It honestly depends on the maturity of the players.  I've played female characters, and have DM'ed players who have played female characters.  It hasn't been an issue for decades. 

(As in, when I was in my 20's I had the occasional jackass who played a female character who would come on to everyone or who would try to play a female "Asian paladin stripper" or whatever... ugh...!) 

I usually play male characters, though occasionally a certain concept works better with a female character.  So that's what I'll play.  I have five male players and one GM in my group (me).  One is playing a female character.  No big deal.  No issues. 

Quote from: Klava on April 04, 2024, 10:13:31 AM
i would not role play a character of the opposite sex (don't give a damn about gender - sorry, not sorry) that i am myself - for the simple reason that i have no personal experience to facilitate that. i have only been male in my life, and thus only know how that particular biological trait shapes ones inner self and expression thereof. but, if other people want to, i've no problem with that - provided they can make it work.

So I guess no freakin' monotreme dragonborns raised in a world with no Earth religions for you, then.

Anyway, funny story. I came out of this 3.0 game session, and someone's then-girlfriend was like, "It's so funny, you can always tell when a man is playing a female character." And the player was like, "What do you mean?" And she was like, "Oh, you know, the really effeminate voice. Just the way they act." And the player said, "Ok, I guess. Why are you bringing this up?" And she was like, "You. The way you were playing your character in the game." And the player was like, "My character is male." The character was some bard dandy type. LOL, good times.

It's not been a big problem in the games I've played in. Nobody was playing a stereotype, and we rarely had interparty romance.

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic on April 04, 2024, 03:57:17 AM
I mostly see it only in playing over text, which makes it easier to roleplay the character since you can just narrate and describe. It has been fine there. In person it never has come up.

Same here. Its alot easier in text play.

I allow it as long as the player is not being annoying or pushing some agenda.

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 04, 2024, 10:20:34 PM
It's not been a big problem in the games I've played in. Nobody was playing a stereotype, and we rarely had interparty romance.

I've only seen intraparty romance with male PC/male player & female PC/female player. And this DEFINITELY has the potential for 'issues', as players mix up in-game and IRL feelings. I had one 5e group with two such pairings, the players got way too into playing Doctors & Nurses and flatly refused to engage with an actual threat of an orc invasion, the group collapsed and I ended up banning most of the players.

Quote from: GhostNinja on April 04, 2024, 10:39:08 AM
I don't get gamers.  Playing an Elf or an Orc? No problem.  Playing someone of another sex? Are you kidding me?

Everyone has met men and women. Nobody has met an Elf or an Orc.

AKA, it is easier for people to roleplay the unrealistic rather than the realistic ESPECIALLY because there are all sorts of biological and social tensions and expectations that exist between humans of opposite sexes and these are known to all at the table.

But knowing these aspects actually makes accurate portrayal harder, not easier.

I think that only very experienced players should try to play a person of the opposite sex. The same holds true for playing other races/species. They should be very alien, but most players just treat them as skinsuits.

Quote from: Spinachcat on April 05, 2024, 04:41:46 AM
AKA, it is easier for people to roleplay the unrealistic rather than the realistic ESPECIALLY because there are all sorts of biological and social tensions and expectations that exist between humans of opposite sexes and these are known to all at the table.

But knowing these aspects actually makes accurate portrayal harder, not easier.

I've noticed that men of some cultures, notably USA-ians, treat women as mysterious, unknowable creatures. Whereas women of all cultures seem to treat men as simple, easily understood creatures.

Both are wrong.

Quote from: S'mon on April 05, 2024, 05:58:56 AM
I've noticed that men of some cultures, notably USA-ians, treat women as mysterious, unknowable creatures. Whereas women of all cultures seem to treat men as simple, easily understood creatures.

Both are wrong.

I think in both cases, you just need to do some work on understanding the psychology. Men think women are unknowable, women think there's nothing they need to know. Both are wrong, but it's far from impossible to get a decent grasp on how the other half typically thinks. Also of course there are more male-brained women and more female-brained men. They are not typical; but women with more masculine type brains do tend to be over-represented in the more 'adventurer' type professions IRL, like police and military. So if anything I think the male player has a slight advantage here. A corollary female advantage though is that female RPG nerds also tend to be a bit more male brained than the average woman, making it less of a stretch for them to play male PCs.

Most of the complaints about M2F trans-gender play seem to relate to pretty obvious expressions of Autogynephilia, the male player is getting a sexual kick out of playing his Lesbian Stripper Ninja. As the last few years have amply demonstrated, Autogynephilia is icky. 

Quote from: S'mon on April 05, 2024, 05:58:56 AM
I've noticed that men of some cultures, notably USA-ians, treat women as mysterious, unknowable creatures. Whereas women of all cultures seem to treat men as simple, easily understood creatures.

Both are wrong.

Nah. It's pretty accurate. I've been married for 20 years and have two teen daughters. I'm baffled daily by what is going on in their heads. I'm simple, let me have my cup of coffee and work in my man cave, occasionally say thank you when I fix something or do heavy lifting around the house and I'm happy.

Quote from: Thor's Nads on April 05, 2024, 06:06:43 AM
Nah. It's pretty accurate. I've been married for 20 years and have two teen daughters. I'm baffled daily by what is going on in their heads. I'm simple, let me have my cup of coffee and work in my man cave, occasionally say thank you when I fix something or do heavy lifting around the house and I'm happy.

My friend Matt has three daughters and he thinks the same as you.

I guess I used to be almost equally baffled. But there are some great resources out there for understanding female psychology these days. I found Alexander Grace on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVlisg4TUhk very helpful, got me a 6 month or so relationship with an insanely beautiful woman, way way out of my league. 

Quote from: Rhymer88 on April 05, 2024, 04:59:15 AM
I think that only very experienced players should try to play a person of the opposite sex. The same holds true for playing other races/species. They should be very alien, but most players just treat them as skinsuits.

Eh. The same could be said of portraying humans from a quasi-medieval magical fantasy culture.

We're playing pretend, not trying to make some definitive exploration of fictional people and cultures.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on April 05, 2024, 06:55:50 AM

Quote from: Rhymer88 on April 05, 2024, 04:59:15 AM
I think that only very experienced players should try to play a person of the opposite sex. The same holds true for playing other races/species. They should be very alien, but most players just treat them as skinsuits.

Eh. The same could be said of portraying humans from a quasi-medieval magical fantasy culture.

We're playing pretend, not trying to make some definitive exploration of fictional people and cultures.

It depends on the setting. It obviously doesn't matter in gonzo settings like Gamma World.

Quote from: Rhymer88 on April 05, 2024, 07:06:29 AM
It depends on the setting. It obviously doesn't matter in gonzo settings like Gamma World.

Well, yeah, if you're playing a quasi-historical game set in Henry VIII's court, that's going to require a little more investment by the players in role-playing their characters appropriately.