Author Topic: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't  (Read 18365 times)

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logan9a

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #40 on: November 13, 2008, 04:35:29 AM »
I'm sure that somewhere out there is someone able to play the opposite gender.

Somewhere.

But, in about 30 years of tabletop gaming (with both genders) I have utterly failed to encounter that person.

So, I made a simple rule - girls playing guys get to wear a fake mustache to the table.  Boys playing a girl get to have plenty of padding in their shirts.  I have failed to have anyone take me up on this and everyone stuck to their own gender - and the roleplaying has been just fine.
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jimmersault

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #41 on: November 13, 2008, 01:07:56 PM »
... River's not a stereotype?! O.o

What? How? Honestly?
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Talen Lee

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #42 on: November 13, 2008, 05:17:35 PM »
She's the .5 of Joss Whedon's 2.5 character archtypes.

1. Smirking smartass
2. Colossal badass
2.5 Wavers wildly between 1 and 2.

I might just be reading different books but I've seen heaps of Rivers, the wilting violet with an acid tongue who just HAPPENS to bust out at the last minute and kick huge amounts of ass. She's equal parts Secret Keeper and +1 Guy.

jimmersault

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #43 on: November 13, 2008, 08:14:02 PM »
She's the .5 of Joss Whedon's 2.5 character archtypes.

1. Smirking smartass
2. Colossal badass
2.5 Wavers wildly between 1 and 2.

I might just be reading different books but I've seen heaps of Rivers, the wilting violet with an acid tongue who just HAPPENS to bust out at the last minute and kick huge amounts of ass. She's equal parts Secret Keeper and +1 Guy.
Am I a complete moron for not seeing this as an archetype? I'm not a Whedon disciple, but even if he crutches on repeating characters, I would say that makes them an archetype per se. I think that this is an individualistic character that has much more to her than all of your examples combined. Kaylee defies the list alone, but that is beside the point.

More to the point is the late 20th/early 21st century PC script of all women having magical powers that defy physics. Not every chick is Gina Carano and it's pretty depressing that they are now writing roles for male and jamming a set of mammaries into the opposite stereotype. To lend credence to you, though, RPGs have better crossovers than TV has for a decade now.

James

If only more women were Gina Carano...
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Talen Lee

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #44 on: November 13, 2008, 09:35:41 PM »
You know, if every story written from today onwards takes every various male archetype and 'jams mammaries on it', it'll still be over a hundred years before women finally rival men for diversity.

I think you'll find that very, very few men are Bruce Willis, yet we see thousands upon thousands upon thousands of stories about them.

jimmersault

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #45 on: November 14, 2008, 01:01:26 PM »
You know, if every story written from today onwards takes every various male archetype and 'jams mammaries on it', it'll still be over a hundred years before women finally rival men for diversity.

I think you'll find that very, very few men are Bruce Willis, yet we see thousands upon thousands upon thousands of stories about them.

no argument there
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flannel

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #46 on: November 24, 2008, 06:26:40 PM »
I think its safe to say I'm against it... if you're a guy, don't play a girl.  If you're a girl, its less of a problem, but still don't play a guy.  If the character is THAT complex that it has to be a particular gender?  Then select something simpler to play, and be flexible.  Not every character is RP-gold, and very few are necessary.
. . .. ... .....
*wink*

Talen Lee

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #47 on: November 24, 2008, 07:45:01 PM »
you seem to exist in a very, very tiny world.

bhu

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #48 on: November 25, 2008, 07:20:47 AM »
Something  I just thought of.  If playing an exotic race PICK A LANGUAGE THE REST OF THE PARTY SPEAKS!!!!

Roleplaying an exotic race sucks major bad if you can't communicate with the other players in any meaningful way. 

Callix

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #49 on: November 25, 2008, 07:37:10 AM »
Something  I just thought of.  If playing an exotic race PICK A LANGUAGE THE REST OF THE PARTY SPEAKS!!!!

Roleplaying an exotic race sucks major bad if you can't communicate with the other players in any meaningful way. 
Yeah, there's a reason D&D has Common. It's better than Charades.
I know gameology-fu.

Talen Lee

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #50 on: November 25, 2008, 06:37:32 PM »
Being fair, charades can be shitloads of fun.

What I intend to do if I wind up like that is to have two stranded PCs talking in their own languages, trying to charade their communication, only to have an NPC yell in the one language they both have in common that they didn't try when they tried to talk.

X-Codes

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #51 on: November 26, 2008, 04:15:21 AM »
Being fair, charades can be shitloads of fun.

What I intend to do if I wind up like that is to have two stranded PCs talking in their own languages, trying to charade their communication, only to have an NPC yell in the one language they both have in common that they didn't try when they tried to talk.
For one level, I can see where it's fun.  Next level, take a rank of Speak Language.

Talen Lee

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #52 on: November 26, 2008, 05:09:58 AM »
I wouldn't even make 'em put up with it for a level. One SESSION.

DiamondMX

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #53 on: December 08, 2008, 04:31:33 PM »
Wow, Logan - you're a jackass.
Flannel - you're even more of a jackass.

Absolutely forbidding players to play another gender because it bothers you is so utterly close-minded that I boggle to think that people game with you as the GM.
Enforcing ridicule on those players that do is equally bad.

I have played in games with players who play as opposite genders time and time again, and some of these aren't even particularly good roleplayers - but all it takes is a little effort and you're not going to offend anyone with a tiny bit of open-mindedness.

Just ... wow, guys. Get back in your caves.

Zeke

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #54 on: December 08, 2008, 05:05:40 PM »
I think sometimes gender bending makes people uncomfortable. I operate under the premise that you are friends, or at least friendly, with the people you play with. Therefore, sometimes it's ok not to make your friends uncomfortable on purpose. If you're the one uncomfortable it's OK to say that. I don't beleive  the GM should be controlling those kinds of aspects of character creation though.

tsuyoshikentsu

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Re: Sode #26: Gender Roles and Playing What You Ain't
« Reply #55 on: January 02, 2009, 12:27:06 AM »
Anyway, this cake is great!  It's so delicious and moist.

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