Reading Response Dialogue

The following is a response to Andrew Formale's post regarding the
issue of race on the web:

Andrew,

I felt that I wasn't that familiar with this particular subject in the class and I wanted to delve deeper into the idea of race and gender on the web. I find it fascinating how people use the internet as this haven, almost, where they can escape to anytime they want and, with the help of video games such as Second Life, do practically anything they want. I've got a 17 year old brother who, when World of Warcraft initially came out, became quickly addicted to the game. For two and a half years, he would do nothing outside of school, but play World of Warcraft. Why? Because it offered him an escape, just as it offered these Dixienet sites one too.

The idea of "cyber whiteness" is something that piqued my curiosity because I can't honestly say I've never been guilty of it. I find it almost disturbing that I would consider caucasian the default race. You are right, Andrew, when you say we don't know the race of who we are talking to. However, when I talk to someone online that I have never met, I do form an image of the person in my mind. If I don't know this person's race, more often than not I do default to white. It is, in the words of Metallica, sad, but true.

Your mention of the "hyperpersonal effect" reminded me of my brother, a recovering World of Warcraft addict. For two and a half years, his social life consisted of nothing, but playing World of Warcraft. Everyday after school he would spend as much time as he could going on raids and fighting his way through dungeons. It is just an example of how people can get wrapped up in the internet and the enticing escape it offers. Thank you for helping me obtain a better understanding of race on the web, an issue that I don't think most people ever really were aware of.

Just Another Day in SL...

Once again we had stripped ourselves of our educational garb for an afternoon in a more laidback atmosphere, Second Life. It had been a while since I’d ventured into this wild frontier and I was greeted with a software update that seemed to render my graphics card useless. Users were depicted via an endless stream of different images as opposed to the usual static skins. The lag was tremendous and morale was at an all time low.

After a lengthy discussion on the issue of race on the web, we all split into groups for field trips. By this time, my graphics card had regained its senses and people, landscapes and buildings were beginning to look as intended. Our first destination was simply titled Flag, Royier. The best way to describe this place would be to dub it Flag, Royier: The Home of All Things War. Everywhere you looked were vehicles and items related to war. There were helicopters, airplanes, boats, motorcycles, and cars. I was even asked if I wanted to buy a gun. The most interesting part of this whole place was an area designated for battle. As I walked through it, I didn’t see anyone battling, unfortunately, but it wasn’t hard to imagine it. Flag, Royier seemed to be, in the end, just Rambo’s wet dream.

After our trip to Flag, Royier, we headed for Bad Boys Urban City. I can’t say that there were too many defining characteristics of this site. It was composed of concrete and asphalt and seemed to be a gay night club. There was a very gritty, urban feel to the whole place. I have to admit that this was my first visit to any sort of place that was designated “gay” and I felt, surprisingly, nonplussed. The only sort of trouble I got myself into occurred when I clicked on a pose ball and found myself stuck in an unflattering position. There I was, laying flat on my back spread eagle in a video game and the only thought that came to my mind was “College is great.”

After getting over the embarrassment of the spectacle I caused, we all departed for the SoulPhoniks Mega Outlet, your only source for premium hip hop apparel. I have to admit that, although I understand going to this site for insight on race on the web, I really didn’t get much out of it. The walls were lined with pictures of different hip hop oriented outfits you could by. I came upon one advertisement for “The Bootyliciouz Club – SL’s Biggest Hip Hop and RnB Club” and I, as they say on the web, LOL’ed. After a short stay in SoulPhoniks, we left for Purchase Island.

As the day wound up, we paused for reflection on all of the sights we had traversed to. There had been many themes dealt with, the chief among them being race and sexuality on the web. I have to say that it was just a typical day in Second Life, but one must remember that such a day in Second Life is anything, but typical in real life. After spending a good deal of time in Second Life, I am continually amazed at the spaces, avatars, buildings, and items that I come across.

Switching Sexes in Second Life...

Second Life is, in many ways, a trip. I like to think of it as a virtual cruise of some sort. In Second Life, users can escape reality and substitute their own. Practically anything is possible in Second Life and I believe this is what makes it so popular. So you want to start your own store? Go ahead. You want to battle other users gladiator style? Be my guest. You’re tired of being a man in real life and want to see what it is like batting for the other team? A world of wonders awaits you.

Whenever I play some sort of video game in which I’m given the choice to choose the sex of my character, I invariably go for the male version. Why? Is it because I am uncomfortable thinking of a female representation of myself? If it was only supposed to represent me online, a world of anonymity, why would I care at all? This was something we discussed to some extent in class, but even after an enlightening discussion, I still don’t know. So I thought that switching the sex of my Second Life character would help to shed to some light on the matter.
First thing I did was head over to one of those freebie warehouses. I was low on female attire and decided if I was going to go girl, I was going to go girl. After perusing the impressive selection of free material, I dolled myself up and headed out into the world of Second Life. My first destination was Purchase Island, just to see if I would arouse any reaction from it’s small population. Unfortunately, I didn’t attract so much as an iota of attention and felt obligated to head to a more suitable clime.

I promptly typed in “sex” into the search function and teleported to the first result, some place touting the possibility of free sex. The attention I got threw me off my game. Proposition after proposition kept rolling in, but I’m not that easy, so I politely ignored and went on my way. I had already witnessed firsthand what sex is like in Second Life, thanks to Tim Quackenbush’s stirring account of it, so I decided that I was better off not jumping into the deep end.

I had seen what attention I had gotten in a neutral territory, Purchase Island and in a more aggressive territory, Free Sex. I began to wonder what kind of reaction I would get from a place that was made for more relaxing purposes. I remembered from my first trek in Second Life an island my group and I had visited. It was geared towards yoga and had a very peaceful quality about it. After several failed attempts at finding it I settled for the Land of Buddhardama. It was pretty much the same, content wise, as that other yoga island I’d visited so I figured it would do. Overall, I went unnoticed except for one user. She was pretty unassuming, but she came up to me and quietly alerted me to the fact that I was inappropriately dressed for such an area and that I leave or change appearance. I left.

My time spent as a woman was enlightening, but I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t feel like myself and constantly feared that my roommate would come in unexpectedly and find me and woman self. I realize that these fears are unfounded and that my roommate would probably think nothing of it, but I was wary nonetheless. I think that has a lot to do with the ways that boys are taught to be men: men are manly and enjoy beer, football, and buffalo wings. To spend my time as a woman in a videogame is, by traditional standards, the most unmanly thing I could do. In conclusion, Second Life taught me two things: I like being a man and I don’t want to be a woman.

Fluxus Saturdays?

So yesterday I had the extreme pleasure of attending Fluxus Fridays for the first time. I had always seen posters for it, but had no idea what it was about and what I should expect. The first thing that I noticed was the fact that this month’s Fluxus Friday was not held on a Friday, but a Saturday. I, unfortunately, was not able to find an answer as to why except that it was an all day event.

As I walked into the Stood, I was underwhelmed. All I saw was a few tables set up for an art swap and hardly any people were there. For an all day event, I thought, this was pretty slim pickins’. Honestly, I could not have been more wrong. The Stood is a building that holds many secrets. There are performance areas, art galleries and even practice rooms scattered throughout the building that, to the untrained eye, are undetectable.

In the very back of the Stood, behind the main stage, there was a room filled with people. It was lit only by a single dangling light bulb and there was a red-haired, Grizzly Adams looking man/student who was performing. I only got to see him perform one song, but I liked it. I could only classify this as screamo indie, which I don’t even think is a valid genre. The most interesting thing about his performance, however, was instead of a microphone, he would scream into a megaphone. As a New Media Major, I found this interesting. There are so many preconceptions about performance and music and I don’t think we really consciously think about it. Why do we always use microphones? Why do we always use amps? Aren’t there alternatives out there? This performance showed that there were indeed.

After the performance, I mosied on over to the art gallery, again, another room that was seemingly hidden from me before. The only sign that one could indeed access this part of the Stood was a door propped open. As I made my way in, I was greeted by some sort of labyrinth of an art gallery, with pieces seemingly everywhere. On top of paintings and silk screens, there were at least five installations. There was a tent sewn of out clothing, a hammock made of cardboard that was apparently safe to use, and the most interesting of all, a room full of samples of turf stolen from area golf courses. My favorite piece was a model landscape constructed from pieces of paper. There was a little train chugging along the miniature track and it would disappear into small tunnels sculpted out of paper. It was whimsical, but very creative.

So my first trip to Fluxus Fridays was a success. I now see what all the fuss is about and I plan to go the next time it is held. It was a great way to keep in touch with the vast amount of art that comes out of this school. Perhaps someday I’ll have a New Media piece of my own in there. At Purchase, anything is possible.