[Sadrain]

I usually make female avatars, because I am a girl, I have my own specific style, both in real life and on avatar sites, and it has certain womanly traits, but every now and then, I make a male avatar, for the heck of it. I do not have problem with it, since in role play, I play male characters.

As for perception of other people... It really depends, some I associate with their avatar gender, some not, some I can't tell. I don't know why it is so, but it is. Maybe I take it from writing style or something else. It has led me astray few times, but usually is rather accurate (if I am in doubt, then it's usually someone who isn't distinctively his or hers gender).

But in general, I really don't care about the gender of my conversation partner. Or appearance. If I feel well and comfortable talking, then it doesn't matter, really. I have had a friend whom I sort of knew gender, although I had my reasons to doubt, but I never asked, because s/he was still one of my best friends and gender couldn't matter less.