User blog comment:Commdor/Vote for ME3's Female Shepard/@comment-84037-20110725013111/@comment-2059511-20110725045631

It's canon that he survives Mass Effect 2 though, so there is a canon in place. But anyway, Bioware have not said "yes this is canon" or "no there is no canon". The true bottom line is that Shepard is the same character, regardless of which background, appearance is chosen. The female Shepard and the male Shepard are the same person. The Earthborn and Spacer are the same person. If Bioware were to choose a canon Shepard, then obviously they would choose the default male. That appearance is Bioware's poster boy and the one they created to represent Shepard. The customisation options are purely because the game is about choice.