Because I love being a girl. Plus, male characters feel clunky when they walk. I don't like it.

Tbh I usually find it boring playing as a guy in games like this (the exception is story-based games with their own set protagonist who is actually a compelling character). If I have to choose to play a male or female, 90% of the time I'll choose female. I'm not exactly sure why, but I suppose it's because of a number of reasons. One huge reason is just because I like playing as someone I'm not and thinking of what decisions they'd make based on the personality I give them. It's the same as deciding what race to place as. I'm a black guy, but I don't always play a black character in games(though that's also partially because the hairstyles they give us are usually boring). It really depends on the setting and the character I feel like making at the time.

Back to the male/female character topic, I'm also just attracted to women. So, that's a factor as well since I enjoy collecting motifs to make and dye my own outfit/armor combinations so my character looks badass and/or attractive. Immersion isn't an issue for me since I don't really think of choosing a character as putting myself in the game. For me, it's just pretending to be someone else. It can be a little awkward sometimes though ngl

With all that said, I did just make a male Redguard for this game (my 2nd character).

Athan1 wrote: »

AvalonRanger wrote: »

"Hey!! lesson. If you find sexy looking young female
player at the MMO field, then player must be male. And...
If you find fine looking beautiful young male player, then player must be woman.
It's a common sense."

When I see a female character with fancy makeup, dresses, and poses, I assume female player.
When I see a half naked female character with sloppy outfits, I assume male player.

I honestly make the same assumptions lol, but I tend to make my character's outfits match the environment. I never put her in revealing clothes because it feels awkward. The closest is when I go sleeveless. I wonder what people assume my gender is based on my character. My username kind of gives it away that I'm a guy though.

I play both genders, and all the races.

I don't identify with my magic wielding character that can return from the dead with a button click. So why not play different genders and races?

Both

Historically I've typically played male characters in RPGs. I never gave it much thought, just felt natural since I am a male. ESO is the first game where I really had enough alts to warrant adding a little variety.

My first female was my crafter and if I'm being honest I mostly made her a female because I figured if she's just going to be running around town then she might as well be nice to look at. But I now have 9 females and 8 males, with my final character slot already planned as a male Altmer. Just waiting for the new chapter so I can try the new tutorial. I set a goal early on to have a male and female of each race.

I like playing both just fine, and in more ensemble type games I've never really discriminated either way, occasionally even preferring particular female characters over the male counter parts. A good example of this is Tekken where I've played all characters enough to be proficient, but if someone goes on a win streak against me I'm going to bust out Nina or Jun who are both female, because those are my best two characters by far, to the point where my friends won't even let me pair them in a tag match because it just becomes a slaughter. Especially Jun, I don't usually even need to tag-up when I have Jun, I'll just take out their whole team with her. I avoid over using them though and most of my other favorites are male so I'm usually on male characters there.

I've always liked the small unassuming female who turns out to be the biggest badass around trope in pop culture, and so most of my females in ESO follow that theme, but a couple of them are of a more dainty mold.

My favorite out of my ESO females is still the first one, my crafter. I always picture Ruth from the show Ozark when I play on her, her personality if she had one I think would carry a very similar vibe.

This poll is a false binary, which is oddly apropos.

As many others have already stated, I play both.

Syldras wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

Some are male, some are female. It is usually the last and least important bit of my character concept.

It's the same for me - it's one aspect, but not that important.

It probably depends on what idea people have of gender/men/women. If someone believes in stereotypes a lot, or thinks that men and women are so far apart in their way in acting and thinking, then of course a character's gender will mean a lot. For me, it doesn't. I see people as individuals, there are strong and bold women, calm and introvert men, and of course the opposite. Maybe there are tendencies shaped by social norms or whatever (I don't want to start a debate about that now), but that still doesn't mean that an individual might not be different and "untypical".

That said, if people like to play the "girly girl" or "macho man" - it's okay. It's not my business how other people play their game.

Precisely.

AyaDark wrote: »

I play both, but more like female character.

Play the same gender is always mistake of new players who associate themselves with character.

[snip]

I disagree. Playing the same gender doesn't make anyone a new player. And those who play the opposite aren't all ogling their character's behinds.

A curious question, but one which I find has far more complex answers. For me, I have characters of both genders.

IRL, I am a straight male. However I have never felt any different by choosing/creating female avatars in games, if it helps to think of it that way. Perhaps it is because I don't typically think of my characters as a literal 'avatar' of myself, but rather I tend to identify myself as a character's conscience or 'motivating force' I suppose, like a spiritual guide of sorts... I should also disclose that I do not engage in serious "roleplay" as it is understood today. Players who think of their character's as actual representations of themselves will probably stick to which gender they identify with the most since that is what they are comfortable with.

In a game like Warframe where warframes (basically your armor/avatars) are based on various genders and themes, I find it fun to customize them to fit my own concepts and themes but they are never "ME" per se, but are entities I work in tandem with. Probably one of the most meta games in that aspect if you've progressed far enough to know what I mean.

MasterSpatula wrote: »

This poll is a false binary, which is oddly apropos.

As many others have already stated, I play both.

The poll is trying to get a real answer. Many people tend to go for the "other/all/none/neutral" option when it is available, bc they like explaining in comments how special their circumstances are. The poll clearly asked which option is "typically" true and both options cannot be true in the exact same amount, there is always a preference.

Athan1 wrote: »

MasterSpatula wrote: »

This poll is a false binary, which is oddly apropos.

As many others have already stated, I play both.

The poll is trying to get a real answer. Many people tend to go for the "other/all/none/neutral" option when it is available, bc they like explaining in comments how special their circumstances are. The poll clearly asked which option is "typically" true and both options cannot be true in the exact same amount, there is always a preference.

No it isn't. By just looking at the comments and number of people who hasn't voted commenting, it's clearly biased. A better poll would've had the option for "Both", because many of us play both with no preference.

Athan1 wrote: »

If there was a "both" option, most players would go there because out of 18 characters per account, everyone has a bit of all genders and has tried most things at some point. So such a poll would be completely useless. This poll is trying to examine the approximate relative preference. Surveys work by oversimplifying reality and capturing general tendencies, not accounting for all possible scenarios in this world. It is unfortunate if this poll doesn't cover everything but voting is not compulsory.

Well, this "survey" is so oversimplified, neither I and some others, can contribute to it. Therefore making it lack data.

18 characters, 9 male & 9 female