My DM is doing a one shot in-universe for a historical moment in our main campaign's world, and my DM is requiring that I play a female character. I'm not really comfortable with this, nor the personality I will have to portray.
How can I best not be a spoilsport?
He won't re-gender one of the characters for me. I know women are just people too but it still makes me uneasy.
Best Answer
Don't do something that makes you uncomfortable
RPGs should be fun for everyone involved. If you are actually uncomfortable with this the DM should not be asking you to do it. As is always the best advice you should talk to the DM respectfully outside the game and explain that this isn't something you want to do.
If they still insist you must play a female character against your wishes you have two options:
Personal Experience
About 6 months ago my main character decided to leave the party for key story reasons. In order to continue playing in the next few sessions the DM suggested I should take over the female NPC that was travelling with our party. Initially I was hesitant to play a female full time. I had done it as a DM but never as a player.
After I started play the fact the character was a female wasn't an issue however. I grew attached to the character and am still playing her. I'm not saying this will happen for you but if you are willing to give it a go it may be easier than you think.