Research team didn't play many games did they?

If you had the pleasure of sitting for hours on end and watching the character on screen jump, fly, smite mighty enemies and look pleasant for photo-ops, wouldn't you rather make a character that you wouldn't mind looking at for countless hours on end?

The majority of people make characters that they find attractive, why would it be surprising they would make characters of an opposite sex?

Second of all, it'd be interesting to see the numbers differentiating gamers who seriously roleplay from those who play the game like an action game. The difference being the roleplayers actively think of themselves as the character, while the action players disassociate themselves from the character. It's like watching an action movie and you know you're not the hero, but rather it's someone else's story being told.

Or not

Perhaps these players just want a female avatar, while these games are called MMRPGs, there isn't much RPG going on. Just because you play a female looking char doesn't mean you pretend to be female.

As soon as these transsexuals get on voice comms it is going to be rather obvious and who doesn't use voice comms these days?

no really

I am a guy who played a female character to get free stuff. Of course, that was back in the days of MUD. Now-a-days, I tell myself it is because I'd rather stare at the backside of a female toon than a male one.
The people that I actually know and interact with online know that I am a guy in real life so it really affords me no advantage other than the eye-candy.