I’m a pretty lucky guy in some respects. Two of the things I’m thankful for are really two parts of the same thing. I don’t judge people. We’re all different; we’ve had different experiences and we have different values and weightings. I’m also surrounded by friends who broadly follow the same thought 
So firstly, thanks chaps (and chapettes) – you’re all awesome 
That may sound like an oddly gushy intro but it leads me onto a topic that I find myself in discussion over again and again and again. Why do I, a fully-fledged member of the ever shrinking (hehe) sect of heterosexual males, so often play female characters in MMORPGs. Games where your choice in character is potentially very public and a long-lasting investment. Games where voice-communications are becoming more and more a standard feature.
I will typically, often brazenly reply with the oft-touted “I’d rather look at a cute butt” argument. This is not the reason. I’m just lazy and I know most people can’t be bothered to get into an actual intellectual conversation. That’s not a knock, it’s just an observation 
The real answer, for me at least, is that I simply don’t see a difference. I play games, but I don’t see myself as the actual character in MMOs. In very immersive RPGs such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect my first playthrough will almost always be a me-like character. Certainly in his choices, if not his looks But in MMOs I don’t feel that same investment in the character itself. They are merely a vehicle for my fun. They allow me to interact with the game-world and spend time with often very distant (physically) friends.
I do not spend afew hours playing a female character and then suddenly decide to go on the prowl for a cock sammich >.<
The question is usually asked by other guys and without sounding too judgemental, they often come across as somewhat homophobic or at least insecure during the course of the discussion. In my mind, computer games, especially ones as vast and social and socially significant as MMOs are just another form of media. Like movies or music, except that the player potentially has the leading role.
So I put this question to those who think it wrong for guys to play female characters and indeed anyone else who wishes to comment:
- Do you feel any less of a man when playing what amounts to some lines of code, hours of work and some pretty colours?
- Do you have a problem with female singers or female leads in movies?
- Do you have a problem with women playing male characters?
- Is it better or worse for the female avatars to be “hot”?
That last one I ask because though I hear that “I’d rather be staring at a cute ass waggle for hundreds of hours” line alot, I really don’t get it. I’ve never looked at my char in a game and gone “phwoar, ain’t she a looker?!”. Maybe I’m just weird like that
My rather secondary reasons for playing alot of female chars (but not exclusively) are ones of cosmetics and taste. I primarily (almost exclusively these days) name my characters as Tepp-something. Starting with Teppo and Teppan, sometimes Teppot. Then I start running out of masculine sounding names. I’m onto Teppa, Teppi, Tepp (this just seems more feminine to me, but it could go either way), Teppy aaand the list goes on, much, much longer than the list of names for male characters.
The other point is that I’m a fan of Style Over Substance in my customization. I won’t switch to a new piece of gear that is just slightly better if it ruins the whole “look” of my character. Shock, horror! Yes, I am at least within shouting distance of my “feminine side” and have some small degree of style-sense. I have a great appreciation for the female form as a figure of beauty, not just sexuality and often in-game items just seem to look better on those outrageously modelled hourglass figures.
That and male characters in these games mostly just look like steroid-chomping beef-cakes who’ve had their heads made by a depressed sculptor exploring Cubism in the wake of a messy divorce.
Just as abit of background, because I am not a scholar, I do have my bias’ in certain topics. I have long held the belief that our society is very much the wrong way round and should be matriarchal, if for no other reason than genetics. I’m not talking about the power and miracle of birth or the mother-baby bond. Simple numbers. The X chromosome is ALOT bigger than the Y chromosome. It does alot more for us and if there’s something broken on the X chromosome, in women the other X will fill in. In men, we’re buggered. It’s abit of a long and complicated topic but lets just say that aside from rather Neanderthal concerns of physical strength and speed, women beat men hands down in so many important aspects.
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