Why Women Play Male Characters?

Yes – they exist.

No – it’s not a guy playing a girl.

Well wait, it usually is but that’s a bit different.

So hi, my name is Joanne and I’m a woman, sometimes a lady, most definitely have all the girl parts and all the fun that goes with these things.  However, I am a gamer. Yes, I like to play FPS (First Person Shooters), RPG (Role Playing Game), MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) and I love PvP (Player vs. Player) games.

Shocked yet?  Don’t be because we exist and we have the capability of kicking the buttocks of many players of a multitude of games out there.

There is a stereotype that girls only play games if they are “cute” or there is some decorating involved.  This is far from the truth.  Admittedly, there are some that can spend hours crafting or decorating their in game mansions or making sure their character’s outfit looks “just right.”  This stereotype needs to be broken.

Now, one of the problems we as girls face when playing games is that a good chunk of men really like playing girl avatars.  Whether it’s because they want to get in touch with their feminine side, the opportunity to gain “free stuff” or because they prefer to stare at a female avatar’s ass for hours as they game.

On the opposite side of the gender, for the most part females will choose to play a male character so they don’t get hassled so much.

(I should explain that in both men and women, there is a small army that will play the opposite gender in the effort to actually roleplay – a big huzzah and hats off to ye lads and lasses.)

So for the most part guys play girls for the attention and girls play guys so they don’t get attention. Why is that?

Well I can’t speak for the guys as I don’t have the man junk or thinking that goes with it.  I would love to hear opinions though from folks with higher testosterone levels than exist in my body.

As for girls, the first thing that comes to mind is:

1. The internet really is a scary and unsafe place.

Face it, safety is a huge concern for females in their everyday lives.  Don’t walk down that dark street, check the backseat of your car. We hear it on the news all the time with all sorts of abuse from spousal to atrocious crimes of gender.  This is part of our psyche.  Without even knowing it, we have to be ever vigilant of our safety, whether it’s a significant other being jealous that other guys might hit on you in the game you play and beyond.  We have to be careful, there are plenty of predators out there, certainly not all of them being male, but we learn from a young age that we are not safe.  Kinda depressing really when you think about it. But welcome to human reality.

2.  Games are Competitive and Men don’t like being beat up by girls.

Sounds funny doesn’t it?  We’ve gone through so much evolution but many males hate being surpassed by a female (in the gaming world, lets not mention other worlds please).  Girls are very competitive by nature, it’s not something well known.  Hell, girls will compete with themselves if they think they will win.  It isn’t about ego, it’s about winning and being the best.  When I play a PvP game, I want to compete and beat the crap out of my enemies but for some reason girls not only have to compete on a skill base but also the emotional base.  It’s rare (but it does happen) that a guy can admit defeat honestly by the opposite sex.  Usually, they will find all sorts of excuses as to why the girl beat them at their own game.  I’ve heard so many; I was afk, My wife distracted me, I was looking at the TV, Oh I wasn’t ready yet, you cheated, etc.  Dealing with it on a one on one basis isn’t that bad.  But when the guy’s ego gets crushed by defeat and then is with other males that is when it can get downright nasty.

3.  Girls just want to stare at the male avatar butts for hours.

Nope – never heard this one.  Not sure why, my assumption is that there are enough male avatars around for the eye candy factor or maybe the artists are so focused on making a girl’s silhouette damn hot that they forgot that a guy can look better than a square lump with a sword.

4.  Not on the market for a relationship.

This is an oldie but a goodie.  Back when the internet was fresh and new with slow bandwidth speeds, we didn’t have much use for voice chat.  Nowadays it’s a staple of playing and communication in games. Who wants to type when they can chat away with their cat meowing or their mother screaming at them in the background?  As soon as a voice of a female comes on the chat system (well in a new situation) there is always some kind of audible silence – a pause so to speak.  I always imagined the thoughts going through their heads, “Wow she really is a girl?” and then, “I wonder if she’s hawt.”

Just because they are a girl playing games does not mean they are looking for a relationship.  (On the opposite end, just because you are a guy playing games doesn’t mean you are hard up and looking to pounce either, I just wanted to be clear.)

5. Girls have been known to wreck happy groups of people.

Just like fishermen think it’s bad luck to have a female on their ship, girls have been known to get the worst of a guild or clan.  This is a sad fact, that some girls are out to destroy relationships or create them.  Many guilds/clans won’t even admit a girl because of the drama of past times.  So playing a male character puts them in a safe zone plus competition.  Although note that you better get a voice modulator because it won’t be long before you’ll be forced to chat with your new clan!

Whew, it’s tough being a girl that plays games.  I like to win, I love to compete and everything in between.  I personally do not play male characters because I do not have that connection with them as I do with the females.  Well, I’ve only done that with paper RPGs, where I have to be in the same room with everyone so it’s pretty obvious I’m not a guy.

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3 Responses to Why Women Play Male Characters?

  1. Tyn says:

    Hey!

    Just saw your link and thought i would give it a read. I usually end up playing female avatars in MMO’s and even in some RPG’s. I don’t know why I do it, maybe a throw back to the years where female avatars where always much easier to make better looking and different to each other than male ones?

    It sure isn’t to look at the booteh (If you catch my drift)

    I play in a large LGBT guild on Rift, and its one of those things that has been brought up many times, why Men play as females and woman play as males. (One of the guilds best tanks is a female who plays a male cleric.)

    I think over the many, many, MANY conversations about it, I have come to a conclusion that suits me perfectly.

    “Who cares?” Aslong as you play your character well (and the way YOU want to play it) why should it matter what junk its hiding in its trunk?

    And as for Girls in PVP. I openly admit i get soundly beaten to a pulp by a female gamer friend whenever I try to mouth off about my PVP skills. She likes to keep my ego in check. ( i will beat her one day, and that is all that will ever matter from that point forward, mind you..)

  2. Drazarus says:

    It’s interesting to see the other side, since you hear alot about guys playing girls but not so much girls playing guys.
    I myself am a guy and sometimes play as female characters, not cause of the standard ass staring reason, but because I think some classes fit certain genders better. Because let’s face it, the male toon which usually looks like one giant muscle looks alot more suited to smash your face in with a hammer than the slim woman, but that may just be my opinion.

  3. Smashedkeys says:

    Thanks Drazarus! It’s always good to see something from all sides – I guess it’s not all about the ass staring side either! :)

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