I use a dinosaur avatar, but I'm not a dinosaur... or am I?

Just because I like it.
Nothing more.
And Jeez you're way overthinking this.

In real life, I am a girl with a gun. In my fantasy life, I look like Angie Harmon with a gun. Heh.

Attention. Also guys are more likely to give things to women. I remember in WoW lots of guys rolled female toons to ask for stuff.

I swear I'm not a homicidal maniac.

Catfish or rape culture, take your pick.

boobs

Simple. Free games.

This is actually a carved portrait of mine, I am clearly a cartoonish long-limbed pumpkin king who tried to take over Christmas. Halloween suits me more however, I find.

While this whole thing doesn't really bother me, I'd say it's probably #4. Personally, I only use fictional characters and it's because I find them cool, regardless of their sex.

I don't use Woman Picture on my profile! :@

True that mine is damn hot.

Guys do it the most I think, but doubt girls put a handsom guy as their pic.

I have to point out, it is gnerally a bad idea to use an image of yourself as a profile pic. More true the more attractive you are (appearently or socially), can cause stalkers, and too many people post too much personal information about them. Makes it no surprise when someone knows suspiciously too much about you when you meet them.

It makes me laugh when people post virtually everything about them, and then get on the government's case about them tracking non-personal data, while private companies are doing similar things, just much more intrusive (and somehow, no one cares).

a) Trolls
b) Boys looking for gits from stupid guys

My profile picture is a picture of a Sylon, because i want people to think i am a Sylon and not talk to me! :D... Seriously like other people told you, you are thinking way too much about it. It's just a profile picture, it doesn't really mean anything most of the time :D.

Because they are hermaphrodites. :)

and 5,they are a hot woman :P

Why do people use cartoon characters, videogame protagonists, or their favorite celebrities? It's because they want to. It's kinda sad that many people have a mindset that if they see a girl that their first instinct is to flirt/harass them. The people doing the harassing want the anonymity and the people that are susceptible of getting harassed also want anonymity. I remember one day I was playing nether and met up with this player. Gave them a gun and we grouped up. they sent me a friend request and their first message was "and YES, I'm a girl, so don't even ask, lol". I was just disappointed that it got to the point where chicks feel like they need to beat dudes to the punch because of how often it already happens. Long story short, people like OP are the reason for anonymity, because he's paying attention to the avatar in the first place -__-, like why dude?

Well, I have a picture of Isaac Clarke as my display picture and I'm not a male. Why does it matter anyway? As long as the picture isn't something fit for a porn site, I'm fine with it.

Yeah i'm not a middle eastern dictator either.

As painful as it is, I'll confess: I am not, in fact, a giant floating white question-mark over a black void.

(Also, I somehow doubt the OP is a floating perfectly spherical cartoon head holding a tommy gun and smoking a cigar.)

Why do people do things: The Thread.