Getting Naked in the Virtual World - More Women Than Men Show Flesh
"Any female avatar could display more naked skin, regardless of the avatar's body proportions," said Matthieu Guitton, an associate professor at Laval University and an author of the study.
Most Second Life clothing is designed by users and offered to other users at no charge. If you really wanted to spend some cash (real, not virtual by the way) you could always pop into one of the virtual malls and purchase an outfit from say, the cyber facsimile of an American Apparel or Adidas store. But even then, the most outrageously expensive ensemble would set you back no more than a buck.
With all those cheap rags for the asking, it seems counterintuitive that the majority of women spontaneously bare more than their virtual souls. The researchers found this puzzling too. Guitton said he could only guess at the reasons but believes they may have something to do with the female need for "tactile interaction."
"In the virtual world, women may be more prone to reveal skin to "collect information" via skin contact, or any related kind of nonverbal communication," he said.
He also suspects that perhaps they do it because there are no consequences for ripping their clothes off in a place that isn't real and where no one knows your true identify.
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But, he added, that doesn't help explain why men keep their clothes on.
This may have something to do with the fact that all newbie's enter their Second Life sans genitalia. Women have no need for sexual organs because they can clearly advertise their sex through body shape and curvature. Men who want their manliness on full display must either purchase a penis or find a way to get one for free.
Granted, a decent penis only costs about 4 cents. But still, it seems like a lot of extra effort. It might just be easier to just keep your pants on.