# Stepping into the Right Shoes: The Effects of User-Matched Avatar Ethnicity and Gender on Sense of Embodiment in Virtual Reality

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.03279 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.03279/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 5 Feb 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [VRGaussianAvatar: Integrating 3D Gaussian Avatars into VR](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.01674/) (2026)
- [EgoPoseVR: Spatiotemporal Multi-Modal Reasoning for Egocentric Full-Body Pose in Virtual Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.05590/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In many consumer virtual reality (VR) applications, users embody predefined characters that offer minimal customization options, frequently emphasizing storytelling over user choice. We explore whether matching a user's physical characteristics, specifically ethnicity and gender, with their virtual self-avatar affects their sense of embodiment in VR. We conducted a 2 x 2 within-subjects experiment (n=32) with a diverse user population to explore the impact of matching or not matching a user's self-avatar to their ethnicity and gender on their sense of embodiment. Our results indicate that matching the ethnicity of the user and their self-avatar significantly enhances sense of embodiment regardless of gender, extending across various aspects, including appearance, response, and ownership. We also found that matching gender significantly enhanced ownership, suggesting that this aspect is influenced by matching both ethnicity and gender. Interestingly, we found that matching ethnicity specifically affects self-location while matching gender specifically affects one's body ownership.