Can video games affect your sexual self-esteem? How women who play as sexy avatars are more likely to objectify themselves in real life Video games are supposed to be an escape from life, but it seems they are getting closer and closer to reality According to a new Stanford University study involving 86 women aged 18 to 40, those who use sexualized avatars - like Tomb Raider's busty Lara Croft - to represent themselves in video games are more likely to sexually object themselves in real life. What's more, researchers found that these gamers also have a higher chance of accepting 'rape myth', the idea that a woman is partly to blame for her own rape. Virtual reality: According to a new study, women who use sexualized avatars - like Tomb Raider's Lara Croft - to represent themselves in video games are more likely to sexually object themselves in real life Becoming the character: What's more, researchers found that these gamers also have a higher chance of accepting 'rape myth', the idea that a woman is partly to blame for her own rape The study was based on a phenomenon called the Proteus Effect, by which a person's behavior 'conforms to their digital identity'. In other words, by embodying a character in a virtual world, a person's attitude and beliefs can be altered. This has an even greater effect when the avatar resembles the person it embodies. Indeed, studies have found that gamers with doppelganger avatars are more likely to replicate the fictional character's eating patterns and prefer a brand endorsed by the character. Since 46per cent of video game players are female - of which 36per cent are between the age of eight and 18 - researchers sought to determine what kind of effect a sexualized avatar has on a woman's self-representation in reality. The women involved in the Stanford University study were asked to play video games using an avatar that was either dressed provocatively or conservatively, some of which were designed to look like the woman playing with them. Then they were asked to free-write things that came to mind, as well as answer agree or disagree questions on a five-point scale. In character: The women involved in the Stanford University study were asked to play video games using an avatar that was either dressed provocatively (pictured) or conservatively Those who played video games using a sexualized character were more likely to free-write about 'body-related thoughts' that indicated self-objectification. They were also more likely to answer the questions in a way that suggested self-objectification. One of the questions asked was: 'In the majority of rapes, the victim is promiscuous or has a bad reputation (agree or disagree).' Researchers found that those who used sexy avatars that looked like themselves were more likely to answer 'agree' or 'strongly agree' than those who played with non-sexy avatars who did not resemble them. Interestingly, women who played with a sexualized character that resembled a different woman were least likely to accept rape myth.