This picture is supposed to portray all the ways that people can manipulate their avatars to express their different social identities on the internet, because users are able to change the avatar's clothing, hair color, skin color, add limited piercings and tattoos and add that little baby bump to signify pregnancy--and this is supposed to be a better expression of their individuality than plain text on the internet. Well, news flash for the people creating these avatars: changing your avatar's skin color does not signify race or ethnicity. The choices that avatar programs have are extremely limited--there are about 3 choices of skin tone: very dark brown, medium brown, and pale peach. Maybe a small percentage of people can pick a color that matches their skin tone, but even then what does that tell you about your race or ethnicity? Does that medium brown tone translate to light-skinned African American? Hispanic or Latino? Indian? Egyptian? What color does a person who is of mixed races with Irish and recessive African American genes (they have light skin and red hair) choose? And what the hell is pale peach? There are many different shades that would be needed to actually portray how a person looks, and even then it doesn't actually show specific races or ethnicities.
Next, I noticed they all have the same facial features, body types, hair types, and height. How expressive is that! There are no overweight avatar options, no options for people that don't have big doe eyes or petite noses, no options for girls without curves, or who don't have a D cup bra size. As far as I can see, the only thing that someone can actually learn about another person from looking at their avatar is the person's name that is stamped next to it. By offering such a narrow scope of "customization options," people are actually being told to conform to societal expectations of what women should look like, which is very limited. It is socially acceptable for women to have small waists, curvy hips, perfectly done up hair, blemish-free skin, fashionable clothing, a prominent jaw line, big breasts and an innocent stance--all for an overall feminine appearance. This picture is a giant contradiction in and of itself. People make avatars so they can express their individuality, but they're actually being molded to fit into a narrow socially acceptable box.
There's a flaw in your argument. Not everyone who uses an avatar is trying to represent themselves. I'd argue that the majority of people are working out something with the avatar, exploring different aspects of their own personalities, creating new versions of themselves, or trying to understand the experience of others.
ReplyDeleteSome, of course, just want to have sex.
This is an area that needs research. Does a woman who enters a virtual world to have an avatar with "big breasts and an innocent stare" actually stay that way, or does visualizing herself that way help her realize how really unimportant these things are in real life? Does she need that time as "Barbie" to work something out? Will she eventually drop out of virtual society once she realizes this, or will her avatar evolve, or will she start to see avatar sexuality as an artifact, and start to play with it? The avatar is like a school uniform; a truly creative and rebellious girl can do quite a bit with it.
I find it interesting that virtual worlds provoke so much hostility. I think this is because those who see virtual worlds from the outside can't understand the human connections that are being made underneath all that bling.
Virtual worlds are a mirror of everyday life. We're pretty superficial in real life; lots of big breasts and wide eyes here too. Lots of bling. Maybe it's the accuracy of the reflection that makes people so angry.