It's a boy! And what a boy! Honey, that's the umbilical cord--it's a girl. Damn, and you thought your little "boy" would be the ultimate son right there. Too bad, eh? Oh well, maybe she'll be a tomboy, and you can teach her all the sports and make her into a highly aggressive child to stand-in for the boy you hope to get some day. Or maybe she'll be your darling princess. Either way, when choosing a gender for a character, it can sometimes be a bit of a trial. Guys and girls both probably know that getting into the mind of the opposite sex isn't the easiest thing, so choosing a gender for a character probably is a tad harder still.
Now, I won't say that one sex is better than the other. That's just plain stupid--plus I like girls, me being a guy, and saying guys are better than girls wouldn't exactly help my life out, now would it? Of course, if guys aren't better than girls, the reverse holds true as well, that girls aren't better than guys (although this might be a dismaying thought to some women out there).
So, you choose a gender appropriate for your character. I see numerous guy characters, usually pretty-boys, angelic with wings and fire users--cliched, badass, but apparently works for a number of people. The opposite is that when I generally see female characters, they're sexy, seductive, demon-like babes from hell that use of all things ice. Ah, stereotyping, where would the role playing world be without you?
You rarely, if ever, see anything that could be classed as asexual (meaning both genders or sexless). Would be interesting to find such characters that couldn't be classed as a particular sex. Few, if anybody, plays this kind of character. I don't even know why, since I think it might be easier as you wouldn't have to deal with the generic, stereotyped male emotions or their female counter-parts (emotions-wise).
But, for the most part, we're going to be stuck with boy and girl and no it. Not to say that this is a bad thing. After all--when something gets overused, like an asexual character, they're no longer original. Just another cliche we're told to stay away from.
For those that don't know, today is Remembrance Day in Canada; solemn day where we honor the dead who fought in WWI and WWII for freedom. Probably too late to say that we pause nation-wide on the eleventh hour (AM) to reflect on it, but that's what we do. Anyway, just a random Canadian fact for the non-Canadian's out there who read this (although I think today is Veteran's Day in the US, similar to Remembrance Day in Canada or something).
- W. Visarett
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