Swaping Gender Roles?

spooktacularprize 2016-08-05 18:04:22 UTC #21

My favorite types of characters are the ones that could be filled in with any gender; I guess I've been put off by cartoons and such that show girl characters specifically with no personality other than "girl." (Do you guys know what I'm talking about x'D) Not really subverting gender roles, but I love cartoony shenans, uconventional-looking female characters, and the like. Giving roles to characters that don't usually have those roles is interesting to me, and I don't think it has to be in the more cliched "gives them the 'opposite' role," if you know what I mean.

I mean on that note many of the characters in my comic are trans (not really a spoiler, just haven't gotten around to telling it in a natural way in the comic yet) ;w;

Zanreo 2016-08-05 18:33:01 UTC #22

YEEEEES this. When the main cast has a variety of male characters and then one token female character whose whole personality is "the girl"... stop that.
I just really write my characters as "this would be an interesting character", regardless of their gender. Which sometimes end up subverting roles I guess, as a case of not caring if something would be "appropiate" for a girl or a boy. I just want good interesting characters regardless of gender (but in particular I'd like to see more interesting female characters, some authors just doesn't seem to know how to write women/girls)

indagold 2016-08-05 23:20:30 UTC #23

You guys gotta chill... I don't think they were they intending for a discourse in gender roles, I think they were just asking what if they were reversed/changed.

martharpearson 2016-08-06 23:57:41 UTC #24

If the roles were reversed at having a guy being the damsel in distress and the girl being the knight in shining armor. The idea might be believable if you have the guy do more than just be some lady who always gets in trouble. Even if the genders were reversed, the way you approach any character no matter the role is still the same.

The guy or girl who always needs to be saved because he or she can't defend himself needs to have a reason to be truly helpless and I'm not talking damsel in distress just because quality. I'm talking crippling addiction, such as not resisting a certain kind of bait, any kind of phobia such as dirt, or germs. Make this guy a neat freak or something.

The girl or guy who is headstrong and saves/cares for everyone needs to have a good reason to be that way. A Mom cares for her kids and can be just as headstrong and stubborn if the daughters boyfriend motored up onto the front lawn smoking something illegal while sporting tattoos and gang insignia. While the magical girl can also turn stubborn and bear like if the evil villain she fights on a daily basis happens to date her best friend and happens to actually be an extremely good boyfriend with all the redeeming qualities like a Disney Princess.

If we are going to push boundaries. We don't need them to be our characters defining trait. The roles someone is trying to push is probably showing that there's an actual person beneath the Gender swap, not an argument waiting to be flattened across a billboard.