Atuando Classes: Play Opposite Gender Roles

[ShadowStream-chan]

Good Morning Class~

As you may be wondering...what is Atuando? Well to tell you now: Atuando is Portuguese for Acting. And I do so just to be unique, but anyways: You are attending this one-time class today is because there has been a tiny-weeny problem in the role-playing world...especially the romance genre.

What is that problem? According to many guilds I looked up, many of the roleplayers are girls. And those girls refuse to play the opposite gender...a male. It is a big problem especially when there are about 95 girls and 5 boys, and all those girls only want to play female.

Have you ever got this problem before...when you create a roleplay and decide to play the female role, sometimes it would take FOREVER to find a partner? And when you play the male, it suddenly becomes a competition to get that female role?

Of course, I cannot fully blame females playing females, there are males who only play males. And of course their reaction will be how 'awkward' it would be to play a female. Females would probably say the same thing about male characters....how 'awkward' they would be in playing them.

Well it is such a minor problem, but it becomes the main reason why roleplays can't even start...especially group roleplays when 90% of the population is one-gender (if it's those open rps, and not the 3x3 or 4x4 rps), and also why some 1 x 1's cannot find a partner for its wonderful story.

Well, you are lucky to find a teacher like me. My name is Shadow, an 18 year old pursuing a creative writing degree, so I am capable of teaching you the male/female role, what's the difference, and how easy it can be to try the male role once I am finished. It will be a rough start but it will definitely be easy once you get the hang with it.

Ready? Let's start.

 

[ShadowStream-chan]

Gender Roles and Stereotypes:

From my perspective, I can see the biggest reason for not trying a different gender from oneself is because of Stereotypes. And I do mean that.

We are to believe that males are dominant, competitive, and in control of their emotions. While females are to be emotional, insecure (sometimes), and also dependent on men.

Reaction? "THEY ARE NOT ALL LIKE THAT!"

If that's true...why is no one trying to see that? Well, we are influenced by things like media, television, etc. to believe the gender stereotypes. I could come up with many things.....but I choose to set these examples that display stereotypes:


Gone with the Wind (1936)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Cinderella (1950)

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Aladdin (1992)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Hercules (1997)

Mulan (199 cool

Twilight Saga (2008-2012)

The Princess and the Frog (2009)


"Why are like 99% of these Disney films?"

Well one....Google made it hard to find examples so I went after Disney. After all, it's easy to find a list of them instead of movies like 'Gone with the Wind' and 'Twilight'. And second, Disney does, unfortunately, follow the female/male stereotypes if you think about it.

What this has to do with roleplaying though? I think stereotypes make it harder for others to try out the opposite gender due to the stereotypes that implant us. For example: female roleplayers rather play females because they can have different personalities, but with males...not only does it seem limited but harder to find personality in them sometimes. This also happens to Males with Females, except females have too much personality to keep track so males are like 'yeeeeeaaaah, no'. Also, we females are kind of put in as those 'cheerleading, social norm, boy-hunting' type to where males just shake their heads, not really that interested.

Am I right? Maybe not, but it is a theory about one refusing to play the opposite gender. With that boring lecture over, let's get to the fun part. We are conducting interviews of people who DO play the opposite gender and how they were able to work things out.

 

[ShadowStream-chan]

Interviews~

Alright! Sorry for the Hiatus. I had to wait until I got a few interviews. Some are still in the process due to everyone's schedules...and mine too. But now thanks to the lovely people in this guild, I was able to conduct interviews with people who have played the opposite roles.

Most of them are girls who played boys. We are still looking for interviews of boys who had played girls, so if anyone in this class knows someone like that, please give them a call.

Anyways, here are the questions:

Quote:

1. Like everyone else, when did you discover roleplaying?




2. Did you only want to play one gender? Or did you the opposite gender as well?




3. What made you play the opposite gender? Was it tough the first time?




4. What's your reaction to most roleplayers only wanting to play one role (i.e: females only wanting to play females)?



5. What would you suggest to those 'one-gender' roleplayers on how to start playing the opposite gender ( females play males, and vise versa)?

Well..here is how some of the people answered those questions. And before you say anything, the questions down here are different...I forgot to edit them so it can be asked to a male roleplayer playing females. The questions below were for females playing males, so I apologize for the mistake:

Suzie - Rawr Im A Dino

1. I can't say the exact date, since my first account was hacked and is now long gone. However, I know for sure it was since 2009 that I was really addicted to roleplaying

2. I started out with roleplaying as a girl, but I would read guy's posts to study how to tweak my posts into playing a guy. I found out rather quickly that it wasn't that hard to do so, but I didn't enjoy always playing the guy- unless it's yaoi. x3 So since around the beginning of 2010 I was playing guys for sure.

3. I fell in love with yaoi, so I wanted to roleplay as a guy. Also the fact I enjoyed roleplaying and so many people wanted to play the female. At first I had to made sure that I put the correct gender and the right personality, but other than that it was rather easy. Especially if you don't use the stereotypical gender personality in every single post you make.

4. I usually think they are just playing females because they are one, so they put some of their own personality in their character... However, they are able to do that to male characters also... Also I feel that it's not as fair to others if they only play one gender, since there are so many females that only play females there are others that have to play a male because a. they're male or b. they are use to playing the male. The males are not as bad, since there are not that many male characters to begin with so it's easy for them to find a female to roleplay with. However, males should be able to play a female character if they wish to. Just because they are a guy doesn't mean they like to roleplay with guy characters.

5. If a female likes their girly-version character, then they could start out with a girly-guy to get use to using the correct gender reference in the post. As they get use to it, they can start to explore the many different male personality. They shouldn't stay with just one kind, so they could have a larger variety of roleplays to be in. They can also go over other roleplayers post and read how they type their posts and figure out how they could use that to their advantage. A male could do the same thing just with the different genders. What I think most people don't realize is that the females don't have to be the stereotypical girly-girls and stuff and the males don't have to be the stereotypical dominate ones. What they could also do is females can do yaoi roleplays to get into the hang of roleplaying a guy then go to straight couples and the guys can do the same with yuri roleplays. It'll take a bit of getting use to it- especially if they're against it- but in the end it will be well worth it

Little Miss Spades

1. Like everyone else, when did you discover roleplaying?

At first, I discovered roleplaying somewhere around fifth-sixth grade, but not in the form displayed on Gaia Online. I found it in the form of acting - plays. I had signed up for the class play. Although, I didn't get the part, I did become intrigued in what "RP" was. My father bought me Dungeons & Dragons things about that time, and I started with that. However, when my sister outgrew it and my father became busy with work, I went to the Internet to see what it was. My Gaia Online roleplaying experience started when I was in my high school years.

2. Did you only want to play a female? Or did you play males as well?

Well, yeah. I'm a girl. I roleplay as a girl. That should be in my element, my forte, right? Besides, when I first started Gaia, I was still convinced that boys were kind of cooty-infested.

3. What made you play a male role? Was it tough the first time?

What first made me play the male role was a particular roleplay when my one friend would only play girls. Of course, I still wanted to roleplay, but they insisted that I be the other role. It was kind of tough, yeah, but the boy ended up more like a sissy girl than the personality I had originally went for (which was the outgoing type, I believe). Therefore, it was a little less of a challenge to me then, rather then a personality, for example, like the strong and silent or tough type of character.

4. What's your reaction to most roleplayers only wanting to play one role (i.e: females only wanting to play females)?

I laugh. I laugh and point "Hey! There's me a few years ago!"

... No, but seriously. It's kind of ironic to me because a majority of the people who roleplay only females wonder why they never find anyone to roleplay with. And it's so easy to get started, too. I believe the old quote goes "Practice makes perfect", am I right?

5. What would you suggest to those 'one-gender' roleplayers on how to start playing the opposite gender ( females play males, and vise versa)?

Just start! There isn't very much of a difference between boys and girls. Most people share personality traits. I just keep in mind that boys tend not to be so emotional and melodramatic as some girl characters might be. They tend not to burst into tears when someone dumps them.

As for girls, they are a little more sensitive and a bit secretive with most things. And they really aren't as innocent as people seem.

Also, start with characters that lean more towards the gender your used to! For people who roleplay as girls, you might want to try a shyer boy than an indifferent one. As for those used to roleplaying boys, the tomboy type might be something more appropriate.

TenninDoji21

1. Like everyone else, when did you discover roleplaying?

I discovered it 3 years ago when my boyfriend introduced me to Gaia.



2. Did you only want to play a female? Or did you play males as well?

At first I only played females because I was new to it and obviously I felt more comfortable roleplay as a woman since I know how most women think and act.



3. What made you play a male role? Was it tough the first time?

What made me play a male was that I was in a roleplay and there were so many
women and it drove me nuts because there was supposed to be romance and I was
tired of making my characters bi just in case that one man comes. I found it a little
difficult, but after a while I got used to it and now it seems I can only roleplay as a man.


4. What's your reaction to most roleplayers only wanting to play one role (i.e: females only wanting to play females)?

Well, honestly, it drives me nuts. ESPECIALLY when a woman does play a male and they make them gay. To me that's not really showing someone that you can roleplay as a man. It shows me you are being a man to take up a mans spot, and thats it. And if you were to take it to pms, it goes in a different hole. -_- I mean since I'm fairly new to roleplaying, i feel like those who have more years of experience than i do should be able to play different roles easier, but it seems that they are so used to being a woman that they cant put themselves in a different mindset.



5. What would you suggest to those 'one-gender' roleplayers on how to start playing the opposite gender ( females play males, and vise versa)?

I would suggest to maybe do a non-lit setting. Or like I said above, play a gay male so you can get the sense of being a male, but still being able to be a woman at the same time, if that makes any sense. I started out being a straight male. It was in a different guild, filled with women and I got sick of it cause they were complaining there wasn't enough romance. So I made a straight male character and I just started thinking like a guy that I would want to be with. Ya know, sweet, but not a douche, but he is still strong enough to protect you. And once you get that down, you can experiment with the more flirty males, or more shy males, or the womanizer.

M1DN1GHT_V10L3T

1. Like everyone else, when did you discover roleplaying?

I had already expressed an interest in writing professionally when I started. My senpai, whom had been raised on RP such as Dungeons and Dragons and the like, invited me to a co-write project where we were each supposed to play 5 characters and numerous other NPCs. My rp experience came from one line games in long hand (paper and pencils and such). Once I got a taste of it I roamed elsewhere and started more rps with little care of who I played with and who I played as, this is also how I met a few of my girlfriends…

2. Did you only want to play a female? Or did you play males as well?

In the co write project that was my first RP, I played 4 boys, two of which were twins, and 1 girl. After which I made it a point to play both genders in each rp because I couldn’t seem to stop bringing in more and more characters to anyone rp. I will admit I often played more males than females though…

3. What made you play a male role? Was it tough the first time?

Considering the purpose of this interview, I’m going to invert that question to “was it difficult to play a woman being a man in life?” Honestly, no. My female characters become bits and pieces of the ideal girl I wanted for myself. What traits was I seeking in others for a soul mate were the traits I would build her around. Originally I picked up the female role for literary symmetry and have a balanced story that wasn’t sexist but once I figured out what I was doing with these ladies, they became a lot more fun for me to connect to and play. Was it difficult, hardly. People are people, there are plenty of insecure and overly emotional boys out there and I’ve met quite a few girls that were more butch than I am. If you need help finding an example of diversity, look up the show “Glee”. You’ll see what I mean.

4. What's your reaction to most roleplayers only wanting to play one role (i.e: females only wanting to play females)?

Most of the time, I roll my eyes at the computer and either walk away or adjust to make them comfortable. I can’t care to count how many rps I’ve gotten excited about but turned away from because the partner behind the puppet was uncomfortable playing with a guy behind the puppet I gave him, never mind that the puppet was perfect for what that partner needed. There are fewer and fewer players with skill these days and it infuriates me to no end when I, a player of substance, get passed over for a nightmare novice just because she had the right organs in RL! I have my moments of well-earned arrogance but that is insulting to the time and effort put I toward my creations.

5. What would you suggest to those 'one-gender' roleplayers on how to start playing the opposite gender ( females play males, and vise versa)?

As stated above in Q3, pick a trait you want from your fantasy partner and build around it. Make the perfect soul mate for you and mold him (or her) with love. Ex. You’re a girl that can’t play guys but have a boyfriend. What about him attracted you to him? The face, the way he makes you laugh, maybe he’s rough around the edges with others and bunny with you; take that trait, find a pic that looks special to you and fits that trait, and run with it until he sounds like the perfect guy. Don’t jump into a plot you really care about with a fresh persona before you break it in, find a partner willing to be patient with you while you figure it out and just let him run on the foundation the profile. If he deviates, and you don’t like it reign him back in. It’s always better to do too much than not enough. If he deviates and you like it adjust his profile and make that a part of him. This process of profile adjustment is called evolution and creates well rounded characters that have a uniqueness from similar personalities. PLEASE, for the love Jesus and that’s good in the world, EVOLVE.

 

[ShadowStream-chan]

Dialogue & Tips

Thanks to the lovely TenninDoji21, she suggested we teach you about dialogue and the differences of playing male and female characters. And of course, the people we interviewed above had plenty of tips for everyone play the opposite gender....need a refresher?

1. If a female likes their girly-version character, then they could start out with a girly-guy to get use to using the correct gender reference in the post. As they get use to it, they can start to explore the many different male personality. They shouldn't stay with just one kind, so they could have a larger variety of roleplays to be in. They can also go over other roleplayers post and read how they type their posts and figure out how they could use that to their advantage. A male could do the same thing just with the different genders. What I think most people don't realize is that the females don't have to be the stereotypical girly-girls and stuff and the males don't have to be the stereotypical dominate ones.
(Suzie)


2. There isn't very much of a difference between boys and girls. Most people share personality traits. I just keep in mind that boys tend not to be so emotional and melodramatic as some girl characters might be. They tend not to burst into tears when someone dumps them.

As for girls, they are a little more sensitive and a bit secretive with most things. And they really aren't as innocent as people seem.

Also, start with characters that lean more towards the gender your used to! For people who roleplay as girls, you might want to try a shyer boy than an indifferent one. As for those used to roleplaying boys, the tomboy type might be something more appropriate.
(Spades)


3. pick a trait you want from your fantasy partner and build around it. Make the perfect soul mate for you and mold him (or her) with love. Ex. You’re a girl that can’t play guys but have a boyfriend. What about him attracted you to him? The face, the way he makes you laugh, maybe he’s rough around the edges with others and bunny with you; take that trait, find a pic that looks special to you and fits that trait, and run with it until he sounds like the perfect guy. Don’t jump into a plot you really care about with a fresh persona before you break it in, find a partner willing to be patient with you while you figure it out and just let him run on the foundation the profile. If he deviates, and you don’t like it reign him back in. It’s always better to do too much than not enough. If he deviates and you like it adjust his profile and make that a part of him. This process of profile adjustment is called evolution and creates well rounded characters that have a uniqueness from similar personalities.
(M1DN1GHT)


4. I would suggest to maybe do a non-lit setting. Or like I said above, play a gay male so you can get the sense of being a male, but still being able to be a woman at the same time, if that makes any sense.
(Tennin)

So now we get the whole idea, for females needing to start playing males, make it either a girly-girl, or just a shy boy. He doesn't have to be a dominate person (Hey...I have a hard time playing dominate characters too). And for Males starting to try females, start out as a tomboy....and then go on from there.

This kind of thing reminds me of the Sims 3? You know that game? No....maybe you do. You create a character...male or female, and after giving them a look (hair, eyes, clothes, etc.), you pick out a trait. And from playing it so long....there is no extra trait only played by male or female...heck, a male can be a hopeless romantic if you wanted him to be! And a female can be a daredevil if you wanted her to!

Click here for Youtube Video

Up above is one of the many videos on Youtube that share how people create their own Sims. Dos this help? Maybe not, but you might see the many traits picked out for them and how easy it is to create someone (Sim....a sim XD)

Tennin's Example of a Great 1 x 1
Take a look at it whenever you can boys and girls! It's a nice RP example for all you one-gender roleplayers.



Now it is time for Dialogue! I decided to use a few examples of my posts (Males and Females) and how I made them. It is actually not hard once you read these posts how I did them:

Quote:

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The Wolff Gang: Hidehara, Otonashi, and Kaminari

OOC;;Hidehara is the one in the middle of the pic; Oto is at the top, and Kami is at the bottom.. I will keep this up so everyone will know who is who in this post.

Hide raised a brow at the girl that threatened him. He wasn't the type to do so but he decided to say this: "Ye mean the one that me family took down afore Eukasia was destroyed? But anyways, he doesn't know me scallywags are here. 'n I was being nice but oh well..." Hide then started to hear footsteps coming from the hall.

Hide nods, knowing that Benji came back with the Captain. So he opens the door. The first to appear was the Captain named Otonashi Wolff and another man was named Kaminari Wolff. Otonashi had a black sleeved pelerine cloak on. The cloak had a revers collarline with a little pin that would remind someone of Eukasia hertiage. He tips up his huge tricorne hat that was in the color of flames with a huge white feather decorated on the side. His green eyes showed some solemn manner: "Ah! The wen-" But the other man already threw something lite to keep the captain from talking.

That man happed to be the Captain's adviser; wearing nothing but a blueish Black Beard Frock Coat with Black Boucanier Breeches with a blue sash around his waist. His black hair was tied back as he glared at the captain. "Enough! And no more frickin' pirate talk. I can't understand the both of you!" Benji enters the fray as well as he figured they might need help in case. "Well Cap'n. Kaminari. We be pirates; it's our normal natter." He says, even though Kaminari was not even the captain.

"Whatever. Now the first mission is done, now we get to see what the 'cute' little king will think about having his daughter..or DAUGHTERS kidnapped?" Otonashi then gets a cigar and puts it in his mouth, only to have it whacked away by Kami. "Sorry 'Mother'." He commented sarcastically as he then puts his arms on the back of his head. He leans against the wall, examining each three females"To get this over with. You are probably aware that your father ended a kingdom called Eukasia, are you not? Well, let's just say we people are planning to take the land back. And if you all are good, we won't have to kill you."

"So harsh..."

"Realities a b***h Hidey." The captain then takes off his hat to let his thick, short hair show: "So now, we have no choice but to have you be the little victim until he complies with the deal. You for the land he stole from me! Hopefully you get the picture."

Hidey frowns a little at his Father's threat: "Can we be a little nicer? They are probably not aware?..."

"This is not a game Hide. This is about freeing the ********' people he enslaved. We're not in frickin' lay-lay land!"

"Enough." Kaminari stood firmly between the two, seeing that both of them are at their brink-point. Kami nods to Hide and Benji: "You two can go, and get some food their ready, their probably hungry." The two younger males could only nod as they all left leaving Kami and Otto alone with the three girls. "And I can see your Daddy's little girl if our threatening us with the army. Missy, I killed many men in the name of my country so I say shut your yap. And that is a warning...if your still acting like a shitface, I will have no choice but to teach you a lesson."

Kami glared at Otto, obviously not liking the tone he was using but he kept to himself as he just hoped the three will just listen and prevent the problem from becoming bigger.

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I was playing 4 GUYS when I made this post...4 GUYS! Although one of them has no picture, you can see I played different types of guys: Hidehara was a passive type, with Otonashi being threatening and harsh. Kaminari was the 'barrier' of the place trying to prevent a fight with a firm face, and Benji....well. It doesn't say in that post, but he is down-right honest and will tell on ANYONE who hides a secret. So that is my guy dialogue....

Here is my girl dialogue:

Quote:

†.•°•.•°•.Connor Payne.•°•.•°•.†

A Wolf is the Defensive..not the Aggressive

.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•
"What?" She point-blankly asks, surprised she is even talking to this boy but he did look a bit...panicky. When he was forcing her to lie down did her mind click: "Woah woah woah! What the hell you doing?!"

"You'll be useless to me if we don't get that bullet out of you."

"What bullet?! Wasn't that already taken off?!" She responds to the guy, not sure who he was all panicky...until the shirt was lifted: "Oh heeeeelll no!" She squirms a little but one: he had a frickin good grip, two: she was too tired to fight it at this point and three: it was only the back he was focused on so she wasn't like fighting him to the death or anything. Then he goes to tell her to hold still and bite onto the pillow: "Why-" Then the pain truly began. "OH MOTHERFU-MMMPHMMMMM." She screams a bunch of vocabulary words she could think of, with the pillow on her mouth.

The pain was unbearable! It was more harder to bare than watching Sesame Street re-runs on the childcare center when she was 12! "MMMPHFFFUUUUMMMM." She cuss pretty loudly when the guy complained about the bullet being stuck: GET IT OUT YOU ROTTEN PIECE OF s**t, I WILL ******** STAB YOUR **** WITH A PENCIL! She wanted to scream it so loud and it wasn't until it was finally off when she felt relief and a temptation to fall on the floor out of pain. <******** thought seeing the Kadarshian Family living their life was frickin painful: this takes the cake." She took deep breaths, wincing when he had drowned the wound of alcohol. "I still need my back buddy." She groaned, having her fingers grip on the couch until it turned all white. "Next time I am wearing a bullet vest, I don't give two shits what they say." She then got back up, making sure her front was covered. "And well......I am lucky I got a black sweater." She mumbled knowing her white t-shirt will be covered by her black hoodie. <******** hurts like a motha...." She then rubs her head, realizing it was a little too 'hot' for her liking but it probably was from the stress than anything else.

When she did calm down, she was able to get her shirt and hoodie back on and get some new bandages wrapped on her chest to get her 'huskiness' back again. "Besides that being awkward and all, I probably would not have gotten that bullet outta my back." She then stretches her back lightly, trying to get it to stop aching. Connor then decides to turn on the TV to check out the news and well...it wasn't pretty:

"We interrupt this program to bring you the forecast: It has been known that a federal army is coming to this area due by the information given to them about a party going up against the government. It was issued that 15 teenagers and 20 adults have been seen meeting up to overthrow the go-" That was when Connor put it into mute. "Stupid." That was all she said before rubbing her forehead.
.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•.•°•

Too bad for you I am more Aggressive

Connor? That is another guy! No it isn't. In fact, it is a girl disguised as a boy. She has been my favorite character for years, hence now she is a character I want to add to my novel after getting my writing degree.

However, she does act like a guy, a tomboy kind of person. This is for the males unsure about the female role. As you can see, she swears a lot and has every little harsh word to say to everyone....somewhat. But this girl is not insecure, or dependent like the stereotypical role of a girl.