As there's been a bit of constructive discussion relating to gender bending in the comments to the post I made last week, I thought I'd post up a few links to places which consider this most intriguing of online game practices. As for my own input, research I conducted last year, corroborated by Nick Yee's previous research and other academic findings, seems to indicate that few women gender bend. Taking on the avatar of another gender is primarily a male thing. In fact, according to Nick's original research, "... about 48% of the female characters you meet in the game are actually played by male players."
Dr. K from Womengamers.com has an insightful article about the reasons why men choose to gender bend. Among them are free gifts from male avatars. Are they so simple?
There's a great discussion about gender bending on Terra Nova, including some offline articles on the subject for those interested in delving deeper into the phenomenon.
Gender bending happens in offline role playing games, as well as in online ones. Hazel has a few thoughts on the categories appealing to members of the opposite sex.
