1y ago

So you prefer playing as another gender?

About one out of three men prefer playing female characters. Rethinking the importance of female protagonists in video games.

Well, as a guy, I've been asked multiple times why I systematically play games female characters in video games, to the point of skipping a game if I'm forced to pay a male one, with a few exceptions (I really liked Albus from Troubleshooters for example). Whenever there's romance in a game, I'll also take the F/F route. Yet, I don't think I fetishize those in general. There's a thing about not liking most M characters in games, but also something about playing someone really different from who I am. We've had an interesting conversation about this with my gf who always plays F characters and woyd never play M.

Although I'm a straight guy, I've always more identified to female friends and characters, although I have a few male friends too. So I'm wondering who else does that (playing a character not matching your gender), and if you found your own explanation.

Edit : It's not really an oversexualization drive for me, I try to play a female character that looks like me, even though I've never thought about actually becoming a woman.

Edit 2 : So far, I think we have, hmm..

Playing someone that differs from one's irl identity
Physical Attractivity
Male character writing and design
Lara Croft effect
Lady Dwarf

81 comments

If I have to stare at a digital ass, it might as well be a chick’s ass
- Why are you staring at the ass and not literally everything else in view?
  
  Because the game designers went out of their way to give the female character model a nice ass.
- It's ok to say you like playing as the opposite gender without fear of anyone thinking you're gay, you don't have to objectify women to make a point.
  
  The point is that the difference between 1^st person view and 3^rd person view matters.
  
  Objectifying? It's a made up video game character lmao
  
  I also like to play woman characters in games, tomb raider being my favorite one. And it's because I don't like to watch a guy's ass the whole time! I'm playing Cyberpunk right now and I chose a female character for exactly the same reason.
  
  I will play either way, hell in long dark Astrid isn’t as grunty as will and that matters a ton
Cishet guy; I play female characters more often than not.
One factor for me is that so many male characters feel... cheesy, like the game assumes I'm hideously insecure in my masculinity and need to be excessively pandered to by making my avatar Muscledick McFireman, and all the ladeeeez will just be aching to jump into my pants when they see my ridiculously huge arms.
It feels like really sad wish-fulfilment fantasy, to the point that it wrecks the immersion; it's almost getting into AI Girlfriend levels of cringe.
There's more to it and I haven't fully worked out all the edges, but that's a big lump of it.
I mean yes okay I also ferinstance play female dwarves in dragon age because my god Becky, but that's both minor and very situational.
- The women characters are just as cheesy too though. Boobieabs McMakeup
  
  Smol tiddy Gith GF begs to differ :D
- Also cishet dude. I've never even thought about why I very slightly prefer playing as a female avatar, but this feels about right to me.
  That and Samus Aran, probably.
  
  👍
People look at gender while I'm just trying to see what style fits me in playing. Sometimes it's male characters and some times they are female.
- Same dude. People make a big deal of this shit all the time but it literally does not matter to me.
  If the game wants me to create a character I’ll just make a dude like me and spec him out with the stats I want. If there’s preset characters to choose from, I couldn’t care less who they are. If I want to play a necromancer and the only one is an 8ft pink lizard lady that farts rainbows, fuck it, I’m playing an 8ft tall lizard lady necromancer that farts rainbows.
  
  Yeah, but that's an interesting thing to talk about I think.
  My gf always creates characters looking as closely as possible to her. I do the exact opposite. What's funny is that.. she lacks self confidence and I do not. So it's not about that. I suppose it's something else that determines us that way. I have an idea, but I wanted others opinions.
- Yes, generally if it's new to me, I don't have an appreciation of how their individual play styles will match mine, so I'll default to the malez same as me. However, where I'm familiar with the characters and their game style, I'll choose what suits the game in the style I like to play.
  So for instance, street fighter is chin li for life.
MMORPG = many men online role playing girls
If I'm going to play an MMO watching someone's ass run from point A to B for 40 hours a week, it's damn sure gonna be a woman's ass.
- Whether this is the actual reason or simply the most socially acceptable explanation that can be stated is unclear.
I'm a cis guy and I play primarily female characters. I will play male characters, but I find it fascinating to roleplay as a female character. It's something I'll never experience in real life and I find female characters are often more interesting.
IMHO if you're going to pretend/imagine yourself as the character you're playing, I feel you might as well do something that isn't you for the experience. Otherwise, what's the point of putting yourself in a characters shoes if you just make yourself in that world? I already know how I'd be in any situation....because I'm me. Hell, in RPG games I'll even sometimes romance male characters, if thats an option(Playing Femshep in Mass Effect, I will often romance Garrus Vakarian, for example).
Then again, I'll also sometimes explore LGBTQ+ relationships, if they're offered, playing as either male or female characters, even though I'm not interested in that in real life.
Is it a little weird? Probably, but it also helps me understand what it might be like for other types of people and how to better understand and sympathize with their life struggles and experiences. RPG stands for Role Playing Game, after all.
You lost me at "to the point of skipping a game"
It's 1 thing to prefer, it's another to obsess over it.
- I can understand your reaction, but I suppose that as long as I don't bother people and devs with my preferences, it might be ok.
  
  I mean your preferences don't affect others directly but it's definitely a red flag to me as to what kind of person you are. The vibe I get is that you're somewhat of a misandrist. In this case self harming since you're a guy.
  True or not, that's what I get from that statement.
Cishet guy. Most male protagonists are too brutish. They look dumb. Female protagonists seldom have that issue.
- Agreed.
  Strong male lead = dumb brute
  Strong female lead = badass
  Edit: 'dumb' being used liberally here
If I have to stare at a butt all day, I would rather it be a female butt.
I mean, yeah, this is basically the reason for me, without the horny part. I don't experience immersion in third-person games, and I don't have a strong sense of identity, so I might as well have a character bobbing up and down on screen that I enjoy looking at.
Regarding MMOs in particular:
I’ll play male characters when the female model is more sexual than I’m comfortable with, always. The first that comes to mind is WoW where the male models had a lot more ‘character’ to me. If I’m playing an Orc or Worgen I don’t want to look like a green/fury generic female body that has a straight back so you can see the ‘goods’. For EQ I had a mix of Male/Female alts, but did tend towards Male.
I also tend to like the way male armor is modeled over boob-plate.
Single player narrative games will depend on if romance is an option as I’ll tend to play female, otherwise it’ll be a toss-up with consideration to my prior points.
Over the years I’ve found it easier to hide behind a male avatar/username as I’ve gotten some rough interactions over the years and will only join voice if I feel like the people I’m text chatting with are chill. Tried joining a guild recently and got more ‘onlyfans’ jokes than I was comfortable with, and I’m sure someone will say that’s my fault for being irked by it, but that’s why I take these steps.
- So this?
  
  Yep! Perfect visual representation haha
  
  Not the OP, but that's basically how I felt, yeah. For this reason I mostly stopped playing female characters when I was done with puberty
i wouldn't overthink it too much. it seems youre in a category of almost 30% of male respondents, not all preferences say something meaningful about us.
- Maybe. I'm not a native English writer so it may not have sounded like I wanted. I just find this curious, but I'm not in pain because of that.
Male. If I can make a character, I'll make a male character almost every time, especially on a first run. Or if the character is otherwise a placeholder for "me* in the game.
That said, I love when games give us female protagonists that aren't sexualized (think FF6), and I'd love to see more of that.
So, do I prefer to play as a male character? It depends.
I'd like to see some good takes on "female perspective" in games. But if it's basically an aesthetic difference, I'm making a character that matches my gender because it's supposed to be "me" in the game.
Cis-het guy, usually play female characters. One of my first action games as a kid was Tomb Raider and I think that just cemented in my mind that women characters are badass
Lady Dwarf. If there is an option for it, always lady dwarf.
Started with world of Warcraft, I just wanted the least played character type, so Cindie the lady dwarf warrior was born. She lives on in any game where it’s an option.
- I think you just really like Cindie and want to keep her around.
- OP edited!
I am male. If given the option to play female and a female would make the story more interesting I will choose to play a female. What defines "interesting" is arbitrary. Valheim - female named Muscle Wife. Phasmophobia - black male with friends (due to movie tropes) and female solo (because they look janky and ragged as hell). MMOs - depends on the aesthetic. If I am going to be staring at a character for a long time and I am not roleplaying an ugly bastard then I will choose female most of the time since I don't play MMOs to self insert.
When choice isn't an option I do not avoid a game just because of a character's race or gender, but I am starting to get real sick of white male protagonists. They aren't really offering me any new perspectives.
I pretty much exclusively play os female characters (I'm a male). I think it's mostly that male characters in video games are mostly the same.
In a typical core PC/console game, about 60% of the female avatars you meet are played by a male player.
Seems low
This feels like trolling or horseshoe theory in play, you skip games where you can only play male, aka most games? This is very similar to people who skip “woke” games because they can not play as male.
- Well, it depends. I'd skip games I'm mildly interested in, yes. And yes, it means most games. Well strangely enough it may depend on the game, LoL or other MOBAs, for example, I don't mind the gender of my character.
  But yes, I may have in common with those people the tendency to skip some games, but it stops here. The main difference being I'm not going to annoy anyone or cry on steam boards because of my personal preferences.
I usually just play whoever has the best racials or abilities. If i can play as the giant tank guy or girl (think Karlach or Reinhart) i usually play as them.
Really depends on the game/story and if I like the characters. For example playing Fallout 4 as a female protagonist felt out of place, like it was just a mod that someone hacked in. But on the other side Cyberpunk 2077's male character annoyed me enough that I restarted as female V. And then there's games like Skyrim where the only difference I notice is the grunts you make in combat.
I play female because their character model/hitbox is smaller most of the time.
I play female characters because their customization options are much more diverse and they have a lot more styles to choose from. From their hair all the way down to their shoes. Male characters, I find, don't have as much options. Now, don't get me wrong on what I'm about to say, people can wear what they wanna wear and that's cool with me, but if I'm playing a muscle ripped dude with pecs registered as weapons a skirt doesn't really fit him. Plus, if it's a 3rd person game, I'd rather be looking at a female butt than a male butt.
- That last point is why I play female characters in game that have customization. I've played wow for 15 years, that's plenty of hours I would rather spend looking at a female model over a guy's model. I do play guys in games that skills are tied to models like overwatch, junkrat is my Boi. But if it doesn't matter then give me the thick girl model all day long.
Depends if the game refers to the character as "you" or "them". Used to always make female characters since they're nicer to look at, up until games started actually taking that into consideration.
Nothing quite like being called a girl to reassure you that you're not an egg :P
edit: and of course if the game doesn't offer options I don't care.
@needthosepylons I mean I always play khajit in skyrim, doesn't make me a furry.
I like playing things that are not me.
Me playing female characters is the same reason why you will never see me play a human if I can get the option to be literally anything else.
I've always played male characters, just because I identify with them more. Playing female characters gets all those lonely simps thinking your a girl and I don't like attention in games. I have played women in games, and it doesn't bother me though - I do have plenty of female characters just because they fit the 'theme' better sometimes. I don't think it really says anything deep about you. It's just a preference.
I really don't care. I'm fine playing genderless shapes (and if PacMan didn't have "man" in his name nobody would even know he was a he) if the game is fun. Even when finishing the first Metroid back when I was a kid and discovering Samus was a woman didn't really blow my mind like it did for so many others.
The only time I care is when it actually matters in the game. Such as Fallout 2 and being able to skip fighting the Slavers to rescue Vic but only as a woman, or older FPS games where the smaller frame of a female model came with a smaller hitbox, or even Demon's Souls where male and females have different armor sets so my gender changes with my build.
An aspect that I haven't seen mentioned explicitly is that female characters for the longest time were just easier to pick out in a 3rd person view.
They have a different silhouette, often more flamboyant garb (to stick out among the male dominated aesthetic), and sometimes even different animations making them easier to pick out in a group fight.
Also, I have fewer stereotypes of females in medieval or sci-fi settings, which makes it slightly easier for me to explore both the world and different roles in ways I might have missed playing a stereotypical male.
Personally it's because I like the range of outfits better when I create a female character. Like a dude maybe has trousers, jacket and a shirt but a woman has those and a skirt and a blouse and a dress. I like having more options. I'm also not sure if I'm completely cis or not as I'm now starting to question some things.
That title makes it sound so much like they only care about women's character development now because they only just realized some men like to play as women lol. I know that's probably not what they were going for but goddamn
I opt to play as a female character sometimes. A quote from the article perfectly summed it up for me: "If I have to stare at a butt all day, I would rather it be a female butt".
I dunno, I've always made whatever struck me as cool in the moment. No real pattern to it other than wanting the character to look cool on screen while I'm making it. If it turns out later that something in game makes it not look cool, I might not make the same choice on a new character, but it's still about having something neat to run around on the screen with.
Like, playing Neverwinter back a few years ago, I had one of every class, and between three accounts, some duplicates of a class in different races. I spent a ton of time on that game while I was recovering from a chain of health issues lol.
Anyway, the rogue class was always fun to play, but male dragonborn looked goofy as fuck in higher level armor for that class, so my main rogue was a female dragonborn. My paladin was male human because cheese. But when I was setting the character up, I would just flip back and forth until I was happy with what it looked like.
But, that even applied in table top games in a way. I'd pick sex based on the cool factor rather than playing what I am.
I used to always prefer to play male characters and if there was character customization/creation, I would almost always try to create myself in the game.
Now that's all flipped. I load up old Dark Souls saves and see a derpy version of myself and just cringe a little. I typically only create female characters anymore, but they often just look better and have more interesting hair styles, etc.
I play exclusively female characters, and also go for the F/F romance when possible. I think it started with fighting games, because female characters were usually faster, and some shooters actually have smaller hitboxes for female models, so there are are actual advantages. But yeah, I'm mostly with you, to the point where my GF laughs at my characters always looking like me with boobs. We're playing through Elden Ring together now, and I'm playing a (F) dex spellblade and she is making a (M) tank with a bonking stick.
Not only a different gender, but a different race. Fuck playing some asshole that's a jacked version of me. That's boring. I can at least change things up a bit and play a jacked version of someone else who is very different to me.
- Agreed
I'm personally pretty indifferent. If I'm given the option I'll usually choose male but if the characters are gender locked like diablo 2 I just pick what looks fun to play
I’m a cis bi guy. I always play male characters ‘cos it’s kinda like a self insert thing I guess. If the game has romance options I’ll just go with whoever seems the most fitting for the plot haha. Except in WoW I had a few female troll alts because screw those hunchback male troll models..
I started playing more with friends in online games for the past 10 years or so now. Newer games definitely allow more customization so they noticed I always pick the female and wonder why. I just tell them the same thing some have mentioned here, if I am playing this game for a long time I would rather be looking at a female than the man. They just look better. Plus back in the day I absolutely noticed in MMOs that people were way nicer to female characters for some reason.
I'm male. If the game has much of a fashion/customization aspect to it I tend to play female characters, since I guess I'm more interested in how female characters look than male ones. I think a lot of this has to do with whether you view your in-game avatar as an extension of "you" or not - personally, I do not identify much with my avatars regardless of their gender.
I’m male and mainly play female characters if given a choice
Mainly they look really good. And if I have to look at someone’s butt I’d prefer it’s a female
On my case, i'm a male and i always play with the male character unless i got no option.
Hypothetically, if i happen to play for example, Plants VS Zombies Garden Warfare 2, i would always play as the Sunflower, yes, the doctor brainz it's also there but i would prefer being on the plants side (Although things may vary).
An example of a game where i had to forcefully play as a Female Character is Cally Caves 2.
Out of that, i mainly avoid playing with female characters, mostly because i'm a honest person.
I just pick the one that makes sense in the story
I played a female character in WoW because I was an avid PVPer and the neckbeards hated getting killed by a female. Also because I'd rather look at a female posterior while I'm playing than a male's.

81 comments