I have no problem with it. It's a video game, and you're roleplaying, or more specifically, acting.
Female cartoon characters are voiced by males, just as some male characters are voiced by females. It's the same principle here, the player's gender doesn't matter in regards to his/her characters gender.
IT'S TERRIBLE!
^_^
It's just as bad as when a male author (like, say, Frank Herbert) writes dialogue for a female character (like, say, the Rev. Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam). It makes me fairly sure Herbert was confused about his own sexuality.
Choosing a Controller V2 | Splattrollers | Plant/Rad | Fire/Storm | Mind/Emp & Mind/Rad
Weird Controller Powers | Conf & XP/Time | Controller Damage
Being a Healer | The word Necessary | Natural Concept Characters
Really to confusing for my tasts. Its like do I say he or she. I just don't know. And then you say the wrong thing and they are all like "Hey, I'm not a chick." And then I have to sheepishly say "sorry, but from my point of view you look like a woman." And then they say "Well I am a guy, and if I knew where you lived I would beat you up for calling me a girl." And then I end up sleeping with one eye open for three days before deciding that the shemale didn't know where I lived.
All in all it is safer to keep your gender.
Anyone who makes any assumptions about someone's real-world life (be it gender, age, sexuality, etc.) based on his or her in-game avatar is just asking for trouble. On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog...but nobody knows you're not a dog, either.
[ QUOTE ]
Really to confusing for my tasts. Its like do I say he or she. I just don't know. And then you say the wrong thing and they are all like "Hey, I'm not a chick." And then I have to sheepishly say "sorry, but from my point of view you look like a woman." And then they say "Well I am a guy, and if I knew where you lived I would beat you up for calling me a girl." And then I end up sleeping with one eye open for three days before deciding that the shemale didn't know where I lived.
All in all it is safer to keep your gender.
[/ QUOTE ]
OMG that happened to me...
That was scarey as crap
I was 100% sure it was a girl, and then they suddenly screamed at me when I refered to them as a her...
Soooo... disTURBING
The only time it bothers me is if we're on teamspeak. It's confusing sometimes to connect a male voice to a female avatar or vice versa. That and the pronoun issue.
It disturbs me when folks who aren't superheroes play superheroes in this game.
I mean, honestly, who are ya'll kidding?
-np
I see myself as witty, urbane, highly talented, hugely successful with a keen sense of style. Plus of course my own special brand of modesty.
Virtue: Automatic Lenin | The Pink Guy | Superpowered | Guardia | Guardia Prime | Ultrapowered
I finally went for it a week or two ago and created a female character. So far, nothing bad has happened, and as Scott Kurtz once said, it's a bit more fun watching a girl in spandex from behind than a guy in spandex.
I was also in a task force that happened to be me (as a male hero) and four females, and I cracked a joke that I was a lucky man, and then cracked another joke about how I might not be lucky and it's "really" an all-guy team. One of them protested that she was indeed a female playing a female, the rest just giggled.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Really to confusing for my tasts. Its like do I say he or she. I just don't know. And then you say the wrong thing and they are all like "Hey, I'm not a chick." And then I have to sheepishly say "sorry, but from my point of view you look like a woman." And then they say "Well I am a guy, and if I knew where you lived I would beat you up for calling me a girl." And then I end up sleeping with one eye open for three days before deciding that the shemale didn't know where I lived.
All in all it is safer to keep your gender.
[/ QUOTE ]
OMG that happened to me...
That was scarey as crap
I was 100% sure it was a girl, and then they suddenly screamed at me when I refered to them as a her...
Soooo... disTURBING
[/ QUOTE ]
It's the people who jump on you like that that shouldn't gender bend heh. They give people like me a bad name.
I got used to being called she when I had long hair 
.. err.. Okay, well, anyways, if I'm playing a female character, I'm used to beiong refered to as 'she' OOCly. And most people who know me(and know I'm a guy) will still actually refer to the OOC me as a she if I'm playing a female chatacter, out of respect for the fact that some people don't want it published. It doesn't bother me 'course.
If I ever feel someone I'm dealing with needs to know my real gender, I will state it. Usually this happens if an IC relationship starts to form, or if someone starts to OOCly hit on me... That does irk me. But that's not about being hit on by a guy, that's about someone hitting on me over a video game, regaurdless of their gender.
[ QUOTE ]
It's the people who jump on you like that that shouldn't gender bend heh. They give people like me a bad name.
I got used to being called she when I had long hair .. err.. Okay, well, anyways, if I'm playing a female character, I'm used to beiong refered to as 'she' OOCly. And most people who know me(and know I'm a guy) will still actually refer to the OOC me as a she if I'm playing a female chatacter, out of respect for the fact that some people don't want it published. It doesn't bother me 'course.
If I ever feel someone I'm dealing with needs to know my real gender, I will state it. Usually this happens if an IC relationship starts to form, or if someone starts to OOCly hit on me... That does irk me. But that's not about being hit on by a guy, that's about someone hitting on me over a video game, regaurdless of their gender.
[/ QUOTE ]
I state straight out in my bio that I'm a male (RPer, but that's another story). Had several /tells that I don't have to mention my RL gender, but I do believe in giving fair warning. Especially since it appears as though playing a female character will result in Special Treatment, whether I want it or not.
But anyway. Female avatars do appeal to me a lot more than male ones, but that could be because I'm a rabid anime fan.
Current main:
Schrodinger's Gun, Dual Pistols/Mental Blaster, Virtue
Avatar: Becky Miyamoto from Pani Poni Dash. Roulette roulette~
i gender bend quite a lot becuose im some wwhat ananlitical
for example Neko-Man is well a guy and hes uses mental powers to seduce women, no brainer thats a guy.
The "agent" from beta being a brought to life AI Matrix like agent could e any gender andi had a few varients. each with different powers they just all shared the same mind
Kickflip's concept was a gargantuan matrial artists as their only one gargantual form...
Neko's Law was in the long roun goign to be come a mother havgign to balance being a hero with a family so she was a girl... Ice Blue Ranger and Pink Neo ranger were bassed on power ranger concepts so their genders were bassed on their templates.
AE # 67087: Journey through the Looking Glass - Save the World
LLX VirtueVerse! - Check out my crazy Toons
This is the size of group that we have balanced AVs for, 6.
-Positron 06/07/06 07:27 PM
Everyone with the talking about watching girls running in spandex from behind. You don't have to think about the butt when you're looking at how cool your whole escaped Freakshow recruit hero looks in an outfit Dreck only wishes he had. That said, my "main alt" is female, I expect people to refer to me as "she" even in response to OOC chat, and I think I do a pretty good job roleplaying the character. I avoid sexuality and it never comes up, and that's usually the most difficult part to roleplay. I never any problems with any of these things, so everyone complaining must be doing something wrong. 
I originally was against having a female character, but once I came up with an idea and backstory for one I decided to get over the macho attitude and just do it. I don't get angry when someone thinks I'm female because that character is a female. I once teamed with a female character as both a male and female throughout the day and was completely sure it was an actual female. Then he mentioned that his wife was home and she would kill him if he didn't take out the trash.
I'm a woman and play a female toon. I can't tell you the number of times I've been referred to as "he" under the assumption that women don't play games.
*Ahem* Yes we do. And not just because our husband/boyfriend plays them. I was playing D&D long before I met my husband.
Not a rant, just an observation. Don't assume the female toon is some guy genderbending. Personally, I don't care. If I came up with a good idea/background for a male hero, I would play him. I refer to female toons as "she" and male toons as "he"... if the genderbenders can't handle it, well, they don't want to team with me anyway. I'd rather spend my brain cells on things like team tactics than remembering Mz Thang is a sex-starved punk kid with self image issues.
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/517513781597443/
Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
[ QUOTE ]
I'm a woman and play a female toon. I can't tell you the number of times I've been referred to as "he" under the assumption that women don't play games.
*Ahem* Yes we do. And not just because our husband/boyfriend plays them. I was playing D&D long before I met my husband.
[/ QUOTE ]
It lies! It's a guy, everyone knows women don't play these games, women are too mature!
*dodges tomatoes*
Sorry, I'm bored and wierd. carry on
[ QUOTE ]
It lies! It's a guy, everyone knows women don't play these games, women are too mature!
[/ QUOTE ]
Too mature? Is that a slam at my advanced age!
**hurls rotten tomatoes**
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/517513781597443/
Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
The Wonderboy has about 3 female charicters on his account. Originally, I made them for my wife, in an attempt to get her into the game more. (The more she likes it, the more I can play it) But as it turns out, I ended up playing them more than she did. She would rather play with one of my higher level heroes because, "He's stronger! He won't get beat up as much!" Sigh, oh well. But the thing is, I've been having just as much fun playing with the females as I have the males. Go figure huh?
Oddly enough, all the characters I actually play are female, even though I'm a guy. I don't make any secret of it outside the game, but inside the game I'd rather not deal with it. So I'm always careful to keep separation between character and player; when I-the-player have to do something, the character always says "My player has to..." And I'm always careful not to use gender pronouns.
The problem comes when I'm inviting characters from players I know are male, but forget the characters are female. I invariably refer to them as "he" and get the players mad at me. :P
Who cares what your real gender is if you are a role player? Just remember you may need to deal with sexist statements and jerks just like real women do and react to that in character too. No OOC freaking out when the inevitable happens is my only guideline.
What bothers me more than genderbenders is people with such outlandishly stupid and improbable origins that I am expected to take seriously in character - some of the things 13 year old boys come up with and think are cool just make me want to laugh out loud. That is way more irksome than some guy pretending to be a women in a imaginary digital environment, especially some guy I will NEVER meet pretending to be a woman. More power to ya freaky - have fun - it doesn't hurt me a bit.
Although I prefer to play male characters, I have tried playing a few female characters. I noticed I received quite a few donations as a female. Perhaps it was my scantly clad outfit 
[ QUOTE ]
Although I prefer to play male characters, I have tried playing a few female characters. I noticed I received quite a few donations as a female. Perhaps it was my scantly clad outfit
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, it's a proven fact, in MMOs females get more gifts than males.
[ QUOTE ]
Who cares what your real gender is if you are a role player? Just remember you may need to deal with sexist statements and jerks just like real women do and react to that in character too. No OOC freaking out when the inevitable happens is my only guideline.
What bothers me more than genderbenders is people with such outlandishly stupid and improbable origins that I am expected to take seriously in character - some of the things 13 year old boys come up with and think are cool just make me want to laugh out loud. That is way more irksome than some guy pretending to be a women in a imaginary digital environment, especially some guy I will NEVER meet pretending to be a woman. More power to ya freaky - have fun - it doesn't hurt me a bit.
[/ QUOTE ]
I couldn't have said it better. My wife and I both play COH, we both play male and female toons, and we could care less if others wish to play either as well.
Seriously, if u feel up to the challenge of playing a toon of the opposite gender, do so. Just wondering what i should call it when i play a robot... technobending?
The only peopple I have problems with are the people who have problems with what I want to play. Seriously, folks, this is a game. The only thing i look for is originality. You can be a mutated cyborg drag queen from a parallel dimesion's alternate future's past seeking to free your half-cousins from a techno-organic-jellymold for all i care. Just do it with STYLE!
eh thought this would be a better place to post this. *shrug*
--------------
Well can you really blame people? At their very base humans are a visual animal, we hunt, live, and experience by sight more then anything else; we become reliant on visual information more then deduction. Thus if you play a female character, we automatically say "female" and if you play a male character we automatically say "Male".
The numerous problems include,
1: The Created character vs. the Given character. Most people feel funny actually choosing to make a female, and this make those who simply go with what they have always known uncomfortable, because they ask Why are you doing something different? Are you a sicko? This in itself is not something people should worry about, people always go outside of normal conformity when they can. Its our nature
well, at least some of us do. Example. People felt really wired playing with a guy who made a female elf in Everquest, yet perfectly fine with guys who played Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. Its juts an odd Choice vs. No Choice thing.
2: Insecurities with sexuality. This is the whole hitting on people from the internet thing, but there are two variations. One, the people who are hitting on you do so because they are sexual attracted to your avatar being the opposite sex from them (at a basic level) and they connect Her with the person chatting from Her. They dont look at the chat context merely the fact a sexy figure is talking and therefore must be a sexy figure making the talking. When this fantasy is decimated by playing a man on the other end when there is not suppose to be any sexy figure label (for the general male audience anyways) they feel ashamed for being attracted to a man, when in truth they are only attracted to a mans creation. Like being, attracted to woman in a comic drawn by a man. This in itself is a mistake in the fact they still do not dissociate the Character model from the chat.
The second instance of these Insecurities is the opposite of the above; the person is attracted to the text portion of the character. They say without the first impressions, and with the anonymity of the internet a persons true self is able to shine through when they be themselves. In this case of point, a person looks past the character before them to hear what the person is saying. They can find them kind, understanding, and funny, and suddenly they feel they have found someone special. The hitting on but not in a sexual way begins and then is suddenly destroyed by the realization it was a man.. This does not bring up thoughts of oh man Im sexual attracted to a man but thoughts of I trusted you and you lied to me. the problem in this fact, is that no previous trust was implied. That is, the person did not say they where male or female, it was all an assumption by the other person. The person is left feeling betrayed and hurt due to their own folly, as opposite to feeling dirty and wrong by their own folly as above.
***note: I am not neglecting the fact that the gender axe goes both ways, a woman can be attracted to a male model and find out its a woman etc.. but for general purposes and trying to keep this post as short as possible (good luck spotty) I have chosen to go with the most general and stereotypical scenario. So no im not ignoring you, you are recognized.
3: Stealing the Tank. That is to say abusing power given to you. These are the people who make a female character relying on the chivalry (or most often sexual weakness in most cases) of men to gain items, influence and favor. They abuse the power of a woman and thus give the rest of those who simply wish to play a bad name. Adding more speculation to the why play your opposite gender. Also in these ranks, are the people who make a female character just to be naughty. Yes youve seen them, female characters with no self respect for themselves. They have bios that talk about how many men they slept with and how ditzy they are, and how they just cant get enough that male :::radio edit chicken::. These are the people who disgust the portion of women who actually play as women, (and men) , who have actual respect for their character and for women in general. This goes back to the whole women as Sexual object argument, which I doubt I need to reiterate. Because if you are a woman, you will know what Im talking about and if you are a man, you WILL know what Im talking about. (Yoda squeaks out You will be, you will be
.) This is a problem in fact that, you simply can not go through life without a respect for both genders. It is impossible, unless you wish to die a death alone afraid or in a hail of gunfire.(insert posts claiming to want to do just that now)
4. Lastly you have those who dont care what gender they are, they simply have to pick a body type. These people are caught in the middle of all sides because they are indifferent to sex. They came for fun, (to role-play most likely), to be something they can never be I real life. A Super Hero. Yes, you can put a towel on all you like, and jump from stairs or set yourself on fire screaming flame on! but to do it without personal harm, you need an outlet where the world is created for you. Thus, this game was made in the first place. These people look at all the other people and say Whats your problem? Look I can fly! and generally are happy as pie they can do so and simply do not care if you think they are male or female. This in itself is okay, but, when you mix every single one of these problems together you get people on all sides looking at the other going. You
You.. you jerk you! whatever you are!.
Solutions?
Its not my place to correct everyones problem, how would that help you learn? I cant erase hate, or prejudice, or stupidity. I can only point in a suggested direction. Respect or Ask. If you respect the people you play with for having your same interest and just plain being another person who is alive, then you will have no problems. You both will realize mistakes will happen, let it go, and have fun. If you cant do this then ask. You will however get many varied answer and some you may not like. People will tell you if they chose, or they may leave you in the dark. Either way you will miss out if you chose to be bias.
There is nothing more I can suggest really, except bring up two little things. You know those people who say If Im going to stare at a butt for hour might as well be a cute. Etc etc.. Every time I hear that I imagine people who play souly staring at their characters butt. One would think they dont look at their keyboard or even at what they are doing because they can not tear their eyes away from their characters butt. Sorry it just strikes me as funny, no insult intended. Or was there? Dun dun dun!
Second age. Yes young people play this game, and therefore are not particularly interested in ANY of the above. They simply want to Bang Pow Kaboom! Be watchful for them, because they are innocent in the most. They dont know about sex yet, they just picked their character cuz they looked cool. They cant play very well, so remember it may someone who just cant rather then someone playing bad on purpose. You are not alone out there, any of you. The people worrying about adult problems, there are children present. So next time you happen upon one, remember, youre an adult, this is a video game. Have fun. Or leave them alone. Please?
Thats all for me
.. why the hell did I write all of this? Im waaaaay off topic. Oh well, thats a cat for you, we never really consider the consequences and are easily distrac- ooo hey a Im hungry. What am I doing here? I need some food! Yummy!
-----------------
1: What about you chees which one are you.
2: Male, Female
Im the one with the claws.
1: oh I get it, another Evil dead reference, ah ha ha. Yeah.
2:
*cah-sling*
1: Whoa hey what are doing?!, AUUGGGHHH! SAVE ME BABY STATESMAN!
I play both male and female characters. I myself am male (last time I checked). I like to consider myself a casual RPer when playing MMORPGs. When I play a female character I don't get angry if people treat me like a female. Playing a female character, many people treat me like a male due to the stereotype that only males play MMORPGs. I don't blurt out my true gender, but I will tell if asked. Some of my RL friends who play will refer to me as male regardless of my character's gender. It doesn't bother me.
Issue 23: All your base are belong to us?
Okay, so it came up recently in a discussion with someone, and I'm just going to ask the community here:
What are your feelings of individuals gender bending (for those who do not know the term: playing a member of the opposite sex)?