So I take it you never played a Dead or Alive game?...
keep in mind i'm only talking about games where they give you the option to create a male or female character, and dudes choose to create a female character.
fighting games are different. players choose characters based on their movesets and how viable they are. its all about winning so I don't think there's anything suspect about playing a female character in that. nothing wrong with playing a game with a female lead either (like tomb raider)
its games where you create your own character where I find it fascinating and weird why so many dudes create female characters