Embodiment and Gender Identity in Virtual Worlds: Reconfiguring our “Volatile Bodies”

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

Standard

Embodiment and Gender Identity in Virtual Worlds: Reconfiguring our “Volatile Bodies”. / Fizek, Sonia; Wasilewska, Monika.
Creating Second Lives: Community, Identity and Spatiality as Constructions of the Virtual. ed. / Astrid Ensslin; Eben Muse. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2011. p. 75-99 (Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture).

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

Harvard

Fizek, S & Wasilewska, M 2011, Embodiment and Gender Identity in Virtual Worlds: Reconfiguring our “Volatile Bodies”. in A Ensslin & E Muse (eds), Creating Second Lives: Community, Identity and Spatiality as Constructions of the Virtual. Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, New York, pp. 75-99. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203828571

APA

Fizek, S., & Wasilewska, M. (2011). Embodiment and Gender Identity in Virtual Worlds: Reconfiguring our “Volatile Bodies”. In A. Ensslin, & E. Muse (Eds.), Creating Second Lives: Community, Identity and Spatiality as Constructions of the Virtual (pp. 75-99). (Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture). Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203828571

Vancouver

Fizek S, Wasilewska M. Embodiment and Gender Identity in Virtual Worlds: Reconfiguring our “Volatile Bodies”. In Ensslin A, Muse E, editors, Creating Second Lives: Community, Identity and Spatiality as Constructions of the Virtual. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 2011. p. 75-99. (Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture). doi: 10.4324/9780203828571

Bibtex

@inbook{53da5fd28077499b990e3f28a57d78d5,
title = "Embodiment and Gender Identity in Virtual Worlds: Reconfiguring our “Volatile Bodies”",
abstract = "Since the emergence of graphical virtual worlds, such as Second Life{\texttrademark} (Linden Lab 2003) and Entropia Universe{\texttrademark} (MindArk 2003), the creation of our Second Lives in cyberspace no longer relies predominantly on textbased means, as it was in the case of MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) or MOOs (object oriented MUDs). The focus of the online existence in VWs (virtual worlds) shifted from text-based descriptions to graphical representations of ourselves as avatars and of the virtual reality surrounding us. The customization of our virtual personas (choosing the name, adjusting body parts, and selecting clothes) entails above all gender specifi cation. As it turns out, coexisting in virtual communities as avatars, the majority of us seem to project an equivalent of reality onto our cyber bodies. Despite the fact that the Internet itself constitutes a fl exible tool, which could be used to implement revolutionary ideas contradicting stable and fi xed gender boundaries, the traditionally defi ned gender identity based on binary oppositions (male versus female; heterosexual versus homosexual) is still being reinforced online. We are more likely to fi ll the virtual worlds with unusual objects or imaginary scenery than to populate them with gender ambiguous creatures. Oftentimes, in the most fantastic virtual spaces, our avatar{\textquoteright}s gender identity constitutes the most stable point of reference.",
keywords = "Digital media",
author = "Sonia Fizek and Monika Wasilewska",
year = "2011",
month = may,
day = "9",
doi = "10.4324/9780203828571",
language = "English",
isbn = "978-0-415-88420-4",
series = "Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture",
publisher = "Routledge Taylor & Francis Group",
pages = "75--99",
editor = "Astrid Ensslin and Eben Muse",
booktitle = "Creating Second Lives",
address = "United Kingdom",

}

RIS

TY - CHAP

T1 - Embodiment and Gender Identity in Virtual Worlds

T2 - Reconfiguring our “Volatile Bodies”

AU - Fizek, Sonia

AU - Wasilewska, Monika

PY - 2011/5/9

Y1 - 2011/5/9

N2 - Since the emergence of graphical virtual worlds, such as Second Life™ (Linden Lab 2003) and Entropia Universe™ (MindArk 2003), the creation of our Second Lives in cyberspace no longer relies predominantly on textbased means, as it was in the case of MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) or MOOs (object oriented MUDs). The focus of the online existence in VWs (virtual worlds) shifted from text-based descriptions to graphical representations of ourselves as avatars and of the virtual reality surrounding us. The customization of our virtual personas (choosing the name, adjusting body parts, and selecting clothes) entails above all gender specifi cation. As it turns out, coexisting in virtual communities as avatars, the majority of us seem to project an equivalent of reality onto our cyber bodies. Despite the fact that the Internet itself constitutes a fl exible tool, which could be used to implement revolutionary ideas contradicting stable and fi xed gender boundaries, the traditionally defi ned gender identity based on binary oppositions (male versus female; heterosexual versus homosexual) is still being reinforced online. We are more likely to fi ll the virtual worlds with unusual objects or imaginary scenery than to populate them with gender ambiguous creatures. Oftentimes, in the most fantastic virtual spaces, our avatar’s gender identity constitutes the most stable point of reference.

AB - Since the emergence of graphical virtual worlds, such as Second Life™ (Linden Lab 2003) and Entropia Universe™ (MindArk 2003), the creation of our Second Lives in cyberspace no longer relies predominantly on textbased means, as it was in the case of MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) or MOOs (object oriented MUDs). The focus of the online existence in VWs (virtual worlds) shifted from text-based descriptions to graphical representations of ourselves as avatars and of the virtual reality surrounding us. The customization of our virtual personas (choosing the name, adjusting body parts, and selecting clothes) entails above all gender specifi cation. As it turns out, coexisting in virtual communities as avatars, the majority of us seem to project an equivalent of reality onto our cyber bodies. Despite the fact that the Internet itself constitutes a fl exible tool, which could be used to implement revolutionary ideas contradicting stable and fi xed gender boundaries, the traditionally defi ned gender identity based on binary oppositions (male versus female; heterosexual versus homosexual) is still being reinforced online. We are more likely to fi ll the virtual worlds with unusual objects or imaginary scenery than to populate them with gender ambiguous creatures. Oftentimes, in the most fantastic virtual spaces, our avatar’s gender identity constitutes the most stable point of reference.

KW - Digital media

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U2 - 10.4324/9780203828571

DO - 10.4324/9780203828571

M3 - Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

SN - 978-0-415-88420-4

T3 - Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture

SP - 75

EP - 99

BT - Creating Second Lives

A2 - Ensslin, Astrid

A2 - Muse, Eben

PB - Routledge Taylor & Francis Group

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