Playing females as EZ Mode

[Morrolan]

Hey there, I couldn't help but admire your gender neutral genital guard.

Is that a piece of armor, or a job description?

[James de Monet]

Hey there, I couldn't help but admire your gender neutral genital guard.

Is that a piece of armor, or a job description?

Pretty sure they have that job. It's called a eunuch.

[PriestlySiren]

because the only way to play a nonstereotypical female is to play a sterotypical male.

Not precisely what I said. I said I was trying something new for me, and it was coming across like that - I haven't figured out how to fix it yet.

[Zoan]

I've never played a female who's been pandered to for her gender. For her personality, perhaps, but never her gender.

I've played tons of males who are categorized regarding their gender, though. Isn't that unusual?

[Is Friday]

I've played men and women in different tiers of society. (Like 95% women, though....) Generally, playing women is more frustrating on a number of levels because of the way they are interacted with is contradictory of docs. Men are treated autonomously and in accordance with documentation regarding culture/race/prejudices. Women don't follow the same rules, so often you have to fit within someone's "mold" as a female PC or be labeled a "bitch" or some manner of that. You usually have to fall within certain "good categories" and hopefully not be along the lines of someone's RL prejudices, as well.

Some of my common experiences:
1.) Female PCs passive aggressive fight you at first sign you don't want to be their best longest lived one true friend. This first sign can be simple indifference or anything less than gushy enthusiasm for everything other female PC is saying.
2.) You're expected to be flattered by men.
3.) You should never achieve a position of power or exert your power like a man would, otherwise... nerd rage ensues.




With that being said, that's just my anecdotal evidence. I think Armageddon does it 50x's better than any other MUD. But playing a female is more difficult sometimes, yes, in my opinion.

[wildhalfling]

I played one female PC in my 10+ years. I had more interaction on that character in a few days with barely any effort than on male characters in the same amount of time. It seems male characters need to "prove" themselves to others before getting invited along while my one female character was basically wayed all the time by people I didn't even remember running into. Actually I didn't, they overheard my characters name and wayed me later. I was awed.

[Riya OniSenshi]

I've played men and women in different tiers of society. (Like 95% women, though....) Generally, playing women is more frustrating on a number of levels because of the way they are interacted with is contradictory of docs. Men are treated autonomously and in accordance with documentation regarding culture/race/prejudices. Women don't follow the same rules, so often you have to fit within someone's "mold" as a female PC or be labeled a "bitch" or some manner of that. You usually have to fall within certain "good categories" and hopefully not be along the lines of someone's RL prejudices, as well.

Some of my common experiences:
1.) Female PCs passive aggressive fight you at first sign you don't want to be their best longest lived one true friend. This first sign can be simple indifference or anything less than gushy enthusiasm for everything other female PC is saying.
2.) You're expected to be flattered by men.
3.) You should never achieve a position of power or exert your power like a man would, otherwise... nerd rage ensues.




With that being said, that's just my anecdotal evidence. I think Armageddon does it 50x's better than any other MUD. But playing a female is more difficult sometimes, yes, in my opinion.

This is true. Confirming anecdote.

[Morrolan]

When I think of strong female leaders in fiction, I often think of Princess Kushana from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. She's beautiful, ruthless, and not at all "girly." She's a woman with a purpose. That she's a villain is only a matter of perspective.

[DustMight]

My very first character on a mud (LPMUD Realms) was a chick.  And it totally was easy mode.  So easy!  People would group up with me just so we could chat while they went out and earned XP for my character (because you would share with the whole group when you killed something). 

I still play females (about 50% of the time) but while there are those moments (when mr. nice guy falls for ill looking female alley-rat) most of the time it is not like that and it is about the same experience female or male.  Different but similar - maybe that's what I mean.

[Harmless]

Hayao Miyazaki is a true feminist. Almost all of his female characters, even the young girls (who, due to their age, lack independence, but not because of gender), are great examples of female characters that would generally fit Arma's docs.

[evil_erdlu]

Now checking it, that I have played females for about 50% for my characters.. I haven't seen the easy mode. There may be other reasons. Maybe it's because I play only 'rinthi assassins, tuluki merchants and gemmers. God these three classes are all easy modes. Maybe it's because I mostly FTB when there's a sexual encounter. Still, guess what, and be creeped out, I FTP less when I play a female because I feel I can emote just like the male wants to see... hehehe! Now go bleach your brain. That tuluki merchant? It was me! That rather pale human female seemingly earning only by her subguild? That was me too!

I feel the trend in other characters sometimes. My honest observation. There are still _so_ many female characters I met that need to be loved and protected and supported and fragile and moody and... My characters, even young ones, IC, actually think "Oh Muk/Tek/Ruk! Another sob story and another attention whore. I hope this time I can stay awake."

But guess what? I do have strong reasons to believe at least half of these are played by males. Players with pee pees. They're trying to imagine what being a woman is like, OOC conceptions kick in and here you go, another damsel in distress!

My two 'sids.. *avoids the rain of petoch*

[DustMight]

There are still _so_ many female characters I met that need to be loved and protected and supported and fragile and moody and... My characters, even young ones, IC, actually think "Oh Muk/Tek/Ruk! Another sob story and another attention whore. I hope this time I can stay awake."

But guess what? I do have strong reasons to believe at least half of these are played by males. Players with pee pees. They're trying to imagine what being a woman is like, OOC conceptions kick in and here you go, another damsel in distress!

There is nothing wrong with playing a character (male or female) who is is this way - Sob stories, drama, feeling sorry for one's self - these are all part of the human experience.  To think that all Arma characters are made of rock and all must be stalwart in the face of distress is boring.

Variety is the spice of life.  Having both hard-asses and fluffies makes the world go 'round.  If, indeed, this world does go 'round something.

[evil_erdlu]

There is nothing wrong with playing a character (male or female) who is is this way - Sob stories, drama, feeling sorry for one's self - these are all part of the human experience.  To think that all Arma characters are made of rock and all must be stalwart in the face of distress is boring.

Variety is the spice of life.  Having both hard-asses and fluffies makes the world go 'round.  If, indeed, this world does go 'round something.

A little bit of drama? Who doesn't?! A depressive bit of drama? S**t happens! A mental-disorder-grade drama? Nope. I refuse. It can't happen. In a world like Zalanthas that character wouldn't be able to come to the age of 20. I'm speaking about needy sobbing drama queens. Sometimes you see none of them, some time, even during off-peak, three of them. When I see three of them, I leave the tavern. Go and quit. Don't play for a few days or change the tavern my character is hanging out. I'm serious.

It breaks my immersion. It makes me look at the screen and say "She cuts the words of a NOBLE to tell her sob story 21st time! How the fuck this annoyance stayed alive?!". That's what I can say.

[Fujikoma]

A mental-disorder-grade drama? Nope. I refuse. It can't happen. In a world like Zalanthas that character wouldn't be able to come to the age of 20.

Has it occurred to you that some of us might have mental disorders?

Or that maybe that assumption might be entirely false?

Or that some of the more serious mental problems really kick in later in life, mid-twenties, thirties, and may evade detection until then, even with modern medicine?

[Fredd]

A mental-disorder-grade drama? Nope. I refuse. It can't happen. In a world like Zalanthas that character wouldn't be able to come to the age of 20.

Has it occurred to you that some of us might have mental disorders?

Or that maybe that assumption might be entirely false?

Or that some of the more serious mental problems really kick in later in life, mid-twenties, thirties, and may evade detection until then, even with modern medicine?

Also like 80% of breeds live over 20. So...that does kinda stick it to your thought.

[Jingo]

[Riev]

A mental-disorder-grade drama? Nope. I refuse. It can't happen. In a world like Zalanthas that character wouldn't be able to come to the age of 20.

Has it occurred to you that some of us might have mental disorders?

Or that maybe that assumption might be entirely false?

Or that some of the more serious mental problems really kick in later in life, mid-twenties, thirties, and may evade detection until then, even with modern medicine?

No. We are not going to start the discussion on "Well maybe these PCs are being played as people whose severe mental instabilities only manifested at the point in life where a Player took over their personality."

No.

[Fujikoma]

Although, I must admit, cutting off a noble to tell a sad tale is bad form, and would not be conducive to survival... That's more an example of stupid than crazy. Tired of seeing the two treated as the same thing.

[Case]

Spin off a new thread for this shit please.

[Harmless]

oH gdb.

[burble]

The most ruthless, coldhearted killers I've seen in the game were female.
Some of the most dedicated, goal oriented pcs I've seen in the game were female.
Murder, corruption, and betrayal done right. 

Did they have it easy in their rise to the top? I don't know.
In the end, they were all pk deaths (no npc deaths, well maybe one stored).
Very good stories if you were lucky enough to know them (I have 5 pcs in mind). As good as the book I just finished reading. 

Either I'm lucky or oblivious, not sure which, but I've never seen blatant knights in shining armor or damsels in distress.

[Cutthroat]

I think there have been many successful female PCs over the years, some more well-known than others. I didn't play them, but I didn't see anything that would suggest they had an easier or harder time than male counterparts.

I think most of the playerbase plays the gender equality angle correctly most of the time. I don't think this thread blows the problem out of proportion, but I do think this is a problem mostly relegated to newer players that haven't fully grasped the documentation yet. I think older players know better, and any visible sexism in their play is always potentially the result of a misconception. Players like to speculate on what other players are doing wrong, but it's usually never possible to know the whole story unless you're a staff member, and I imagine even then it is difficult.

I think the only solution is to examine how we play our PCs and improve whatever doesn't quite fit into the world. If you catch yourself making decisions for the reason "because he is a male" or "because she is a female", stop and think of a better, more character-related reason (e.g. "because she has green hair and that is my PC's fetish", "because she is good at fighting", etc) and if you can't come up with anything, don't make the decision at all.

[Iiyola]

I'm... I'm sorry but... each time I hear of a guy playing a chick, it reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwC7ph9FD54

I can't help it!

[gfair]

Could it be that this issue comes up because the declaration of gender equality doesn't address the issue of libido? This seems to be the white elephant.  While there is role equality and respect in game, the genders are not pursued romantically on an equal footing.

It seems, rather, that in the matter of flirting and romance we default to our RL norms because no Zalanathan libido has been established.  Once the libido is equalized, men and women would be pursued and treated in equal measure. The problem is that the male libido is so aggressive it will be a challenge to get players to respect that equal ground and not break from it.

[MeTekillot]

It's about fucking, basically. The secret is doin it.