Those participants don’t “have to” role-play, I think you could look at the Second Life (R) and other Virtual Worlds statistics of avatar-genders (somewhere near 80% females) and the registered users (somewhere near 75% males) – the figures are guesses based on my past reading, but you probably have more accurate numbers yourself.

One wonders about the motivations for cross-gender avatar choice, at least I do – with a wide range of possible motivations coming to mind. This may have some bearing on whether to use or not anonymity in online discussions and in surveys. I find no-anonymity works best since it rightly values and honours the input from the individual, and they are more forthright and honest as a consequence.

The topic – or area – needs further study, and is timely
Not Anonymous : Paul Kawachi kawachi@open-ed.net