Toon Choices and words of wisdom
I play female and male characters of different races. I pick based on what I want to see. I’m paying to play, and it’s supposed to be fun, remember?
What astounds me is the number of people who, on discovering I’m a nearly-50 male using a female night-elf as my main, decide all sorts of things about my personal character.
Heya, jerks. I’m not running this character for you, I’m doing it for me, OK? sigh. Ok, let’s quit being personal.
People, it’s a game, not a dating system. Even the casual players are doing eight or more hours a week. We all play for enjoyment. And a big part of the enjoyment is the eye candy. Oh, not just the T&A (or the big muscles of the males for lady players) but the great scenes and monsters and cities and… have you stopped somewhere and just LOOKED? There are some breath-taking scenes in the game.
Now, let me be fair. A lot of people so closely associate with their toon that they think of themselves as that toon. And they are … bothered at the thought of confusing their sexual identity. If you so associate with your toon, more power to you. It’s a game, and we all have the ways we enjoy it.
But me, I am a casual player. I am not going to confuse myself and my toon. But I do have to look at it. So I pick toons I like. Female night elves and blood elves are easy on my eyes, while female gnomes and tauren are just wrong to me. I like the looks of both genders for Draenai and Orcs. The looks of both genders of undead neither delight nor disgust, but since I personally don’t like the understory of the undead I tend not to choose either (except to stay current on skills and talents). But notice the important thing:
I am choosing for me.
And when you’re choosing, please choose what YOU like. The game’s full of choices – it’s built that way to make it enjoyable by more players. But it’s still a game- – it’s supposed to be FUN. Fun for you, and for the other players. If you don’t like someone else’s choice, well… allow me to quote a recently discovered line of wisdom:
Of course, if your “fun” ruins everyone else’s fun, then fucking quit it.
Priestly Endeavors - a gaming blog 
/cheer
The first time I met a guy who played a female toon, I thought the same thing. That was…oooh…five years ago. I’d like to think I’ve matured since then.
Also, just as a note, I personally don’t like most of the male models available. No offense to the male night elves out there, but they look like Battletoads.
I have no doubt that if I were a male player, I would still choose female toons for the same reasons put forth in this article – they’re nicer to look at.
And in the end, that’s what the game is about. Personally, I LOVE the way the female tauren are shaped. I think both male and female tauren could use some love with regards to their faces, but that’s another story.
I rerolled from two perfectly wonderful and high level priestesses just so that I could play strictly draenei. There are people who would say that’s insane, but I know the things that make this game fun for me, and I knew I’d enjoy having drae characters.
And I enjoy logging on more now than I ever did with any other race.
/signed
I have chosen a night elf priestess as well. I’m a male and I couldn’t agree anymore with what you’ve wrote.. although I’ve never had any ignorant fool insulting me for my choice! if you don’t count the whining from a few buddies who play horde ^.^
keep it up! i enjoy reading this!
Again, I am a male who plays female characters. I dont think this is in anyway odd!! I think that there are 2 main ways of perceiving your characters. Firstly, that you are that individual, or they are you in the world of warcraft. It is people who are locked into thinking like this who cant understand playing cross gender characters.
Secondly, there is the feeling that your character is someone you hang out with when you enter the world. If you think like this, it is perfectly normal that you would enjoy hanging out with someone of a different gender….
Keep up the good work, loving this site…..
I was recently playing an alt (female orc hunter) teamed up for some group quests with a male BElf, he asked in the most polite way “y the choice? don’t see 2 many female orcs”.
I thought it strange & said so, “orc for BM hunter racial of pet dmg, female for smaller pvp target”, which is exacly why I tend to choose female toons… well, that’s what I tell my wife 😉
Well said, sir. I’m also a guy with a mix of female and male toons. My main is a Draenei priestess (recently 70). I chose that race/gender combo ’cause I liked the look (horns FTW!). I figure if I’m going to spend a lot of time watching her run around, I might as well like what I see. Playing as a female has plenty of tactical advantages as well, such as the smaller PVP target area, more readily given forgiveness if you screw up, etc.
I’ve never linked myself to a toon and don’t really understand the people who do so. Sure it’s an RPG, but it’s a role…nothing else.
I imagine the people who think playing a female toon as a guy is weird wouldn’t think twice about playing as Lara Croft (of Tomb Raider), Rayne (of Bloodrayne), Lucia (of Devil May Cry 2), or Samus Aran (of Metroid).