Genders in Role-Playing

[Holmishire]

To address something I said earlier:

As such, I don't really know why it is I feel more comfortable playing females. It might have something to do with me growing up believing that men were by nature predisposed to being bad people?

I've put more thought into it, and I think I've caught grasp of at least one of the prominent reasons. This'll take some tangents to explain properly. (also still largely conjecture)

I've mentioned that I tend to base my characters off of traits I observe in real people. In one of my stories, I took this to the extreme—each character was someone I actually knew in real life. However, they weren't carbon copies. They were snapshots, if you will, capturing their base traits and then expanding upon them into a unique character that is very reminiscent of their base individual, but also distinct enough in their own right to be usable.

None of the people used were good friends of mine. I knew the people well, but they weren't particularly close to me.

This is likely an important aspect of my majority female cast. As a male, I understand men on some intrinsic level. I know them too well, so I can't just take a snapshot of "men", simplify it, and expand it as easily. With women, my perspective of them is already a snapshot, an assumed base. As such, I can efficiently translate "woman" into a character. But once it comes to a man, it always feels like I'm oversimplifying them, because I am already familiar with the inner workings.

Sorry, this was relatively tangential to the subject at hand. I just felt the need to explore it myself.

 

[Koschei]

1. As much as I try not to, my opinions on the matter always carries over to my characters, to a degree. I try to separate the views of my character from my own, but I often forget to keep that distance, and end up doing what I decided not to do.

2. I believe there are more than two genders, yes. Well, believe, I know there are more than two genders. This is always present in my writing, be it roleplaying or novel writing. I usually embed LGBT characters in either the core story, or the background. My opinions on gender and gender identities always carry over to at least one character, and I handle gender differently now than before I knew such diversity existed. I treat it very casually and laid back. If that makes sense.

3. 99% of my characters fall under the LGBT spectrum. I can't even recall the last cis/het character I made, but it has to be years ago. Currently I play a grey-area ace/aro Bosmer, and a pansexual/gender fluid demi-god.

4. I try to treat my characters as characters, first and foremost. The emphasis on their gender, gender identity and sexuality should never overtake the emphasis on their personality and core. Then it all depends on how much gender, gender identity and sexuality means to the character. If their gender identity is important to, let's say a gender fluid character, then more emphasis will be put on said characters gender identity. It's all about the underlying reason why the characters act this and that way, and what makes them the way they are.

5. To be fair, I prefer to play male or masculine characters over female or feminine simply because of preference. I do have some minor discomfort issues with playing feminine/female characters, but my first ever RP character was female, and she's still very dear to me. When it comes to sexual acts, I tend to stick to men, because I know how that works. The fact that explicit sexual content creep me out, as a slightly sex-repulsed asexual, has little to do with the character's gender or lack thereof.

6. I always need to improve my writing. To be fair, nobody ever stops improving and learning new things.

7. If we're talking broad terms, such as books and novels, then my answer is no. LGBT issues and/or characters are vastly under-represented in literature. As for roleplaying, and my experience with it, I can't really say. I stick mostly to LGBT 1x1, or small group roleplays, and like-minded individuals. If I'd go on a hunch, I'd say even in the roleplaying community, a lack of gender diversity is a problem, akin to that of books and other such literature. Most likely it comes from ignorance, or simply a lack of understanding and awareness.


If this comes off as rambly or just poorly put together, my apologizes. My brain is still half asleep.

 

[AetherDream]

As clearly pointed these questions are, I guess I'll contribute to see where this rabbit hole goes. Might lead back to your other thread about this sort of thing, but hey, maybe something else will pop up. Anywho, onto the question.

1) Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?

I don't lead with politics or philosophy when making a character. Gender is not a note that weighs heavily in character creation for me, I simply make a character that interests me most and whose shoes I can most easily fill. I find myself far more interested in other aspects of the characters I create than sex and sexuality. Perhaps this is because it's not a true concern of mine in my waking world, but I'd like to think that there's so much more to be explored.

2) Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?

Nope, not really. A character can be whatever they want to be and present with that same freedom. If it's a man presenting as a woman, I'll direct my character's responses towards that presentation. If it's a woman presenting as a man, I'll do the same. Perhaps this sounds a bit limiting but after having more than a few transgender friends, I just go by whatever they want to be. And yes, some people do value their identity as intersex as much as their preferred gender and want that to be acknowledged by those around them. Again, not a huge issue for me. Do what you wanna do.

3) Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?

I haven't played an LGBT character before.

4) How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.

I'll use it to inform my imagination of the character's physical attributes. The rest doesn't matter to me.

5) Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?

It's not a matter of feeling uncomfortable, it's a matter of command of nuance. There are some things that a woman knows and has come to understand through her life and experiences that allow for a varied, complex and unique foundation that I have limited access to. I prefer to play male characters because my own foundation is similarly established for male characters. If I were to take on a female role, I would have a great deal more uncertainty than I would otherwise.

6) Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?

It's not a concern for me.

7) Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?

This isn't something that has come up for me. If it did, I don't think myself one fit to judge another person unless the portrayal is overtly offensive, demeaning, crude, crass or distasteful. I'd expect this issue to be a bit more complicated for a judgment of character based on roleplay alone.

 

[Wolk]

1. Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?
My policy is that I don't really care what gender someone is unless I have interest in them, because I am heterosexual and not pansexual. In my belief, genders do not make a difference beyond sexual dimorphism, which of course affects everyone differently.

Does that make an impact on my fictional characters? I'd say so, because I typically play straight men, and if I were to play a woman, she'd probably be into women, too. However, the sexual orientation of my characters never really came into play in any roleplay I've been part of, simply because I'm not that type of guy. And it probably affects my perception of genders in fiction, too, as I don't remember playing a character who has a different philosophical view on genders than me, though I probably could.

Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?
Oh wait, I'll get my can of worms - For the sake of simplicity I always go with three genders. Male, Female, Hybrid. (There are only two sexes though.)

Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?
I haven't. Maybe I will some time.

How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.
With me it's mostly physically/biologically, I don't care much for gender identity or sexuality in my roleplays.

Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?
I'd feel uncomfortable playing/writing as a straight female if there are carnal activities involved, but I don't care if there aren't. Otherwise I'd probably play as a homosexual female. But as I've said, I'm not much into sexuality in roleplays anyways.

Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?
Well, I always want to improve, but gender in fictional settings are not that much of a priority on my list.

Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?
From the few I've been active in, I can say that most people played their own gender fairly well. A few played the opposite gender, which ended up fine in my opinion.

 

[Windsong]

• No, because it's a purely fictional setting. If it's set in San Francisco or something I'd accommodate.
• There is biologically two genders. You can not change your chromosomes. Not yet anyway. Fictional races are exempt from this rule unless they are purely human.
• Yes, because I'd never done it before. They never quite worked out but that wasn't due to their sexual preferences. Would say roughly 2-6% of my characters.
• It depends on the setting and race. Otherwise it's often of little concern unless that's something key they use (looks to influence others, just to name one off top of my head)
• Not at all. It's just roleplaying/writing. I find writing female characters more interesting than men simply because I'm male myself. It's a challenge and makes me think more on differences that would play out.
• Yes, I can always improve in all aspects. Not just gender.
• It's their character, how they portray them is up to them. It all comes down to individual skill or bias so I can't accurately say. Ignorance is likely the largest, but as a male I'll never fully know what it is to be a woman except from experience interacting with them and that sort of stuff.

No, thank you for the questions and for the happy (and smelly) little bundle of energy.

 

[Jorick]

I answered the poll as male who plays males and females equally. Used to be heavily skewed toward male characters long ago, but in recent years I've been more interested in playing female characters so I usually have a roughly equal amount of male and female characters at any given time.

Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?

Absolutely. How could they not? I'd like to think that they don't influence things very strongly, because I very intentionally work to examine things from a more neutral stance and I often purposely make parts of my characters go against my beliefs, but I'm sure some stuff slips through without me noticing. One example of how my beliefs can influence gender things is that even in realistic roleplay set in fairly realistic pseudo-medieval times I've made a female character that's an independent warrior type, despite that flying in the face of the time period. I'm used to thinking about things a certain way, looking at things through my modern lens of "people should be equal," so sometimes I have to consciously constrain or shift said thoughts for the sake of going along with the circumstances presented by the roleplay. Sometimes I fail to do that, and that's when my beliefs overtly influence things.

Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?

More than two genders? Eh, not really. It's complicated though. Holmishire already explained some of what I think, though in rather different terms than I would (and momentarily will) use.

Basically, I see gender as a two variable construct with an optional extra thing to examine for the sake of categorization. Those variables are masculinity and femininity, and the extra bit is looking at how well those things match up with your physical sex. Masculinity and femininity as far as I conceive of them are not the spectrum that a lot of people like to talk about either, where they are opposite ends of a line and everyone fits on some point of it, rather they are two axes on a graph (like this, not the kind with quadrants because those would require negative figures and I don't think there's such a thing as negative quantities of masculinity or femininity). To figure out gender you just have to figure out where someone would be placed on that graph by estimating their relative quantity of masculinity and femininity, which is an inexact science at best because all you can do is separately compare them to what total and complete lack of femininity/masculinity would be like and guessing where your level is, and making a little dot on the graph where those levels meet up. If they end up noticeably above the line, they're probably female; if they end up noticeably below the line, they're probably male; if they end up right by the line, they're probably a roughly even mix that might be called androgynous or bigender; if they end up right at the bottom left corner, meaning zero for both things, they're probably neither and that could be called agender. However, I still call this two genders, and to explain my reasoning I'm going to make a probably shitty analogy. Let's pretend masculinity is a banana (because phallic symbol) and femininity is a peach (because vaginal symbol... although I feel like that's not the proper opposite term to 'phallic' but whatever), and gender is a fruit smoothie. When you have more of one fruit than the other, it would make sense to say it's something like a peach smoothie with banana instead of a peach and banana smoothie; however, if they're roughly equal in proportion, it would be inaccurate to not call it a peach and banana smoothie. If the smoothie has neither of them, well, that's an interesting thing to call a fruit smoothie, but you do you. What it comes down to for me is that "peach and banana" is not a new and separate fruit, so I don't see why "equally masculine and feminine" would be a new and separate gender. Having neither fruit in the smoothie is also not a new and separate kind of fruit, so I don't see why "not masculine or feminine" would be a new and separate gender. The entire system is built upon the relation to and between male and female, because those are the only two genders. By the way, it's important to note that while these traits are related to physical sex, gender is a separate thing; sex is what parts you have, gender is about masculinity and femininity, and one does not absolutely determine the other.

That other thing I mentioned, comparing your graphed findings with your physical sex, is how we get labels like transgender. Transgender is not a gender, it is a term referencing how your gender relates to your sex. Calling transgender a gender in and of itself would be like declaring t-shirt to be a shirt color. I can't recall if there are any categorizing terms for how intersex (which is a physical sex, not a gender, which I'm bothering to state because I've seen a few people try to claim it as a gender) people match up with genders, but they probably exist.

To summarize, while there's a lot of nuance in what exactly it means to be male or female by gender, those are really the only terms that you really need when doing something like filling out the gender line of a character sheet. The nuance ought to be displayed in the character's behavior and personality, because that's where it really matters. Making up new terms for every different possible configuration of masculinity and femininity is just annoying and makes no sense. I know people want to be special little snowflakes and have fancy words to describe their totally unique gender identity, but it's really pointless clutter when you're trying to discuss the reality of gender. I could rant about that nonsense for a while, but this answer is already way longer than it needed to be so I'll spare everyone and move on.

I do express all this in my writing, but not explicitly. It's not something that ever needs to be explained. You'll never see me list a character's gender as something other than male or female (because even if they're equally mixed or neither I'll just label them with the term that correlates to their physical sex for ease of reference), but you might see me playing an androgynous character or a male that has a lot of feminine traits, or so on. I don't ever focus on gender identity for my characters so it's never something I feel the need to explicitly explain.

Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?

I have indeed. Currently I have 4 active characters across 3 roleplays (all your roleplays in fact, Brovo, because all my other ventures are sitting in limbo or died off, haha), and 2 of them are not heterosexual. Overall I'd guess that something like 15% of my characters fit somewhere into LGBT territory. This is in large part because I consider the default to be heterosexual (simply because the vast majority of humans and animals from dimorphic species are heterosexual with zero or only incidental forays into other categories) and most of my characters never get put in a position where their sexuality matters, so I never bother to even consider whether or not they might have some other sexuality. Honestly, I could just as easily count them as asexual since they never express any kind of sexuality, but that would be kind of misleading so I won't bother doing so.

How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.

Physical – Eh, not much? If the character's gender matches up with their biological sex then there's really no need to place special emphasis on this, and I haven't ever played a transgender character so it hasn't ever been an issue for me.

Gender Identity – Depends on the character and setting, but typically also not much. I generally don't put any special emphasis on a character's gender identity, I just have them act in ways that fit their own conception of their gender and their place in the world and so forth. I've never made a character that had any real struggle with their gender identity because I don't find it to be a very interesting topic to explore, so I've never felt the need to put special attention on it.

Sexuality – Well, discounting the characters that effectively never have a sexuality, I do place a lot of emphasis on gender when sexuality does actually get involved. Sexuality is all about what people are attracted to, and gender is a huge factor there. Physical sex is also a big thing, probably more important than gender because the main consideration of sexuality is what kind of genitals you want your partner to have, but I digress. Gender and how it's expressed have a lot to do with attraction, so it's kind of important to emphasize that if sexuality is in play.

Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?

I'm totally fine with playing females in most circumstances. I don't think I'd be entirely comfortable writing out a sex scene for a female character, but that's mainly because I've never done it before so it would be a new experience. I also felt really awkward and uncomfortable the first time I wrote a sex scene with a male character, but I got past that. If I ever got interested in doing sex scenes in roleplays again (haven't done it in years because on the actual writing side of things it gets repetitive and boring rather easily, and the only reason to bother with them other than enjoying the writing would be for masturbatory purposes and that's just way too much effort when porn is so readily accessible) I figure I could get used to doing it from the female perspective as well.

Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?

Nope. There are very few ways in which I think it's possible to write gender poorly, most of those are just plain old bad writing in other ways, and I just don't really care much about how well or poorly I write genders. I care about making a good story and having interesting characters; sometimes that means gender is totally irrelevant, and sometimes that means using blatant stereotypes because they fit for whatever is going on. I've got a character who is a total manwhore, hits all sorts of tropes about how men are arrogant and think only with their penis, but I don't see that as a problem because he's fun to play and he adds neat things to the roleplay because he is more than just his gender. In that same game I have a female who is afraid of violence and tries to solve everything with words rather than force, but she's also just fine because she isn't just a woman, she has more going on than just gender. Gender is never really at the forefront of my characters because their abilities and personalities are what actually matter, and that's exactly the way it should be, so I feel no need to change my writing as it pertains to gender.

Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?

This is a kind of odd one to answer, because as I said above I don't consider things like using negative or stereotypical tropes to necessarily be unfair or poor writing of a gender. I'd say people almost always fairly portray character gender, because most things that others maight label as failings could just as easily be the character expressing their actual gender. Something a lot of people seem to be unwilling to admit is that negative gender stereotypes actually do fit some real life people, so using them can in fact be true to reality rather than horribly sexist or whatever. If you acknowledge that gender is not just a binary switch in which the only options are generic male or generic female, if you accept that it's actually a complex thing with a huge range of potential outcomes, then you have to accept that even the most painfully stereotypical and overblown interpretation of masculinity or femininity are real and valid possible expressions of someone's gender. What if someone makes a super macho guy who only thinks about fighting things, banging chicks, and getting drunk? I say that's a fair portrayal of gender because there are men who are actually like that. What if someone makes a super feminine girl who is obsessed with finding her Prince Charming and having a fairy tale wedding and settling down to have a nuclear family wherein she's the stay at home mom? Also fair, there are real women like that. The thing to keep in mind is that characters are usually not intended to be representative of the whole of a gender. That female character example above is not really sexist or unfair or whatnot because it's not trying to say all women are or should be like this, it's just a character that happens to fit perfectly into the traditional gender roles for females. There's nothing wrong with that at all, so it's not an unfair portrayal.

I don't I've ever seen anyone portray gender in an unfair manner in roleplay, because of my above thoughts. If someone were to describe a character as very masculine and then play them as very feminine, then I suppose that could be an unfair portrayal, but that's one of those things that I'd classify under bad roleplaying rather than gender issues. The only way I could see something actually counting as unfair portrayal without being explained away by poor roleplaying would have to be if someone were to explicitly and earnestly say that their character is exactly how all males/females are or should be. I don't know what exactly might motivate someone to do something that dumb, but I suppose it could be any of those traits listed in the question.

I don't think people make characters they plan on hating or having something despicable they want to depict for the most part (there are exceptions; I distinctly recall one of Jorick's Game of Thrones characters being a murderous pedophile which fit nicely into the setting, and I know him well enough to know that he doesn't write characters to be malicious, it's all about telling a story), people tend to play characters they like or think reflects them in some way.

Yup, no malicious intent, just intent to make things interesting. It was very much intended to be a depiction of something despicable, to add another dimension of awful shit into the already fairly dark world of Game of Thrones. It's all about making a good story and getting people interested and engaged with it, and sometimes a heinous monster of a character is a good way to get that done. :D

 

[dragonesper]

1.

Yes, and no. To a certain degree my philosophical and ethical views do make it difficult for me to portray certain characters. I've recently been able to expand the repertoire, but that's more often for side characters I don't have as much invested in.

2.

Purely scientific? Nope, asexual reproduction is something that exists, the lifeforms capable of that is non-gendered/a-gendered making them neither male nor female.
Narrowing it to humans: Then there's the whole sexual dimorphism that is in intent binary with the exception of intersexed people who through one way or another is literally sexual dimorphic, simply put; they're both genders.

Identity-wise then I'm more of the "eh, if you feel like that then that's fine, it's your business." I don't really care beyond using the right pronouns.

3.

Yes, a lot of times, either for a plot point or it just happens.
Hmm, how many are what... *counts, thinks, loses count* Argh! I've played too many chars!!!! Well, roughly 30% maybe? The number has been upped thanks to a certain roleplayer *cough* @Sailor Moon *cough* offered a really fun yuri RP.

4.

Physically: Only if it's a situation their body-type, inherent strength or something similar directly effect their chances of doing something.
Gender identity: Only when it's not aligned to biological sex.
Sexuality: Hmm, only if their attraction to someone becomes a plot point or of relevance to the RP.

5.

Nope, not at all. I started playing guys because I was bad at playing female characters. I ended up overdoing the whole emotions part... Even though I'm female myself... Lately though I've played mostly female characters.
As for sex scenes: I spend more time thinking about the mechanics and writing it believable than to actually give a damn if it affects me or not so gender plays no role when writing such stuff.

6.

I need to improve my writing. Period.

7.

I've seen good, I've seen bad. I've seen some weird shit.

 

[Cyan]

1: Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?
Pretty much. I'm very relaxed about stuff like that, and I find it difficult to process how people can get up in arms about something so trivial.

2: Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?
I believe in male, female, both, and neither.

I haven't really had the chance to explore this in any of my writing.

3: Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?

Like an earlier poster said, I don't really classify my characters as LGBT, even if they're homo, bi, trans, etc.. That said, in roleplays, I like to mix around different flavors, so to speak, though they're mostly female; I haven't played or written any trans, multigendered, or agendered characters, yet.

My characters would probably be about 40% or so, probably more if you counted asexual characters.

4: How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.

1. Depends. Quite a few of my characters are fighters, so I have to figure in their sex's typical body strength (upper/lower). Otherwise, no.
2. If my character says they're a lad/y, they're a lad/y.
3. I may not understand this question, but if my character is a homosexual man, they obviously aren't a lesbian.

5: Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?

I feel a little uncomfortable, due to the ways guys are raised and the standards people put on them, but this also goes for other groups, like religious people and homosexuals. I don't do libertine anymore, but I'll probably forever refuse to write a sex scene while playing as a male.

6: Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?

No. I don't feel it's too important, to be honest.

7: Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?
I find that people here tend to do an awesome job.

 

[Nemaisare]

Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?
Oh yeah, definitely. As they say, you write what you know. But I have found that the more I expand my comfortable writing zone, the more I wind up knowing what I write, instead. Unless I'm actively trying to experiment or change things up on my brain, I do settle into a comfortable area of letting my characters have a similar outlook or philosophy as concerns anything (genders included) to my own position. But as that would likely get boring fast, I always try to be aware of what opinion I'm playing around with and how I can exaggerate or flip it to create a different standpoint. So, I'm not letting my characters come out as carbon copies of what I go around thinking all day, but they are definitely influenced by the same things that have influenced me and the way I think about gender and stereotypes and what the heck political correctness means... Sometimes that influence is in the way they see or think about something, and sometimes it's in how I portray their actions, but it's likely always going to be there. Because even were I to try for something diametrically opposed to my own views, that opposition would be influenced by the opinion I've formed of it. I think.

Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?
Scientifically speaking, hermaphrodites and agendered and transgendered beings are entirely possible. They aren't often seen in humans(I've only ever heard of a few herms and even there I'm not sure if they were considered 'true'), but they do exist out there in the wide, wide world. Having grown up in a mostly binary human world with no stigma attached to the non-binary or any emphasis beyond the lack of other options offered on the binary and only really coming into contact with anything outside of the binary system in humans after stepping onto the internet, I'm admittedly more confused and fascinated by the whole thing than I am strictly trying to figure out whether I believe it is truely possible to have more than two genders. So, my answer is I'm open to the possibility.

I have, more often within the past three years, been trying to incorporate some of this new knowledge into my writing. I'm a lot more comfortable experimenting with it when I'm playing a character outside of the human race simply because then it's my interpretation and I don't have to worry about offending anyone. Although, I suppose they could be offended by the fact that most of my attempts aren't human... :/ I generally don't go out of my way to have my characters blurting out random bits of backstory or gender facts unless it seems an appropriate time and place to do so. Just as in the real world, I find it more important to focus on who a person is rather than what they are, unless that's what they're trying to figure out themselves, or they think that's important to their identity. Most of my characters wouldn't.

Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?
I have and I do. I don't know if I'd be at all right in guessing that a rough 40% of my characters, over all, not in play at the moment, are LGBT, but that's my very rough estimate. Sexuality is usually the last stop on my figure-a-character-out list unless it's one of those things necessary to know for the rp, and I don't do a lot of those. Even then, it's mostly a side dish that makes for a nice flavouring every now and again, but isn't necessary to make a full meal. Omnomnom, characters... I need to eat lunch and want food.

How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.
I do like me some stereotypes on occasion. Tall, buff men and tiny, wide-hipped girls.... >.> No? No? I mean, come on! Arnold Schwarzenegger(sp?)? *coughs* Okay, really, I don't use gender as the basis for my characters a lot. If I want a physically strong character, they're going to be physically strong whether or not they're male or female. I will pay it more attention if there are certain biological gender traits where men or women have the advantage and the advantage is what I want, but then I'd emphasise that trait rather than the gender itself. If that makes sense... The physical characteristics are probably where I'd most emphasise a character's gender though, either by trying to downplay the obvious visual cues or exaggerate them, or just straight up ignore them if I can.

The gender identity or the characters sexuality only comes into play if either is ever challenged or necessary for the storyline. Often I will know these things, offhand, for any just in case moment, but until they come into play, that knowledge isn't concrete and could happily do a 180 on me without much bother. So , I avoid making a big fuss about it ICly unless the character would bring it out into the open for other people to react to.

Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?
Nope. They're still people, and I'm comfortable playing people. Hell, if I'm comfortable playing an animate fungus, I'd hope that a different gender wouldn't phase me. I do get a little awkwarded out when it comes to carnal activities, even the occasional flirting, but I chalk that up more to my own lack of experience in that area than with which gender I'm playing. Luckily, flirting is not a necessary life skill.

Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?
I think I write my characters' genders at a level satisfactory to me, myself and I. And I've never had any epic complaints from my partners. Whether they were merely being polite, or actually didn't mind, I couldn't tell you. So, I don't think I need to improve. I'm sure there are many ways in which I could, however, and a lot of the topics I've browsed through have shown me different aspects I could focus on. I do fall into a lot of cliches when I write, and sometimes that's fine and other times I think I could have come up with something better. Whether or not this has to do, specifically, with the character's gender isn't always the case, but it's often a good place to start.

Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?
On average? Yeah, sure. I'm not usually looking at the gender portrayal specifically whenever I judge a character. So, I'd have to say that I've honestly only come across maybe one character, that I can even remember vaguely, that I didn't think was an accurate depiction of their gender. But since I haven't met everyone in the world, it is entirely possible that the rper was actually basing that character portrayal off somebody they knew. Why not?

It's safe to say that if I did come across someone I thought was making a poor job of it, I'd either assume they've been living in an all fe/male boarding school their whole life, or something, only had one parent of the wrong gender for observing and are, themselves not the gender they're playing and are therefore extremely ignorant and need to watch a little more tv or get out of their house more... That, or they just don't yet know how to create a consistent, rounded character. The latter is much easier to wrap one's head around. The rest of the time,I'd just assume that cliches are at it again.

And now, I get to eat lunch! Foooooooooooood.

 

[Nemopedia]

1. Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?
   
   As a younger role player I might have done so. Expressing my opinions through my character in small amounts, or very strongly, even if it wasn't in their character. Nowadays I try to avoid that, or only do so if it is in their character to believe the same as I do. I used to be a lot more defensive of my opinions, so that might also have contributed to why I'm now much comfortable to play different perceptives.
   
   As for gender roles. Again, that depends on the character itself and what I set their beliefs to be. I don't believe in gender roles myself, and can go around them pretty obliviously until pointed out to me. I've been however more mindful about the existence of 'gender roles' in society, so I try also to give it more attention in my characters if room given to be.
   
2. Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?
   
   Yes, though I can't say I understand much of it. I do believe that people can identify themselves with another gender than they're born with, or than traditionally believed to be. I however don't write about it myself, mostly because I'm unknowledgable on that ground and don't want to offend anyone with my 'ignorance'. Though again, if it is about expressing the opinion of my characters I will go with what suits them as a character and not what my opinion is. I try to keep them separated as much as possible.
   
3. Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?
   
   Honestly, I've never thought much about sexuality in my characters. It is probably the last thing I think/wonder about. They could go into any direction as long as the story flows into it and I find that the character is slowly falling for the other. However, I have to admit that there have only been two cases in which my character ever fell in love, coincidentally both times it was a heterosexual relationship. Other times it was heavily implied and forced by my partners, but then my character felt a lack of 'connection'. So I guess this would make them demisexual? As they really had to get to know the other and open up before finally 'falling in love'. I don't know, I honestly never made much of a point to think about it. Again, I do try to be more mindful about it now, but it will never be on top of my priority list to figure out what sexuality my character has.
   
   I can't give you a rough estimation on what sexuality my character has and how many of them would be LGBT. Mostly because I have no idea what their sexuality would be seeing as I had given it no food for thought. I won't bother either to go and figure that out now, that would require me immersing in characters again that I've somewhere dusting on my shell. Frankly said, I don't believe in setting a sexuality for a character right off the bat. I believe in them fleshing out, developing in character IC-wise and then find out their romantic interests. Besides, I haven't even figured out my own yet.
   
   Though, currently I do play some LGBT characters. Two to be exact and these would be the only two from which I've set their sexuality for right from the start. These two have also made me realise how little attention and thought I've given to sexuality. Which was none.
   
4. How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.
   
   Physically I'm aware of the differences between gender, so I can write down what I've observed physically. But I never tried to go out of my way on making a point out of these differences. Surely I would try to make a point out of it if my character happens to be much shorter/taller than average, but other than that I don't give it much attention. As for gender identity and sexuality, as explained and described in above questions I've never given it much attention. I would describe them as a 'he/she' but beyond that point I don't think I've ever focussed much on gender identity or sexuality with my characters.
   
5. Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?
   
   No? I think? This question is making me conscious on whether I'm portraying my characters correctly in terms of gender. XD
   
   No, I'm not uncomfortable in portraying my opposite gender, or my own gender for that matter. Mostly because, aside from the physical differences that can be observed with the eye, I don't believe that there is much of a difference otherwise. All of them, male, female, etc... would be just a human being filled with emotions and stacked with organs and a beating heart. That is how I've always plainly viewed it and there was no difference in that, unless the character was missing a lung, a limb, or etc... But that wouldn't make them different emotion-wise. So no. I tend to focus a lot more on the psychological part of the character than their physicall part anyway, so I guess that is what it does with me? I mean... I don't know how to explain it any other way. They're just... human.
   
   Now I'm really feeling concious about my portrayals. >_>
   
6. Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?
   
   I think I do. I never gave much thought of it, but now that I answer these questions I'm actually starting to wonder how much of a fool I may have made myself to be. D: No one has ever commented on it though, maybe out of politeness, or maybe because they never noticed it before, but I will certainly start pressuring my partners for some feedback and opinions on it and look for places to read about gender portrayals.
   
7. Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?
   
   I haven't encountered a case yet where I thought that they did not? Or maybe I do... But these would mostly be the case when people play stereotypes that are very 'flat' in character. Like the ones who (always) plays the meek girl who never does anything, doesn't come up for herself, is always sweet and has herself be walked over like a doormat and cried over the smallest things. Or the (he thinks he is a) bad boy type, that is being generally moody, snappish, doesn't contribute at all to the story but be his moody self while giving his opinion when no one asks for it. But again, these are stereotypes people don't flesh out to get a 'round' character and instead have themselves stuck with a 'flat' character. So I guess, the reason why such characters come to exist is because people don't look farther than the 'side' character and the 'stereotype' that they're going for and thus forget to give them other qualities to 'balance' them out. Though again, I tend to focus a lot more on the psychological part of the character.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

I'm female, and I always play a main female character. For starters, my male characters come off as cliche and stereotypical. They are either extreme nice guys who get pushed around, or they're the jerky playboys that flirt with anything with boobs and generally act like they're badass. I'm trying to break the habit, but honestly I need some work.

I do tend to play a lot of male side characters, however, and for some reason they come out great. Maybe it's because there's no real pressure for me to make them perfect, or simply because there's generally no romance involved with them. I can't really explain it. I don't have an aversion to playing males at all, in fact, I tend to have a lot of fun with my male characters.

1. I don't really have any political views or philosophical beliefs that would influence me one way or another. o.O
2. When it comes to genders, I tend to stick with male and female. Not because I don't believe in transgender or someone being gender fluid, but because I don't really know enough about the lifestyle to accurately portray a character.
3. I tend to always have a gay male character. Not entirely sure why. o.O But I'd say out of all of my characters 10% would fit the LGBT category.
4. I wouldn't say I place a whole lot of emphasis on the physical nature of gender, but the emotional/hormonal/mental aspect of it.
5. I'm not uncomfortable playing male characters, although I will admit that when it comes to the adult content, I'm clueless. I'm not a guy, and other than cheesy romances, I have no idea how a male feels/reacts/responds during that time.
6. As a main, yes. As a side character, absolutely not. I've had a few partners, males in particular tell me that my male side characters are completely believable. I played a male cousin for one of my characters and my partner told me he was his favorite character in the entire roleplay. I just need to get the hang of being a romantic guy.....not that I'm much better at being a romantic girl.
7. I will admit, my female partners play better males than my male partners. >_> I'm not sure if that's insulting or not....

 

[Tempest]

1.Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?

To a slight degree at times, but I try not to let it all the time. I know at times my characters are a bit more liberal leaning than normal, but I do have my share of conservative individuals as well.

2.Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?

I do not believe there are more than two genders, but I do believe that there are more than two ways to express gender.

3.Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?

Oh yeah. Yes. I would give a rough estimate, but I couldn't fairly do so. I would rather say that I have a rather healthy mix of characters on the sexual spectrum.

4.How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.

I feel that for some characters it can be a very vital part of their beings. It also depends upon the setting and time. Physically/biologically, it might play a lot more into the character's role just because they are built and it may be an obstacle or asset to them. Their identity may be something they struggle with or accept. Their sexuality may be something that they are coming to a budding reality of. In the end, it depends on what sort of story I am working upon.

5.Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?

I feel absolutely comfortable writing as the opposite biological sex. Honestly, there was a little hesitance at first as to getting into the mindset, but I quickly found myself becoming more and more comfortable getting into the mindset of such characters.

6.Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?

I feel that there could be some room for improvement, but just as much as I could use improvement in any area of writing characters, really. I don't see it necessarily as a gender issue.

7.Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?

No, not really. I think people sometimes focus upon gender stereotypes a little too much. Yes, sometimes the staples helped to make the foundations of the ideas in the past, but they don't necessarily make for human characters.

 

[Rainjay]

1. No? I dunno. I just take the fictional world and it's rules and beliefs and apply that to the character. I believe in gender equality but in a fictional world where the people are highly sexist, the character I create will reflect that.
2. I do believe there are but it still primarily play a female character. I've played agender and genderfluid characters, but not often.
3. Even if a character I play isn't strictly defined on the spectrum, they're still a little gay. I leave them open to whatever happens. But if listing the sexuality is required, they're usually defined as being bi/pan.
4. I've never really considered it.
5. I do, but mostly because most of my friends and most of the people I'm around and interact closely with are female, and I am also female; and knowing me, I'd pick up a male character and somehow manage to portray them no differently than I would a female, no matter the circumstances. The character would be extremely limited to their personality and attitude, and so I don't bother.
6. I definitely do. I refuse to play males because I feel I'll portray them wrong, even though I live in a world where you can act however the hell you want. There isn't a strict definition of "boy-like" or "girl-like" you need to fit. But that aside, I still need to work on the different types of characters I can portray with different genders as well.
7. Maybe some of it is just naivety but I don't see a lot of problems with this, at least not on Iwaku. Most people I see that play all genders equally are just as good at the opposite gender as they are with the same gender.

 

[O|NoSoul]

Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?

No. My political and philosophical beliefs can be summed up as "live and let live." I doubt a certain one of my characters would hold that philosophy and I'd even go so far as to say he'd hate me if he met me and I would shortly be dead after pissing my pants in fear of him. Most of my characters are pretty far from my personal beliefs and ideals. My perception of genders in a fictional setting though? You'd have to phrase that question differently for me, as I can't quite understand.

My perception of genders in a fictional setting is…fine? Normal? If you're asking me if I have a problem with people playing females, then no, as I mostly play fantasy, and I know that fantasy settings =/= medieval Europe. Nevermind Medieval Europe was more egalitarian than most people believe, but that's another discussion entirely.

If I have a problem with people playing as genders other than male or female? Again, no. It may be a little odd to me, but forgive me if I find agender, pan-romantic, otherkin characters odd. I'm just still not used to the whole thing about sexuality and gender being complicated… again, another discussion entirely…

Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?

Again, I am a person whose whole world has only contained people of only male and female and this whole thing about more than two genders is mind-boggling to me. I've never felt pressed to put this into any roleplay that I GM, Co-GM, or simply participate in. I'm just not one of those that is not used to saying "Oh, yes, that person is agender". I'm of the worldview that I can assume that you are a male if you have a penis, born with it or not, and the same goes for having a vagina unless I am told otherwise. It's none of my business to say what makes you happy is wrong, so long as it doesn't restrict another from being happy.

Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?

No, but I would like to play a homosexual or bisexual character. Varying shades of gay, of course, as there are people who are gay and you wouldn't know it unless they told you. My Godfather's boyfriend, for instance, is pretty much what I would call a "man", no matter how outdated that view of a hardworking blue-collar, middle-class, hard living, cussing, spitting, callused-hand Southern-State American is. I'm completely open to playing a homosexual character of either male or female. As it stands, 0% of the characters I play are LGBT.

How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas:

Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.

Physically/Biologically? Almost none. I play them as people, not canvasses with boobs and vaginas and a mouth to express their love for boys, flowers and perfume.
Gender Identity? I've never played a person who wasn't either male or female. I just don't think I would represent them properly so I don't. No bias against the IRL people who identify as neither male nor female.
Sexuality? I'd be open to playing both male and female homo/bisexuals.

Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?

I'd feel pretty comfortable roleplaying as a woman. I would try to do it "correctly", as some could put it, and just roleplay her as a person with breasts and a vagina with hopes, dreams, feelings and everything else male characters have. People who roleplay them instead as breasts and a vagina are doing it so wrong I want to pull my own teeth out.

Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?

Maybe? I mean, I assume roleplaying a woman is essentially the same as roleplaying a man. I'm not saying to just write a male character and then bolt some boobs on and slap on a vagina. Of course, I assume males and females approach situations differently, and I'd try to highlight that, which would need some practice. I guess.

I'm not saying there aren't "masculine" females who are as strong as their male counterparts, I kind of think Korra was a well done female character. I don't know exactly. In short, yes, I do need some practice, but I am completely open and would like to roleplay a female in a roleplay.

Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?

On average? I haven't seen one done bad, I've only seen bad characters. That is to say, I've never seen people play female characters badly, as I don't factor in the gender when I assess if a character is bad or not.

Now, are there people who play bad female characters? Yes, definitely. At least they tried, unless they're trying to roleplay a fetishized ideal of a fictional woman and trying to shoehorn smutty scenes into roleplays. I have had that happen to me once and it was a factor, I think, to the death of a roleplay I was GMing that was otherwise pretty damn cool and I believe I and everyone else had fun with while it lasted.

I believe most of the female characters done badly could be due to ignorance naivety, mostly, as I haven't seen one done out of malevolence for women. I believe people generally do try to play females well, but trip up at times.

I believe that the key to roleplaying a female isn't to highlight the fact that the character is female, but to roleplay a person that happens to be female. Does that make sense?

 

[Thornapple]

1. Of course. Because fiction is just a filtered reality between imagination and the creators own ideals/principles (unless the subject matter is meant to question those ideals, like sci fi). But with group role-playing, it adds so much depth to the fictional worlds you create because it is no longer the product of one mind, but many.
2. I really do not. Gender nowadays is considered to be based upon societal standards and expectations. Being that I am a firm believer that eliminating the idea of gender roles all together (as unlikely as that may be). The "non-binary" idea is based off of societies expectations of gender, which feels like it's increasing the problem in my opinion. I think it's just not quite the perfect solution for the right cause. But it's good that we are trying to show the world all females don't have to like dresses and makeup, and all guys aren't going to be mechanics and Beardy McBeardbeards.
3. I have never made the focus of my character their gender or sexual preference. I just stick with a picture and a few base personality traits that help achieve what I have in mind for that story. A couple of my characters developed into gay and asexual individuals, because that's just what seemed most "right" for them.
4. I usually first base my character off of a picture I see or draw. So appearance is the first deciding factor. Otherwise, I let my characters take a life of their own.
5. I don't think it's uncomfortable playing the opposite sex, but I've never tried writing smut with the opposite sex either. I think I would not be well equipped to accurately portray that sex, since smut isn't really my forte.
6. I think writing characters is as much about understanding your creation as it is molding it to your bidding. Its like getting to know that person in real life. Don't be afraid to discover your characters, to take that step, and to see what works best for them. Even if you're not bisexual, or non-binary, or straight, you can learn a lot about that particular group of people simply by letting your character develop into one.
7. Haha... Well, I really think this one is based on the skill of the particular writer... But the people who do write well typically have a mind enough not to include blatantly offensive stereotypes or overly dramatic emphasis on traits considered "gay" or "straight". Having never experienced in themselves, of course there will be some misconceptions, which is why I think that a learning experience.

 

[MUSΞ]

Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?

-I believe they do. Which is why I am starting to create characters who are opposing most of my political and philosophical beliefs. I've created and rp'ed characters that are very similar to how I am in person and it's getting a bit boring. However, it all depends on the rp I will join. Plenty of casual and modern rps aren't the best for these types of characters as some are very extreme.

Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?

-Yes I believe there are more genders out there (and none of these fake Tumblr ones). I started research of other genders when I was starting to feel...different...and when wanting to create more dynamic characters. Most believe in western civilization of gender (women, men) and just starting to explore the possibilities of other genders that ancient civilizations had.

A lot of my characters gender-bend as I find playing your standard women/men boring. My favorite is the woman "hero" and the man "damsel".

Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?

-I've played plenty of LGBT characters and I am currently playing some. But, when creating my characters, they all start out as asexual until I find out if my rp partner wants any sort of romance or not. I only have about three characters who were created as LGBT straight off. The rest of my pre-made characters are heterosexual.

I created one transgender character (MtF) loosely based off my transgendered friend in my first attempt to widen my writing abilities for transgendered. It was a hit/miss. Most people were very interested and loved the character. Others (stick in the mud people) got upset when I refused to use pronouns like "hir" or other neutral words. Some even refused to have their character rp with mine for whatever reason. The character is worth exploring more. Maybe here on Iwaku.

How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.

-None really. The only time would be if I was creating a supernatural character or if any romance was involved.

Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?

-I don't feel uncomfortable playing as the opposite gender at all. I can play both genders comfortably. When it came to sexual rp (I don't do that anymore) I hated being female. I think because in most cases, playing the female character is the submissive one. Since I love gender-bending, I always tried to make my female character the dominate one, but it always scared my partner away.

Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?

-There is always room for improvement. My women characters can use a bit more focus as a lot of them seem similar. Most are tomboyish. It would be nice to have some girly, yet strong women characters.

Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?

-It's a bit hard to answer this question as there's a lot of cliche characters in general. But, cliches have to based on a little bit of truth? On average, most genders are portrayed believable at least. To me, it has to do with writing ability and your ability to have your character grow. Honestly, rp'ing as a man or women isn't so different until romance and sexuality comes into play. But, even then, and especially if you're in a modern rp, that can be extremely similar too. You just have to match your character's personality to it.

However, when it comes to sexual rp, this is where you can see the ignorance of genders portrayed. It's one of the main reasons I stopped with sexual rps (and that I'm over it in general). You get more variety if you do same-sex, but hetero couples are ridiculous. I won't start as I'll go on a forever rant about it, but this is where you get "super macho guy" and "pathetically innocent/submissive girl."

 

[Rare]

Do you believe that your political or philosophical beliefs influence your characters and your perception of genders in a fictional setting?
No political or philosophical beliefs influence my characters.

Do you believe there are more than two genders (male, female), and do you express this in writing?
Maybe? I don't know, I never have feelings to be a female (even known I am a male) or be something else. I am willing to try to write out a transgender or any character that wants to be something else.

Have you ever played an LGBT character? Do you currently play any LGBT characters? Can you estimate, roughly, what percentage of characters you play that are LGBT?
I have played gay, bisexual, and asexual character. I really want to try other LGBT+ characters out; but, I haven't found a roleplay to try that. I am no currently playing any LGBT characters. Well, my characters are around 25% that are LGBT+.

How much emphasis do you place on your character's gender in the following areas: Physically/Biologically, gender identity, sexuality.
I put must emphasis into all of the areas; but, I force on the physically more than identity and sexuality. I don't know, I just do.

Do you feel uncomfortable playing/writing as the opposite biological sex? (IE: If you are a male, do you feel uncomfortable playing females, and vice versa.) Is this restricted solely to carnal activities (ex: sex), or is it simply general discomfort altogether?
I don't feel uncomfortable writing as a female; but, I wouldn't be writing out sex moves for males and females. I say that it's restricted to sex and only sex makes me feel uncomfortable.

Do you feel you still need to improve the way you write genders in your characters? Why, or why not?
Of course, everyone needs to improve on gender. I need to improve on gender, so that I can become a better writer and that my posts are more detailed.

Do you believe that other people fairly portray genders in their characters on average? Why, or why not? If not: Is it out of a sense of ignorance, malevolence, naivety, or something else?
Other people don't portray genders fairly for many reasons. It would be too long of a post to explain; but, it's due to ignorance, naivety, malevolence, and many other issues.