Playing the opposite gender?

[Gordon C. Landis]

Women often become adept at identifying with male protagonists.  Men are not encouraged to do the same since female protagonists are 1) less common and 2) often portrayed as less powerful than their male counterparts. Female protagonists are more common in romantic comedies and many dramas, which are dismissed as chick-flicks.  

Interesting note: two male players in my various groups habitually (though not exclusively) play female characters.  For what it's worth, I think they do well - not perfect, and sometimes sterotypically - but, as others have said, much RPG play is "sterotypical."  Still, when you realize that the character has chosen to be interested in THAT particular NPC for reasons that make MUCH more sense from a female perspective than a male one, the player is doing something right.

As far as I can tell (and yeah, we've talked about it), one big reason they pick female characters is because they've identified a lot with various female protagonists in Japanese Anime.

Years ago, I played a few female characters, but rarely, and not with any depth.  I'm not even sure if they were ever female humans.  Being around these guys for the last few years has made me want to give it a try.
Gordon

[Gordon C. Landis]

As I write this, I wonder how this discussion would play out regarding a strongly matriarchal setting that systematically disenfranchises males.  Has anyone tried that kind of exploration?

Two years (?) back, in a Mekton game, I had a character that ended up as . . . "parental custodian" to two young, essentially-orphaned, non-human cat-girls.  The cat-race was loosely integrated into the human society, and largely matriarchal, at least as regards child-rearing.  I was weird for wanting to participate in the girls' upbringing.  Here I was, thinking I'm being a good foster-parent, and everyone's like "Why is he shirking his military duties to spend time at the school?  Doesn't he trust the [all-female, of course] teachers?"

That's purely on the periphery of what such an exploration could be, of course (non-human, not a "pure" matriarchy, etc.), but it certainly did enrich the dramatic potential.  I had real reason to have allies in the political structure that could ensure I had continued access to my foster-kids, and when those allies were in jeporday - no hesitation from ME in helping 'em out.
That campaign sorta sputtered out of existence, and it's one of the ones I most regret didn't continue to a more satisfying end point.  I kinda wanted to make sure those kids turned out OK.

I guess the question becomes - suppose a female player had been playing the male character in that situation?  Or if I'd had a female GM rather than a male one?  Or even if I needed a female PLAYER (NOT neccessarily character) to, say, co-sponsor my foster-parenthood, or the cat-gov would have a betetr chance to take them from me.   What effects might those have had on my (and others') experience of the gameplay?

Interesting stuff, but I doubt there's a single answer - suffice it to say that experimenting in such ground seems pretty cool to me.
Gordon