• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 01:09
CEST 07:09
KST 14:09
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun12[ASL21] Ro8 Preview Pt1: Inheritors16[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt2: All Star10Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists22[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Fresh Flow9
Community News
RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event4Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO12 Results02026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers25Maestros of the Game 2 announced92026 GSL Tour plans announced15
StarCraft 2
General
Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO12 Results Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool MaNa leaves Team Liquid
Tourneys
RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) SC2 INu's Battles#15 <BO.9 2Matches> WardiTV Spring Cup SEL Masters #6 - Solar vs Classic (SC: Evo)
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 523 Firewall Mutation # 522 Flip My Base Mutation # 521 Memorable Boss
Brood War
General
Pros React To: Leta vs Tulbo (ASL S21, Ro.8) [BSL22] RO16 Group A - Sunday 21:00 CEST [BSL22] RO16 Group B - Saturday 21:00 CEST RepMastered™: replay sharing and analyzer site BW General Discussion
Tourneys
[BSL22] RO16 Group Stage - 02 - 10 May Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Ro8 Day 2
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Any training maps people recommend?
Other Games
General Games
Daigo vs Menard Best of 10 Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Dawn of War IV Diablo IV
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread 3D technology/software discussion Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
streaming software Strange computer issues (software) [G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Sexual Health Of Gamers
TrAiDoS
lurker extra damage testi…
StaticNine
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1909 users

Gender Crossplay: Why men play as women in games? - Page 2

Blogs > holdthephone
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 All
DoSu
Profile Joined May 2011
Spain54 Posts
March 02 2013 02:58 GMT
#21
In the game "Gunz The Duel" 99% of players picked female, me included. Mostly because of the movement animations for K-Styling.

Any1 who has played it will know what Im talking about.
Nothing
holdthephone
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States523 Posts
March 02 2013 03:01 GMT
#22
God is that game still alive? I played that like a decade ago.
Erik.TheRed
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States1655 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-02 03:39:53
March 02 2013 03:38 GMT
#23
Reminds me of a classic 1996 WIRED magazine article "Who Am We" that touched on the concept of split identity in an online/virtual space. The whole idea of a chatroom or "MUD" was so new at the time so it's interesting to see how some of those thoughts have actually panned out as RPGs have become so much more mainstream.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.01/turkle.html
"See you space cowboy"
Ettick
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States2434 Posts
March 02 2013 04:20 GMT
#24
"I'd rather look at the back of a female character all day than a male character"
-Guy I did some low level dungeon in WoW while leveling up for the first time

This was when I was about 13 so I didn't exactly get their point, though I'm pretty sure I can see where they're coming from now
Burrfoot
Profile Blog Joined July 2012
United States1176 Posts
March 02 2013 04:52 GMT
#25
Probably the only situation where the opposite sex will jump repeatedly on command for any of us!
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Davlok-1847/career
Capped
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom7236 Posts
March 02 2013 07:43 GMT
#26
^ lmfao burrfoot.

Never really thought about it, but i tend to pick women about 70% of the time i think, even been faced with the thought that its weird and im going to get questioned not knowing what to say (my wife and brother in law have asked before lol)

Someone posted "the bully effect" which i think applies to me somewhat...i prefered watching my small (albeit still giant norn) female smashing things up as a greatsword wielding guardian in guild wars 2.

Other times its me wanting a "sneaky" character and i feel women are smaller and more petit, so fit the role better and i choose them.

Sometimes i do just choose them without thinking, others are times like re-playing mass effect, might as well choose the other option right?

I guess on some level i do just prefer to look at small bodied women then big brutish men though, but usually i'll choose a male role for some "big bad class" in a game
Useless wet fish.
Kuni
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Austria765 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-02 16:42:24
March 02 2013 09:39 GMT
#27
Nice writeup, I can see why this would hold true in some cases, but overall it seems way to overthought, than it really is. I can say for myself, that when I choose a female character in a game, it is because of the fact, that it is much nicer to look at a woman's ass all the time and male character design tends to be more generic most of the time. It really is as simple as that, nothing more, nothing less, nothing left with a questionmark.
Moreover, you don't really roleplay in any of the games, where the looks of your avatar are a visual factor. This is quite important I feel. You just don't identify with the avatar at all, it's just necessary to use it in order to play the game in the first place.
Another part is probably the racial preference. I mean if you like Elves, Dark Elves etc, pretty much always, the males look like, well .... like they bat for the same team.


On the other hand, I could not really see myself picking a chick in a classic D&D session, where I actually have to really pretend being my character (otherwise such games wouldn't be fun at all).
bonus vir semper tiro
WindWolf
Profile Blog Joined July 2012
Sweden11767 Posts
March 02 2013 14:12 GMT
#28
In the games that I play the most, certain characters only exist as one gender (I don't know how to say it in a better way). For example there is no male Windrunner or female Dragon Knight in Dota2. The character you play in Sanctum is always female. And in my favorite game Vacant Sky, my party mostly consist of the female characters (when I get the chance) because I like them in the story of the game, in addition to that their battle abilities fits my play style.

But when I play games where I can customize my character, it depends on a couple of factors what gender I choose, and it varies a bit from case to case. But in general, I think that when I choose female characters I do so because they look good aesthetically (Aesthetics in something I care about when playing games).
EZ4ENCE
Animzor
Profile Joined March 2011
Sweden2154 Posts
March 02 2013 16:09 GMT
#29
Men like the idea of being a girl for a while, but they pretend like it's because of "ass".
TheFish7
Profile Blog Joined February 2012
United States2824 Posts
March 02 2013 17:56 GMT
#30
Maybe it has something to do with this? No offense meant

+ Show Spoiler +
~ ~ <°)))><~ ~ ~
snexwang
Profile Joined April 2011
Australia224 Posts
March 02 2013 18:26 GMT
#31
I probably stopped playing self-insert characters shortly after my 12th birthday. These days, I just play as what ever looks the best. If that happens to be a 20-something brunette with perky breasts then so be it.

I don't identify with or role-play as the characters I play. Consequently, however, I probably don't have as much fun as I could be having in certain games.
Ryka
Profile Joined October 2010
United Kingdom254 Posts
March 02 2013 21:10 GMT
#32
As others have pointed out, I play whatever character I find to be the most aesthetically pleasing. I don't role play at all so it really don't matter whether my characters are male or female. Usually the female characters look better to me but it varies.
Kenpachi
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States9908 Posts
March 02 2013 22:34 GMT
#33
Roleplaying is kinda pathetic to me. i tried it with my friends and i never found myself really getting into it ever. That being said i always proudly picked a male character but being female didnt bother me and at first it would be different from being a male character. Id be like lol im girl but id soon forget it and play the game like it was meant to be played.
Nada's body is South Korea's greatest weapon.
Myrtroll
Profile Joined December 2010
139 Posts
March 03 2013 01:43 GMT
#34
The question is why people keep asking this question.

People are different, and will pick different things. That's why some males pick female avatars, and some females pick male ones. There need not be anything "big" behind it at all.

If you look down on your male friends for picking female chars, there is a good chance you are a homophobe, and you should look into that instead of judging your friends choice in a game.
blackone
Profile Joined November 2010
Germany1314 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-03 14:36:37
March 03 2013 14:35 GMT
#35
On March 03 2013 10:43 Myrtroll wrote:
The question is why people keep asking this question.

That's what I'm asking myself too. Why is this a thing that people talk about? Where does it say that videogame characters should be a representation of yourself? I mean, do you also ask why people play an Orc in Warcraft even though they're human in real life? Is that race crossplaying? What about skin color? Hair color? I don't think it says anything about the person, most people just make a character they feel like playing the moment they create it. Whatever looks cooler, of fits a certain type of character, it can literally be anything.
Fruscainte
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
4596 Posts
March 03 2013 17:06 GMT
#36
Because back in my early WoW days, the female characters had cooler animations.
LaNague
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Germany9118 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-03-03 17:44:57
March 03 2013 17:43 GMT
#37
why is that weird, its not like i dress as a woman, i just control one in a video game.

Also, 99% of those games, you play as a char, but you still talk as a player to others, not as the char.
So you dont really roleplay a female.
Very few people actually pretend to be a female when playing a female char, and most of them just do it to mess with others.







why people ask tjis question? Because they hear roleplay game and think everyone roleplays in it, when in reality players just play a game.
BabyToss!
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Czech Republic588 Posts
March 03 2013 19:19 GMT
#38
On March 02 2013 09:00 FromShouri wrote:

I think it is as simple as that for most people, you seem to have some gender "idenity" crisis going on, I say fuck what society says are gender "specific" roles. if you're a female and you want to slam a beer after lifting weights go ahead, if you're a boy and you want to worry about your clothes and make up, do that.

Just don't let society tell you who you are.

The bold part, million times and then some more.
Nowadays a Filthy Casual | Follow your dreams |
Dfgj
Profile Joined May 2008
Singapore5922 Posts
March 03 2013 19:29 GMT
#39
I imagine the majority of people don't self-insert when playing, so it's kind of an irrelevant question.

For me it's just the aesthetic of the character I'm creating.
Prev 1 2 All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Replay Cast
00:00
2026 GSL S1: Ro12 Group A
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
NeuroSwarm 246
ProTech127
StarCraft: Brood War
Mind 253
ZergMaN 16
Shine 11
League of Legends
JimRising 845
Counter-Strike
Stewie2K1018
Other Games
summit1g7312
C9.Mang0624
WinterStarcraft568
monkeys_forever468
RuFF_SC2113
ViBE53
kaitlyn32
ToD19
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick931
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream97
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• OhrlRock 5
• Response 1
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Stunt362
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
3h 51m
RSL Revival
4h 51m
Classic vs GgMaChine
Rogue vs Maru
WardiTV Invitational
5h 51m
Percival vs Shameless
ByuN vs YoungYakov
IPSL
10h 51m
Ret vs Art_Of_Turtle
Radley vs TBD
BSL
13h 51m
Replay Cast
18h 51m
RSL Revival
1d 4h
herO vs TriGGeR
NightMare vs Solar
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
1d 8h
BSL
1d 13h
IPSL
1d 13h
eOnzErG vs TBD
G5 vs Nesh
[ Show More ]
Patches Events
1d 18h
Replay Cast
2 days
Wardi Open
2 days
Afreeca Starleague
2 days
Jaedong vs Light
Monday Night Weeklies
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
3 days
Afreeca Starleague
3 days
Snow vs Flash
WardiTV Invitational
3 days
GSL
4 days
Classic vs Cure
Maru vs Rogue
GSL
5 days
SHIN vs Zoun
ByuN vs herO
OSC
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Escore
6 days
The PondCast
6 days
WardiTV Invitational
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S2: W5
WardiTV TLMC #16
Nations Cup 2026

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
KK 2v2 League Season 1
Acropolis #4
SCTL 2026 Spring
RSL Revival: Season 5
2026 GSL S1
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026

Upcoming

BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Maestros of the Game 2
2026 GSL S2
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.