enjoyable to me to play female charaters

3. Do you identify with your character? How?

Yes, in a way, because I like the idea of tough female characters being equal in power etc to male characters

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?

Only when forced to play male characters but I don't enjoy not having the option

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?

I do like the look of the male characters in GW2. The only one I am tempted by is a male charr as the females look a bit "odd" to me, can't really explain why, maybe a bit too feline cutesy looking as opposed to the males.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?

No

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?

Only if asked, I don't make an issue of it. It's kind of nice that people don't know you're not male (as most people still tend to assume in games)

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?

No. Unless it was a fancy dress party or something and I had a really cool idea for a costume. The boobs kinda give it away though lol

[cybernoid]

Male 35,

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?
- I find roleplaying something different than myself, including gender, much more interesting and imaginative than rolling a character that looks like me.

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)
- Most, if not all such changes I've noticed come from the character role I play (healer/tank/dd), but I don't think gender has considerable influence over my overall experience.

3. Do you identify with your character? How?
- Yes I identify with certain traits of the Healing role that may be considered "traditionally female" so it kind of fits with my (female) main char.

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?
- In most games I've played that have the option, I've rolled both genders with an approximate ratio of 1.5:1 female to male characters.

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?
- No I don't think it's more or less gender-bending friendly than other games.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?
- Yes, as much as in MMOs.

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?
- I don't rush in saying "hi I'm a guy" but whenever I exchange more than a few words with someone I feel I have to state it. It's also interesting to try and guess what triggers other people to think that you're one gender or the other.

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?
- What.. how? Er, no

[schwarzkopf]

As a role playing game, playing other than my own gender, race, profession, age, height, skin colour, species or even religious persuasion is mandatory.

So I do those things because it is part of the game.

Now - whilst I assume that most people know my real life species is not gnome or blood elf or tauren, discussion of my real life gender, race, profession, age, height, skin colour or religious persuasion doesn't seem relevant in most cases.

[Darth Steve]

Male, 30.

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?
Strictly variety. I like to mix it up every now and again. Plus, you know, redheads.

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)
I can't say that it does at all. I'd like to think it messes with people(female night elf prot warrior), but I have no evidence to support that idea.

3. Do you identify with your character? How?
The tanky aspect of it, as it fits my personality and weight-lifting style. But nothing besides that.

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?
Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Guild Wars, The Old Republic, KoTOR 1 and 2, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy - If I've ever replayed an RPG, I've probably rolled a female.

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?
I don't currently play GW2, so I can't say. Although I can't imagine the only impediment to gender-bending being graphics. Nor can I imagine a game where every character design is so hideous that no one plays that gender.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?
I can and I have. BIG UPS to Super Metroid. Just saying.

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?
Yeah. I don't really do much RP on MMO games. I'm a guy, my avatar's a girl, my previous main was a guy, either way I'm holding aggro. And making bad jokes. It's kind of my thing.

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?
For Halloween or a play or concert or something, sure. I have before. It's not the sort of thing I ever feel inclined to do on a day-to-day, tho. I do accept cash bribes, tho, if you need someone to do this.

[Sunseeker]

- I find roleplaying something different than myself, including gender, much more interesting and imaginative than rolling a character that looks like me.

When other role-players have asked me why I play females, I counter with exactly this, and to add: how much of a stretch is it to play a female, from playing a blue, tenatacle-headed, goat-hooved alien or a 4-eared, horned, tiger-cow-thing?

[cybernoid]

When other role-players have asked me why I play females, I counter with exactly this, and to add: how much of a stretch is it to play a female, from playing a blue, tenatacle-headed, goat-hooved alien or a 4-eared, horned, tiger-cow-thing?

Precisely. Whenever I hear "playing a female... doesn't feel right", I truly want to understand why. Sadly, the common followup I've been getting is the reassurance that the person in question is "not some chick". /sigh

[nightshark]

28 year old male

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?
I figured mesmer was better suited to a female and I wanted to see the female armor skins too. The females in GW2 are nice to look at.

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)
Haven't played the character that much, but it doesn't change the actual gameplay. As per #1, it's just nice to have a pretty character.

3. Do you identify with your character? How?
I don't really identify with particular characters. I see myself in the game as more of a persona across all my characters.

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?
Not really. I've used female characters before but it was not in an MMO, and you could switch avatars from male to female any time you wanted (per game - sort of like LoL characters).

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?
I don't see how the first and second question really relate. To answer the first question: it's less gender-bender friendly in the fact that your sex is not shown (in the other social game I talked about, there was a blue/red icon to show your gender, your character was irrelevant). I do not want people confused about my gender, but I think my character name is more masculine than feminine, so I'm not worried.

To answer the second question - I think the female character models look better than any other games I've played.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?
None come to mind.

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?
Yes. I would feel awkward if someone referred to me as a female. Or even worse, flirted with me. Like I said, I think my character name gives away my gender.

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?
No. I like my masculinity.

[VincentWolf]

Here we go yet again.... Ok fine, since I'm bored...

Male, 32.

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?
Much cooler while also sexy. I just love killing male characters (especially big ones) as my (if I can help it) plate bikini wearing female warrior. And then read all this bullshit on forums how unrealistic it is. Ahh owning orcs and tauren on my human fem back in the days when WoW was still a good game, were good days... Especially warriors (I was a warrior too). Just that feeling when a little human fem kills a huge orc... Fantastic.

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)
Yes, if I can control a big boobed character in plate bikini I usually enjoy the game overall and play it much more than a game with either no choice to control an attractive female character (Like resident evil 6 as a perfect example) or a game with ugly female characters (Rift and Dark Souls a perfect example here, can't get into game at all thanks to that).

3. Do you identify with your character? How?
No, I'm not a fag to identify with female characters. My character is just that, a person I control and decide what she does, how she looks and how she talks, not me in any way.

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?
Always ALWAYS playing only female characters if I can. In fact, I think playing character of your own gender is pretty gay. Unless you identify yourself with that character, but that's kind of sad because you're nothing like your character in real life. Not even a pale shadow of it. You can't swing swords, or cast magic. Hell, you're probably fat!

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?
Well, yes, unlike RIFT which has terrible female characters, GW2 does this job very well. At least norns. Irresistable hotties. I'd place it to number 2 overall graphics/character design-wise after Tera.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?
Same as 4, always playing only females if given a choice. Borderlands, Skyrim, Mass Effect, you name it. Hell, I'm a big Batman fan and he's one of the very few male characters I enjoy controlling, but if I had a choice I'd prefer Catwoman over him in AC anyday. And I really pity those who pick males. They lose alot. I mean... Male Shepard?! HOW can you possible play... that.... inferior... I dunno... I only have swearing words in my head right now... Female is so much better, more natural and fitting this role that I kind of simply can't understand people who played male.

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?
Always, if asked. Actually, I always assume that any female character has a male controlling it by default.

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?
Wut? Wtf... ? Never. As I said before, I'm not a fag.

[Xs]

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?
I prefer the looks and animations, I play certain Male characters but I prefer a small character

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)
It depends, I've had some hilarious experiences but for the most part its purely for the "I'd rather look at a girl's ass all day" effect

3. Do you identify with your character? How?
I don't feel much RP connection to my characters

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?
I don't intend to, but I often do, WoW, Diablo, Borderlands (not that it counts)

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?
I don't think its more or less friendly, simply the option to play both sexes is friendly enough

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?
Sometimes, not always, it depends what kind of character it is, ie warrior = male, but I mostly choose based on animation

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?
I prefer to be gender neutral, anyone that actually understands the social difference between genders will probably be able to tell, but why does it matter?
I do however tend to be more 'girly' when performing in game trades, this mostly boils down to being nice, but a lot of times a guy will be more generous to a girl who he assumes is a girl, than he would be to another guy, and why not take advantage of that? (Yes, I'm selling myself, whore etc. I've heard all that before and I'm proud of it lol)

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?
I don't think I could, unless I was some hellish 6 foot Dutch woman with no Dutch accent?


Nice idea btw, I hope you let us know if you find any trends

[jahasafrat]

Your use of the phrase gender-bending is incorrect, but i enjoy questionnaires. 27-year-old male for what it's worth.

1. I'd rather be staring at the back of a female for the hours that I'll be playing the game, pretty basic aesthetic choice.
2. No
3. No
4. Again, incorrect use of the term. Also, what of games where you have no choice? Am I a "gender-bender" because I played Perfect Dark, Tomb Raider, and Donkey Kong Country 3.
5. No. Irrelavent correlation.
6. The gender of my character doesn't affect the quality of gameplay.
7. Your use of the word "admit" implies that I'm purposefully concealing something.
8. No

I'm hoping your term paper isn't for an upper division course. Actual gender-bending can range from the act of challenging cultural expectations and norms for a given gender up to and including sex reassignment surgery. I don't doubt that there are gamers that identify with their characters, especially in the role-playing community. Generally speaking, though, I dare say our character customizations aren't the results of some Freudian keyboard parapraxes.

[Deleted]

Female 20

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?
- I don't. In GW2 I only play female characters, and in WoW I have about 3 males on my entire account (I'm an altoholic, so 3 isn't a lot). I like the idea of my characters having a personality, and I honestly can't get myself to play a character if I don't feel something for it. I could make a male to look at something I find attractive, but it would be played with a female personality because I'm behind the keyboard, so it just doesn't feel right.

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)
- It does. It doesn't change social aspects, but easier..? Hmm, nah, guys will do things for female players regardless of what they look like in game. The only difference, as mentioned, is that I can't play a character I'm not comfortable with. It can show in different ways: Either I stop logging on it, or I start being extremely bad at playing it (not the profession/class in general).

3. Do you identify with your character? How?
- A little bit. I'm female, my character is female.. When questing I like to pretend that I'm the character saving the world, and when playing a female I can pretty much just copy my own personality, which is also what I do in my personal story on GW2.

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?
- Sometimes. Right now I only remember doing it in WoW and Sims.

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?
- Not for me. In the previously mentioned games, the characters are cartoony and silly, so it doesn't really feel like I'm playing the other gender. In GW2, however, everything looks more realistic, so I can't get myself to roll a male.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?
- I honestly don't care. In games with pre-defined characters, I don't care. In Sims it's a part of the game, so I don't care. In games where I get to pick the gender, I definitely prefer female, but I can enjoy playing a male just as much - it's just more rare that I create a male character that I like.

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?
- If they ask, or if it's relevant. If a guy starts a conversation with me that's obviously meant for a guy (not that I mind that), I ask them if they're aware that I'm female. In random groups or conversations I've learned that it's better to be quiet about it, or they let me get away with stupid things. I always use my real name on voicechat, because if I'm on there, they're going to figure it out anyway. The players I stay with are the ones who care just as little about IRL gender as I do.

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?
- No.

[Deleted]

Male, 25

1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?
Mostly to do with animations although I'm sure there's a psychological component to my revulsion at seeing the top-heavy bulging muscle blocks that are male characters in MMOs. Where choices are available for male characters with good animations and non-muscle bulk models I will consider them equal to female characters. So far I have favoured females.

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)
Aesthetics play a big role, MMO designers are quite good at making female characters pleasing to the eye as well as making their narrative interesting (should there be any). Most MMOs don't have much in the way of character-specific story-tailoring though so the choice has been decoupled from that aspect. GW2 offers some customization, but again it's mostly relegated to the difference between he and she in text / speech. The social aspect mattered a long time ago (think 10+ years), in that people would mistake me for a girl gamer though I am quite a big dude in RL. No longer an issue since "there's no girls on the internet". Everyone pretty much assumes everyone else is guy anyway.

3. Do you identify with your character? How?
I do, in that I tend to assume they are an extension of myself. It's what makes playing MMOs so cool, you get to have new adventures added all the time. In modern singleplayer games I tend to be very detached from my avatars because they are who they are due to not being a silent protagonist. Since my avatar is largely silent in most MMOs I tend to fill in the blanks with my own responses.

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?
Yes, pretty much everything I've played. When I was a kid, I used to play Peach when I ran Mario Kart because everyone else would always pick Bowser, Toad, Luigi and Mario. Handing people's asses to them with Peach was pretty sweet. From there it's been pretty much every game I've had a choice. I hate playing male action heroes. I don't identify with them at all.

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?
I think it's actually more friendly towards finding something you like in either gender. Though I suppose the visuals help to allow people that traditionally don't cross gender lines play as their opposite.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?
Yes, much more so than playing male. I find that the macho, over the top, fuck you attitude doesn't work for me and females tend to be more subtle and reserved which fits me. That narrative stereotyping carries more weight to me than the actual gender of the avatar.

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?
Yes, though I have pretended to be female for free gems in Diablo 2. That escalated quickly. Other than that I've never hidden it.

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?
For money, halloween or some bet? Sure. As a thing of "I don't want to be male", no? I'm quite happy with being me

[Lily Crowley]

Female in body, 23.



1. Why do you play as a character of the opposite gender?

A lot of things influence this choice for me. One is the aesthetics, I think feminine-looking males are nice to look at, though not at a sexual point.
(I won't be staring at my characters ass all day, I am not that pathetic. Plus, how do you get anything done then? When I play WoW, my eyes are everywhere else than on my character. You need to follow your surroundings no?)
I like to play pretend I am a male because I identify as gender-fluid in my head, though my body was born with female proportions.
The variety is nice. Some gear look better on a male than on a female. Animations.

2. Does it influence/change your gaming experience? How? (i.e. social aspects, aesthetics, makes the game easier, etc.)

Minimally. The only thing I "risk" when playing as a male character, is being called him, bro, dude, guy, etc. But that doesn't really bother me. I sort of think of it like this: People see your character, not you. Your character is by definition a male (or this is at least what people see), thus male pronouns will be used.

3. Do you identify with your character? How?

In a way I guess? I do not really RP in games. But in my head, elaborate stories are being made as I play through the game. I can always pretend I am my character and I will always customize him to look like I would look like if I were male in body myself or a character from a game.

4. Have you done gender-bending before? In what games?

Apart from games where you are forced to (aka games that only has one playable hero), then yes. Almost every game. I have to try out both sides and get variation. World of Warcraft, The Sims, Super Smash Brothers, Pokémon, Guild Wars2 and many more.

5. Is Guild Wars 2 more gender-bending friendly? For example, are the graphics and designs more attractive than in other games?

Yes! I especially loved the whole openness of the Sylvari. I also like how males and females are so equal in the game. You have guards of both genders, special quest NPCS and everyone respects each other regardless of gender (well unless their personality is 'asshole' ) and that I believe, makes it more gender-bend friendly, because you don't have repercussions for playing the other gender. You are not being stereotyped.

6. Do you enjoy playing as the opposite gender in single-player games?

It doesn't really matter to me what gender the hero in single-player games are. If the gameplay and story are in place I enjoy it fully! An example is Final Fantasy 10, where the guy you play is Tidus. My.effing.god how I disliked the guy. But still, enjoyed the game a lot!
What would make me uncomfortable however, is if the hero you play is a male who is a big chauvinist, stereotype asshole. I might enjoy the game still and if it is revolving around the guy being dislikeable, okay, but it'd still make me uncomfortable.

7. Do you admit to your real gender while interacting with other players?

Not unless they ask specifically. I will never blurt out to someone "I'm a girl!" should they call me dude/him/guy/etc. My WoW guild got to know soon enough when logging Ventrilo for the first time during my first raid with them. I have no problems lettings anyone know casually. But gaming culture is still a bit iffy with girls. I do not want to be in a situation when someone praise my character, then gets to know I am a girl and then do a 180 saying I bought my character or someone else did all the hard work for me. A lot of guys tend to go defensive mode when a girl does something better than him. I can still brush it off and laugh at their stupidity, but it'd make me uncomfortable, thats just how I am.

8. Would you pose as someone of the opposite gender outside games?

Definitely! I really enjoy gender-bending and especially androgyny. I also do cosplay and tend to do male characters more often than females.
I would however not pose as a male and then try to get in a girls pants. That is a very strict no no and a line you should never cross.

[Deleted]

? I don't play GW2, I prefer TSW myself, but that aside, I play a female character, simply because I'd rather not be staring at a dude's ass for 4 hours or whatever time I have to play.