2. Playing Females Adds to the Roleplaying Experience (25%)
Sixteen subjects, or 25% of the respondents, reported that playing female characters in roleplaying games adds variety, depth, and balance to the game. Some spoke of playing as female out of sheer necessity: "in your typical RPG world you’re off in a world of men, men, men, men, men, men, men, men..;-) Since female gamers are few and far between, someone’s got to cross the line" (Dennis F. Heffernan). Similarly, [CYA] woLf stated that sometimes the particular race or class of character that you wish to play is only available in female form, the classic example being Amazons. He writes, "I like to play all the characters/skins available in these games." Other respondents spoke of enjoying the challenge and variety that playing female characters affords, as opposed to always playing the hulking male warrior type. Bruce writes, "Just because I’m male doesn’t mean that I always want to play a male. Variety is good. The ‘F’ in [fantasy roleplay] does stand for fantasy, after all; the whole point is to temporarily be something that I’m not….I enjoy exploring the possibilities."
A subset of the category above, twelve respondents, or 19%, reported that roleplaying females in RPGs gives them a chance to explore gender issues, and their ideas about masculinity and femininity. This makes for a much richer role-playing experience for these players. Bren explains, "role-playing games give one a rare opportunity to act in an arena where physical appearance doesn’t matter…. playing a female can definitely be an experiment….If… you don’t try playing someone of the opposite gender, you are losing out on an excellent opportunity. You can learn about the opposite gender, and yourself, and about how we perceive our roles in society." Similarly, Bruce writes, "I can’t define masculinity or femininity very effectively; by playing at being female, at some level I’m trying to clarify the concepts.
Two respondents mentioned that they feel more comfortable playing a traditionally feminine role in games, because those roles fit their personality better. For example, one man shared that "the main reason I play female characters in roleplaying games is because I find the attitudes I roleplay while ‘in’ the character are more in line with my real attitudes….I have learned that I am much more a feminine human than a male human….the more passive and caring attitudes that I have are more in line with what people expect from a female than a male."
Fifteen subjects, or 23%, reported that they play female characters because they are "more aesthetically pleasing" than male characters (Parakeet). Responses in this category typically had overt sexual overtones. For example, Deej commented, "I probably choose female characters on the basis that they have breasts and are a lot nicer to look at. I mean, have you *seen* Dead or Alive 2? They bounce and everything!" Jasper feels that "it’s sexy to see a female killing monsters, swinging swords, etc." Respondents commented that if they have to see a character running round a game for hours on end, they prefer to be looking at a sexy female rather than a hairy male.
Similarly, 9 respondents, or 14% of subjects, reported that the female characters just look cooler, are modeled better, or have more options for customizing their appearance (in RPGs). This reason for playing females has to do with their appearance, but is not as related to their sexual attractiveness. DavPilky writes, "female characters often just seem cooler to me. They’re more stylized and unique, on consoles at least." Bier Hunter states that "artists seem to put more effort into the female’s artwork then they do the male artwork. Many times, the female characters look much better. I’m not talking about being sexier either."
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