The article Second Life,
delves into the very interesting topic of gender in cyber worlds such as second
life. The article explains that cyber worlds have been "celebrated as an
opportunity for liberation from conventional gender roles, and criticized as
white-male shaped spaces"(6-7). In my personal experience, most female
avatars in cyber worlds are overly sexualized and firmly entrenched into gender
roles; Lara Croft of Tomb Raider comes to mind. I found it vey interesting that
the first Female Avatars were essentially male with a patch uploaded to add
female characteristics. It wasn't until later that female characters were
actually rendered into the virtual worlds.
In the experiment described, both women opted to
go into Second Life with male avatars. Some of this decision was based out of
curiosity, but also fear. Much like experiences in their real lives, some women
feel like being a woman is an open invitation to be objectified sexually. As
the researchers entered the world of Second Life, they soon noticed how the men
were tall and muscular, and the women were slim and big breasted. Their hopes
of gender liberation were somewhat dashed as they realized that the physical
traits and norms of the real world had manifested in Second Life as well.
However, they found the entire platform itself is rigged for the stereotypical
ideals for gender, as users start with avatars that already have the
romanticized traits associated with the ideal man and woman. While the idea of
liberating oneself from gender has promise in a cyber world such as second
life, the reality is that our gender roles and stereotypes our so entrenched in
our society that they carry over to cyber worlds seamlessly.
I think it is interesting that both men and women when choosing an alternative character as a representation of themselves overwhelmingly choose men. Perhaps this type of selection is a reflection of the sociological characteristics that pervade our society and that each gender has their own perceived notions of what a male should or does embody. I find it interesting that in such cases, certain people often choose the extreme of what they deem to be acceptable behavior. While some people may simply make such references in humor, others I feel create such characteristics that are a reflection of their very interaction with other people in their daily life.
ReplyDeleteHey AG! Excellent response/post to this article. You make great points. I'd like to start with your last sentence, "...the reality is that our gender roles and stereotypes our so entrenched in our society that they carry over to cyber worlds seamlessly." This is so true, which is also extremely unfortunate. As I stated in my post, virtual spaces were meant for people to escape the harsh world of judgement and ridicule and to be free of pressure. Unfortunately that's not the case. Something that disturbed me was Figure 2 on page 14 showing that female body parts were for sale. I liked you example about Lara Croft and thought it was a good one. I did however find the concept about autoenthrography to be interesting. That's because it's about a connection between the individual and society through personal connection projected in Second Life.
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