Dancer Archive
Thread: Opinions about men dancing?
Okay, I started playing on Friday and decided a dancer would be fun. I though I would get more dances/tips by playing a female dancer, which I started yesterday. However, I like to roleplay characters. So I am curious, are there many men who portray dancers out there? Is your character male or female? Also, ladies, what are your thoughts about this? I have not done too much with the character so I may just start a male dancer instead - although I think the females get better options for costumes. :-/
I like the interaction in the cantina, and much to my dismay I have my female doing the AFK grind at home. On my lunch break I am going to stop - I've seen the light and prefer chatting and having interaction so I am going to stop using the macro. But I am swaying off my topic.
Thanks for your opinions.
Drew
I know about a half-dozen men who play dancers. They're split about half -and -half between male and female characters.
Sadly, I think the ones who play the females r/p their characters better. But hey. ^_^ I always gotta give kudos to a male who plays a male character and dances BECAUSE HE WANTS TO. Not 'cos of some glowy box. He's gotta know he's not going to get the attention of the females, but he does it anyway. I like that.
So long as they actually WEAR something. Unlike my guild leader when he dances.....
I will say one major plus for guys that decide to go and play a male toon is you can find yourself a nice female dance partner and have a lot of fun dancing with them. Not to mention get the attention of the other female players who appreciate a good looking guy dancer.
So who's attention would you rather be getting?
1. Doug - the overweight heavy machine's operator who enjoys watching football and drinking beer.
2. Amanda - the safety administratorwho enjoys smimming and long walks on the beach.
......
......
If your male and said 1.. well then thats a personal preference I suppose... but I bet most guys would go with number 2. So you can go with higher tips and get hit on by guys all day or you can take a small dent in the tips and get the attention of the smaller female crowd. Sure you may have to deal with some dumb kids calling you gay but their easy and in most cases fun to mess with. 
Its a personal choice I suppose.... but I know the lady dancers out there would like to see more guys around to dance with. 
Oh gods yes! I'm with Raven on this one, and would like to see more male dancers. I run into lots of musicians who are men, and I suppose it makes sense. But there's something very intriguing about a man who can dance and isn't afraid to in public.
Ravenmist wrote:
Its a personal choice I suppose.... but I know the lady dancers out there would like to see more guys around to dance with.
I've had the fortunate experience of dancing side by side with male dancers. Having a good male dancer in a troupe always makes it more interesting to watch. My bet is male dancers DO catch alot of flack but mostly from immature players. When I see a male master dancer, my first thought is "this guy is confident and he is secure in his masculinity" because it takes a someone who will not be detered by the criticism they are sure to face. Confidence is a very attractive characteristic to me.
I have a male character, Master Dancer/Master Image Design. All for fun... I'm really apathetic towardunlocking a Jedi character. While I think most of the dances in the game seem to be geared towards females, I still enjoy it. I also get complimented by a lot of ladies when I dance, too. 
I could care less about tips, because not only am I useful in healing my guildmates, I'm glad that I could help our city get a Cantina set up. I don't get a lot of oportunity to roleplay my character, but it's reallycool when I get the chance.
-ooc-
I have a male dancer/tailor which is very fun to play. I can at times hang in the cantina and dance/rp with people and with my Master Tailor title on, also make clothes. The majority of my money I made tailoring, but the friends I made dancing means a whole lot more to me than that. I was one of Kettemoors original Male master dancers before the holocron came about so I am proud to have been one also and still am. I have to agree with others that if you really want to RP and not do it for a holocron, this is one of the most fun classes to play.
Player of Ptetroski-- Master Dancer/Master Tailor
Kettemoor
I am male and play a female dancer. It just seemed right for the character concept, and I play characters of all races, beliefs, and genders, so I don't think anything about it.
One thing to keep in mind is that not everyone appreciates good role-playing like we do. I had a nasty fallout with a "friend" who freaked out when he found out that I was a guy. He asked me if I was gay, which was a strange question to ask since I was not ever flirty (the character is more interested in a career than romance, so there was no confusion there). I guess he saw the girl he wanted in a computer program. *shrug* So, prepare for that.
As a female dancer, you will likely be getting the tips. So, spread the joy and show public support for the musicians and male dancers. Cheer them on while they perform next to you. They'll enjoy the attention as well.
I don't know what sort of character you're RPing, but it helps to not be too overt in the flirting if you can help it. I don't flirt. I say witty things and smile at people (some think that's flirting, though), but I don't go out of my way to say, "Hey big boy. Come here, and I'll show you some moves." It's not in my character's personality to be the flirt. She shies away from overt flirting when it's done to her.
And remember that there will always be people trying to meet a girl on here. There are better places to go, but some don't realize that. So, invariably, you'll be asked some personal info. On one hand, if you tell someone, "Dude, I'm a guy," there's a chance that the player will ruin the verisimilitude of the Star Wars universe by shouting, "Hey, this sicko Jennifer is a guy!" On the other hand, you don't want to lead someone along, even if you do nothing to encourage it (people can be good at believing what they want).
There is a decent thread about "dealing with the nasties." Look at some good ideas on how to deal with such people. My favorite response listed to, "Can I add you to my Friends list" is "I'll have to ask my mother." I thought that rather clever, so I will consider answering that way to anyone wanting personal info.
There are ways to make patrons feel welcome without actually being flirty. If your character concept involves you being a huge flirt, have fun with it. But keep in mind that some people take that stuff seriously in a game.
And most of the time, if a girl is being overly flirty, a lot of players assume it's a guy. In some cases, it's because the guy doesn't know how to RP a girl, so he plays her the way he wants--as an easy tramp. People often think I'm a real girl because I'm not flirty. I'm friendly enough to pass for a girl but not over-the-top.
Not all girls are friendly (many of my friends are pretty misanthropic, when it comes down to it), but these people don't know that. *grin*
Yah, there's a few male dancers on this forum. Speaking as one, if you can get beyond the lack of tips and the lack of respect, you can have some fun. It's not easy, I'll say that up front.
"So long as they actually WEAR something. Unlike my guild leader when he dances....."
And here's a perfect example. It's quite alright for the ladies to run around in bikinis and fleshwraps, but a male doing it...oh my GOD no! Double standard, lack of respect, just get used to it.
- Javier
I do not generally answer questions about real life in-game. Someone asks my character "Where are you from?" and I say, "Well, originally Ryloth, but I grew up on lots of planets, since my family was in a performance troupe." or something similar. Often they do something like, "LOL no in RL." which I will then politely decline to answer. The same is true with gender. "Are you m or f in RL?" I usually answer with, "Why does it matter?" They almost always shut up at this point, realizing that either they are dealing with a guy, or a woman who wants to be left alone. Or I will say, "I'm a female blue-skinned twi'lek, and what are you?" which conveys a similar message.
I remember one hilarious example. Dejah (female Twi'lek) was grouped with her friends Aradia Nivien (female bothan), Stormbringer Lightbearer (female human), and Palm Sun (male human), peforming in the cantina. Dejah was admittedly wearing a pretty sexy dress (the Padme' one from Episode 2 in the fireplace scene) and as a guy I can tell you the Dejah toon is quite lovely. She was doing the lyrical dance. A character walks in to be ent-healed. Male human. I forget his name. He said hello to everyone. Dejah said hello back, as did the others. He sat down next to Dejah and started watching. Dejah asked him (as she always does) how he was hurt, and he told her.
About 10 seconds later, in group chat, Aradia (who knew the guy from another server) said, "LOL he is asking whether Dejah is male or female in real life." (At this time, nobody else in the group knew whether I was or not, though I believe some had their suspicions.) I blinked at that and asked, in group chat, "Uh... why?" Aradia answered a minute later, "So he can flirt with you. ROFL"
Now, you can't chalk this up to me RPing Dejah well as a female, or flirting, or anything at all. I had said exactly 2 sentences in spatial, both generic things I could've said to anyone. He had absolutely no idea what kind of a person might be paying the toon because he had JUST met me/her.
So I asked in group chat, "How can he know he wants to flirt with me if he hasn't even really met me?" A few minutes later Aradia answered, "He thinks Dejah is hot. LOL." My final answer was, "Ask him if he thinks in RL I have blue skin and Lekku also." Aradia laughed and asked him, and shortly thereafter he got up and left, and I never saw him again. I think he realized that even if I were female I couldn't possibly look anything like the toon (DUH -- a blue skinned twi'lek), and that "killed" the fantasy for him.
Oh well... :-)
Play the kind of character YOU want. Do not worry about how "other people" will take it. It is none of their darn business what you are in real life and what kind of character you chose to play, IMO. If they can't deal with it, there's an easy solution: /addignore.
C