Study Claims Men Play Female Avatars to 'Win'

Interesting article from Slashdot:

mytrip writes to mention a News.com article about the rationale behind male players playing female avatars in online games. The article says that, while some players are probably exploring 'gender roles, many just want free stuff. From the article: "Kathryn Wright, WomenGamers's consulting psychologist, earlier this decade found that 60 percent of male players who don female avatars, or on-screen personas, do it to gain an advantage in game play. An enthusiast with the online handle Jackpot649 nailed the zeitgeist in his response to the About.com query: 'I'm a guy, but if I gotta look at an avatar all day, I'd sooner look at a female avatar. Plus, people give you more free stuff.'"

I tend to play female avatars, depends on the game and race/class. Like on WoW, I've got female Troll and Night Elf Hunters, Forsaken Warlock and Human Mage, but I also have male Tauren Druid and Dwarf Paladin. (I know, it's quite a stable but I like playing a variety of roles.) The choice of female avatars like was mainly made for the eye candy, I cannot say anything else really went into it. And I don't think I get any more "free" stuff with my females than my males....