Why are there so many HGs genderlocked to male?

[RenaB]

Alrighty, so, I’ll start this off by saying that I really almost never understand why games have to be genderlocked. The “realism” argument to me has always been shaky at best unless you’re portraying a very specific character. (Examples others have brought up include Guinevere, and Study in Steampunk- though admittedly the latter does also seem a bit more shaky than the former to me since so much is changed from the original Sherlock Holmes and Watson forumla and while it’s very clearly taken inspiration from that it’s not exactly a direct portrayal of it but more an interpretation which does make me wonder slightly about the lack of possibility for a female MC… and I say this as someone who still holds this game as my all-time favorite text based game, period. Granted because I do hold it in such high regard it really also doesn’t bother me that much in that case. But that is, also, an outlier case of extremely positive bias.)

And then, of course, there’s “realism” in fantasy, which always blows my mind whenever people argue that it wouldn’t be realistic to have a female or nonbinary soldier in a world filled with elves and dragons, or people who can bend the elements to their will.

Now, as for genderlocking based on the idea that the author doesn’t feel as if they’d be comfortable writing a gender different from their own. I think @Fawkes and @malinryden summed it up best but I’m going to add in my tiny two cents as well (and make this post most likely needlessly longer then however needlessly long it already is, ahaha.)

And my two cents wrapped up and summarized is, essentially: What’s the difference?

There was a conversation a while ago on this forum about gendered language here:

Gendered language (if we know it, we can avoid it)

It’s always interesting to try to write a character when even the writer doesn’t know either their gender or their sexuality. Playtesting as a few different genders is a great way to suddenly shine a light on my own prejudices, but I know there’s loads more I don’t see. This is a great study (limited to two genders, unfortunately) about the kind of language writers use with male/female characters—and the part the writer’s own identified gender plays in their prejudices. I definitely agree wi…

And I said my piece on that bit over there which I’ll just link to here so I don’t repeat myself.

Gendered language (if we know it, we can avoid it)

Interesting article, but before the gender of the character, I think, you really have to consider the personality of the character as well as the tone of the scene. So take “chuckle”, as was mentioned in the article. Say you’ve got “chuckle”, “titter”, and “laugh”. What fits best really depends on how you want to portray the character, and the scene in which the action takes place. “____ sat in the stands, chuckling at your failure.” “____ sat in the stands, tittering at your failure.” “____…

And I guess the gist of that argument and this is, again, that question: What’s the difference?

I’d use the same words to describe a cocky, confident female character’s voice and movements the same way I’d describe a cocky, confident male character’s voice and movements, or a cocky, confident nonbinary character’s voice and movements. (Heck, I mean, I do already, that’s exactly what I do with a cocky, confident genderflippable character in my WiP. The words don’t change just because their gender does.)

So I guess I always wonder what it is that makes a character sound more masculine or more feminine, because honestly I don’t understand. I simply don’t get why it is writing a man is so different from writing a woman. They’re people. What matters most, I think, is whether you can write them as a good character- as a realistic person.

I really don’t see what big differences in personality or action come from gender in most of the situations that these stories center around.

Of course, all of this is coming from someone who hasn’t ever entirely understood the logic behind most of the arguments for genderlocking. So take this as you may, I suppose.