Online gamers indulge in fantasy sex swap
Cyberspace bends gender
MILLIONS OF online gamers are furtively indulging in virtual sex changes, according to a new study published by Nottingham Trent University.
The research, which will now be published in a top US journal, Cyberpsychology and Behavior, has revealed that as many as two thirds of self-discovering, role-playing gamers, on sites like Warcraft, EverQuest and Final Fantasy, pretend to be members of the opposite sex - whether to gain an advantage or simply just to "fit in".
The Nottingham Trent University study, called Gender Swapping and Socialising in Cyberspace, also reckons that one in every five socially-awkward gamers preferred interacting with others online rather than in the real world. Two in five said they escaped to the virtual havens to escape their real-life personal problems.
Boffins from the University's International Gaming Research Unit, part of the Psychology faculty, discovered that women were more likely to take on male roles in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), with 70 per cent admitting that they had done so. Men seem to be less inclined (although not by much) to explore their feminine side with only 54 per cent strutting their stuff as a female persona.
Chief researcher, Zaheer Hussain, commented: "It seems that women gender swap for a variety of reasons, such as to avoid unsolicited male approaches on their female characters, or because they felt male characters were treated better by other males during the course of the game."
The main reason males gave as to why they took on female personas was so that they could flirt with male characters to gain game perks like extra money or weapons. Yeah, right.
More honest gamers admitted to gender swapping in order to experiment with facets of their character that they wouldn't dare explore in the cruel sunlight of the real world.
Hussain added, "The games are often seen as a means of escape and a coping strategy which gamers use to distract themselves from having to deal with other problems."
Gender-bending gamers generally feel that online gaming offers "challenging and exciting" opportunities to explore role-playing. They sya they enjoy the levels of interactivity they reach with fellow players and the chance to make new friends. µ
Comments
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.
Sometimes it's encouranged
Accually, if you believe the rumours, some games make you wanna change your gender.A long standing rumour in CO2 is dat a female character will lvl faster then a male character.
Well... it does work...
A mate of mine created an Everquest character of a long-legged, blonde haired, elven female.The amount of gifts and help he got was amazing.
My next character was a girl.
Hey it's a little bit sad, but what about the people who respond to it?
Oh really? he and she's online,
and they both have that Mitchell and Webb look?I wonder
I'd like to see a poll that asks how many MMO players think that the other players they interact with, are actually the same sex as the character they're playing.I've been playing MMO's for a long time, and I've always assumed that when I see a female character, there is a guy at the keyboard.
This has changed a bit lately with the advent of built in voice chat in games now. Kinda disconcerting to team with a hot nightelf babe with the voice of Gomer Pyle! :)
Right
So if I play the undead, I must want someone to kill me. Stupid premise - its a just a game.Feh
I don't consider my gaming avatar as some kind of "me".It is a paperdoll, a Barbie that I prance around in a game. A marker, the Monopoly hat.
I don't REALLY assume the identity of an female elven bard in EQ2.