I have never had a problem with connecting emotionally with women or female characters. Of course at the end of the day I also don't see a huge difference between men and women as a whole. Yes there are differences. But I'd wager that they are not as big as some might think.(but with close to 7 billion people on this planet... that's a safe bet.)
I mostly play female characters. I have no problem viewing the world from her eyes. I have no problem connecting emotionally with her. But I agree if you are going to roleplay it's best to choose a gender you can best connect with.
I usually tend to pick female characters.
I could give exuses like this classic...
"If I am going to be staring at the backside/butt of a character all day it might aswell be female.'
(I couldn't resist when I noticed someone said this)
For me this just doesn't work... I mean I am playing in first person after all.
I could also go with another great classic.
"Just about every other game out there has a male for the main character."
This one is partially true in my case. But to say this somewhat makes me feel like I am somehow saying how so much more 'enlightened' I am as a guy. While that may or may not be true. It doesn't quite fit. Because truthfully I really don't notice whether or not a game has a male or female main character. I mean sure I know the MC gender. Although in Portal I wasn't entirely sure right away.
I could also just come out and say:
"Look I am playing as a female because I am just a pervert who likes to play 3D dress up. Deal with it."
While somewhat innaccurate... there is some truth in it.
Of course I could also give the explination that revolves around a more deeper concept of ones gender identity and something about the opposite of the Penis Envy Theory.(ok I made this up. But I recently watched that episode of Big Bang Theory.)
So why do I play as a female character. I think when it comes down to it. It's a bit of everything I just listed.
But not quite. Because when I think about it all of my characters in my writing also tend to feature a Female Main Character. That and in some cases I apparently write like a female.
So in conclusion... and yes I actually just wrote that because let's face it. This is a few paragraphs short of an essay.
So In conclusion,.. I don't know.