What are the reasons that so many male gamers choose to play female characters/avatars?

Because gaming is gay, man.

I think “want to be girls” is too strong.

But in an avatar-driven, “safe” environment, where they are more-or-less anonymous, it lets them explore their feminine side with no danger of discovery and disapproval.

But is your question based on fact? Is it verifiable that “so many…play female” or this an observation that is not backed by fact?

It’s because they like to be ironic. Or you know, they simply like the character. Your question is like saying “why do boys want to read a book that’s in the point of view of a female?”

Here is why: If they pose as a girl the other players automatically assume she is an inferior player compared to a male, and will make assumptions and mistakes that will give the girl-guy an advantage.
I AM a female and I used the hell out of that stereotype to get ahead in games. They’d “take it easy” on me in pool, or foosball, whatever, because I was a girl. Then I would kick their ass.

Or they just want something to jerk off to without leaving the game.

I know that back in the Tomb Raiders days they found it pleasant to look at Lora Croft’s ass during the whole game. Since they spend so much time interacting with the character maybe they want to hang out with a woman?
I know my husband, grandson and son in law are playing Destiny (Obsessively) and this seems to be the first time my husband has chosen a woman character.

um because they are just horny and graphic artists make the girls look sexy. It’s just eye candy.
Unless players are online and using mics It’s genderless anyway.
There are no real advantages to being male or female in gaming.

@Judi Nailed it for me. I’d rather stare at a female ass than a dude’s ass for hours on end. It’s stupid, and it’s far from sexually arousing, but all things being equal, I’ll usually take the female character. Also sometimes the female models are smaller than the men which can make them easier to hide (depends on the game).

Another point is that the reactions from guys can be pretty funny/entertaining if they think you’re a real woman.

I don’t do video games but when I play dungeons and dragons I go about 60:40 male to female. It depends on the character and who I am modeling it after.

Because it’s the closest they’ll get to female interaction other than wanking over their local weather girl

The only reason that they signed up is the cute wizard warrior chick in the intro. They rather look at her then the sausage fest characters that the game provides. Also they might have several fetishes like cotton or barely naked bodies and ample breasts.

I don’t do video games either but I usually use a male avatar on Fluther, it just makes it interesting, although my profile and what I write on threads is openly female, I just like the idea of a male avatar. I don’t know whether it’s a similar comparison or not but it’s the closest I could get to identifying why some men might choose female characters.

There is a certain sexy something about attractive females that can handle themselves in mortal combat.

Oh I just thought of another reason. In some games the female characters have different abilities than the male characters. Often many of the males are all about being tough and in your face with abilities that support that play style. In these games (where abilities are fixed to a particular gender), the female characters often have a more intellectual role/abilities. Sometimes they have a “tough chick” stereotype character. That one usually isn’t interesting to me either.

Also the writing for the stories is often better for female characters than male characters. Perhaps because they expect female players to gravitate to female characters and are playing to the expectation of their female gamers that the game has a great story.

Of course both of those reasons only apply to some games.

I am not a player, but watching my husband play Destiny I wonder what people thought that were friends with him before he got his headset and then realized he was a 64 year old man. lol. There should be voice morphing software to make your voice match your character.
Second thought, Bad idea. To many predators.