Heads up that gender binary stuff is going to be discussed, largely in terms of my reactions to it playing Runescape, an online role playing game. So is dysphoria, both with my actual body and with a digital avatar for the game.
I've played Runescape for quite a while. Long enough that I've watched the graphics change quite a bit. Some of these changes are nice (Priffinidas looks pretty cool. Also, I gave my avatar purple hair and purple wings.) Some are ... not great for me. (The female avatar's chest is quite a bit more noticable than it used to be. Also, armor designs look different based on male vs. female avatars in a way the graphics didn't used to be good enough to support properly.)
In the ideal world, there would be an androgynous option. I don't live in that world. There's male avatars and female avatars. If you use a male avatar, you have shorter hair options (darn), a flat chest (yay), armor graphics that would actually protect your torso (yay), usually facial hair (whatever), and he pronouns (whatever.) If you use a female avatar, you have both short and long hair options (yay), a chest that is definitely not flat (dysphoric), armor graphics that show off said chest (dysphoric), only the new "pirate" beards from a recent event as facial hair options (whatever), and she pronouns (whatever.) "They" pronouns aren't an option, no matter what avatar you're using (darn.)
When I first made my account (and I do still use my original account from middle school), I didn't know I was nonbinary yet. So, of course, I used my assigned gender and made a female avatar. Over time, I started having issues with this. (Hi, dysphoria is a thing.) My original avatar looked a bit like I physically do -- long brown hair, skin that's on the dark side for a white person but still a white person, and a tendency to wear purple. It even had a long braid for a while. As graphics advanced and I became more aware that my problems with the avatar were dysphoria, I made my avatar look less like me. Purple hair not in a braid, purple skin, wings.
But I was still having trouble. Some of the armor options I liked were dysphoric to look at on my character. (Thank blob for cosmetic overrides. I used those heavily, and still do, so the "look" of my character doesn't change when I change the armor I'm wearing. This got me around that problem, at least.) It took me a while to think of "switch the avatar gender" because I'm nonbinary, and that means that a male avatar is still incorrect. However, in terms of the characteristics that show up in Runescape, it's closer. Flat chest for the win. (That's my primary dysphoria issue in meatspace, and it remains so with digital representations.) The pronouns are a question of the usual wrong answer (she) vs. the unusual wrong answer (he) and it's easier for me to be amused by the unusual wrong answer. (They/them/their is a right answer.) And with actual items + keepsake keys, I retain the ability to put my avatar in a skirt. This works so much better.
I've played Runescape for quite a while. Long enough that I've watched the graphics change quite a bit. Some of these changes are nice (Priffinidas looks pretty cool. Also, I gave my avatar purple hair and purple wings.) Some are ... not great for me. (The female avatar's chest is quite a bit more noticable than it used to be. Also, armor designs look different based on male vs. female avatars in a way the graphics didn't used to be good enough to support properly.)
In the ideal world, there would be an androgynous option. I don't live in that world. There's male avatars and female avatars. If you use a male avatar, you have shorter hair options (darn), a flat chest (yay), armor graphics that would actually protect your torso (yay), usually facial hair (whatever), and he pronouns (whatever.) If you use a female avatar, you have both short and long hair options (yay), a chest that is definitely not flat (dysphoric), armor graphics that show off said chest (dysphoric), only the new "pirate" beards from a recent event as facial hair options (whatever), and she pronouns (whatever.) "They" pronouns aren't an option, no matter what avatar you're using (darn.)
When I first made my account (and I do still use my original account from middle school), I didn't know I was nonbinary yet. So, of course, I used my assigned gender and made a female avatar. Over time, I started having issues with this. (Hi, dysphoria is a thing.) My original avatar looked a bit like I physically do -- long brown hair, skin that's on the dark side for a white person but still a white person, and a tendency to wear purple. It even had a long braid for a while. As graphics advanced and I became more aware that my problems with the avatar were dysphoria, I made my avatar look less like me. Purple hair not in a braid, purple skin, wings.
But I was still having trouble. Some of the armor options I liked were dysphoric to look at on my character. (Thank blob for cosmetic overrides. I used those heavily, and still do, so the "look" of my character doesn't change when I change the armor I'm wearing. This got me around that problem, at least.) It took me a while to think of "switch the avatar gender" because I'm nonbinary, and that means that a male avatar is still incorrect. However, in terms of the characteristics that show up in Runescape, it's closer. Flat chest for the win. (That's my primary dysphoria issue in meatspace, and it remains so with digital representations.) The pronouns are a question of the usual wrong answer (she) vs. the unusual wrong answer (he) and it's easier for me to be amused by the unusual wrong answer. (They/them/their is a right answer.) And with actual items + keepsake keys, I retain the ability to put my avatar in a skirt. This works so much better.
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