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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Virtual Real.
Sec. Virtual Reality and Human Behaviour
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frvir.2025.1505624

Exploring Gender Transition in Virtual Spaces: Identity and Perception on the ZEPETO Platform

Provisionally accepted
Jiyoung Kang Jiyoung Kang *
  • Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study examines how avatar gender transitions in the metaverse influence user identity and gender perception, focusing on the cultural and social implications of these experiences. Conducted on the ZEPETO platform, the research involved female participants adopting male avatars to explore the effects on identity confirmation and self-identification. The study analyzes how metaverse elements, such as avatar representation, embodiment perception, and avatar-space interaction, contribute to identity formation and challenge traditional gender norms. Results indicate that transitioning to male avatars enhances avatar identification and identity confirmation, with these effects extending to users' real-world gender identities. These findings highlight the metaverse's potential as a transformative space for exploring and reshaping gender identities, emphasizing the need for further research into the cultural and spatial dynamics of virtual environments.

    Keywords: virtual environment, ZEPETO, Gender identities, Identity confirmation, avatar experiences

    Received: 03 Oct 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Kang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jiyoung Kang, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.