Final Entry - Feminist Research Class

Well this is it folks - the last time I write in this blog for Dr. G. Tonight was the last night of class - literally. It was the last class meeting for the course as well as the last class I have to officially take. Now (in the words of Andy Famigletti), I am facing down the barrel of my dissertation (and prelims and dissertation proposal, all of which come first).

So what did I think about tonight's class? We met in SL again, but this time with a group discussing ethical research. Some of the ERG members were there as were quite a few new names and digital faces. The question up for discussion was from a person in New Zealand whose IRB is requesting that he gets RL signatures from the individuals he is researching in SL. Seems like an odd request to me and shows that this IRB has little understanding of life in SL. Since so many people use SL on the basis of anonymity, how are he expected to get those RL signatures? Why won't a digital consent form work?

This led to a discussion of what is meant by ethical research in the context of SL. One of the participants mentioned that even though avatar names are not necessarily reflective of RL name, there could be RL consequences if that avatar's name is used in the research. In other words, the research gets published and a SL user reads it then decides to look up this avatar. This could result in a variety of outcomes including the avatar being harassed, etc. In addition, even though SL has acceptable use guidelines, there is still that possibility of an adverse outcome.

My question then is "What happens in a RL ethnography? Do the people need to give consent. I am assuming so, but can they ask to not be identified in the research or require that a pseudonym be used? If so, why couldn't the same procedure occur here? It seems that if the subjects click on an 'Accept" button, they know that they are being observed anyway, so why not ask for a hard copy signature? I realize that the context may vary, and the type of question being asked may cause some people to decline any type of identification. It's a matter of trust. But if it is possible to get RL signatures, why not try? The worst thing that can happen is that the researcher is denied, but proof can be offered to the IRB that getting these signatures is too difficult, possibly swaying them to try another avenue. In addition, it is important to talk with other researchers to find out their IRB policies regarding SL and use that as ammunition to request a change in policy.

Those are pretty much my thoughts at this point. I may use this blog in the future as a gathering place for my thoughts on prelims and my dissertation. Until then - TTFN.

Second Life and Sex/Gender

Purpose: To have students explore reactions to differently gendered avatars
Tools: Computer, Internet Access, Second Life (available as a free download)
Time: 2-4 hours online plus time for journaling

Phase I
The primary goal of this assignment is to allow students to explore Second Life with avatars configured to represent various genders. The student will need to obtain a Second Life account (available for free) and then create his or her first avatar. How that avatar is sexed/gendered is completely up to the student, but care should be taken to craft an avatar that is clearly male or female. Usually body shape is enough to adequately code male or female. Once an avatar is ready, the student should feel free to explore Second Life and interact with its many denizens. After this exploration is complete, the student should record his or her experiences in a journal to be submitted to the instructor.

Phase II
After the initial reactions are recorded, the student should alter the appearance of the avatar to denote the opposite sex/gender. Once completed, the student can once again explore Second Life and look for reactions. It is best to visit a new area of Second Life so that the chance of meeting a prior acquaintance is reduced since the avatar’s name will not change. Again, the student should record his or her findings in a journal.

Phase III
The last phase will repeat Phase II, but a gender non-specific avatar needs to be crafted. Mixing visual codes helps (play with body shape, hair length, etc.). Findings should be recorded in the student’s journal.

Additional Activities
Students should write at least one more journal entry that discusses the different types of reactions found including how the student felt posing in the avatar’s many forms. For a longer assignment, the student can write a comparison and contrast paper that expands on his/her experiences and uses sources to help frame the essay.

Feminist Film Theory and Video Games

Lately I have been reading up on feminist film theory and thinking about how I can apply it to my research on video games. So here goes. Please bear with me as I try to make sense of what I am attempting to articulate.

One of the most important theorists in this field is Laura Mulvey who wrote an article in the 1970s entitled Visual Please and Narrative Cinema. In this article, she uses psychoanalysis to examine films and talks quite a bit about how early Hollywood films centered on the male gaze which asserts that the viewer is looking through the eyes of the male and women are merely objects to be consumed by the gaze. Mulvey has received criticism for this view since it has no place for a female gaze which would consume the male body as object. Obviously, film has changed much over the last 30 years, but I think her views have some merit when it comes to video games. Please understand that I have merely scratched the surface of this topic and hope to more informed posts down the line.

In my view, Mulvey's theory can easily be applied to video games. If you consider that in the vast majority of first-person shooters such as Doom, Quake, etc., the player is forced into the viewpoint of a male protagonist. There is no other choice. Yes, there are games such as Tomb Raider that break the mold, but isn't Lara Croft an object to be consumed by the male gaze as well? This is certainly fitting since the Tomb Raider games use a third-person perspective whereas the player can see both Lara and the action taking place.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas works in a similar fashion. Women are objects to be consumed either as prostitutes or as average citizens on the street who are there to be beaten and robbed. Their only worth is the money they might have once beaten to death. Violence is a way to solve problems in a male-dominated (and virtual) world. This is what I plan to write about for Dr. G's class. Any input or advice is appreciated. Signing off for tonight.

NL in SL - Does this look like a guy?

More Adventures in Second Life

Okay - Last night and today were weird. Not only did I seemingly have an influence on the gender changing of a SL avatar, but I was part and parcel to a couple of additionally strange incidents. Today I ventured to a few new areas. I was on another beach when I noticed a rather nice yacht. I stepped aboard and looked around a bit. Upon entering the main cabin, I ran into male and female avatar and was asked my the male if I was interested in a threesome. Before I could answer, the female walked away. Within seconds, the male was yelling at me to leave. Evidently, his girlfriend was none to happy with him and his suggestion. It would be really interesting to know if they are a couple in real life. If so, he is probably in a living hell right now for his transgression. RL seemingly spilled over into SL and vice versa.

After I left the yacht, I took a stroll along the beach and came upon a couple floating on a raft near the shore. I stopped to look around and was close enough to catch their chat. The male asked his female friend if that was a guy in a bikini. Several snide comments were made and they obviously referred to my avatar since I was the only one near. First, I don't think that NL looks like a guy, but you can judge for yourself. Second, their reaction to what was perceived as a violation of the gender restrictions was quite humorous. There was no conception available to them of the possibility that a male might wear a bikini. Their comments at once marginalized me and protected their view of the world - even a virtual world like SL. Reminded me of Sloop and Butler. I wonder what would have happened if I had approached them. I'll have to try that sometime if this ever happens again. Perhaps I should create a male avatar and dress him in a bikini. That might be fun!

Who was He/She? or How I Caused an Avatar to Change Gender in Second Life

So I decided to go to the beach today and see what happened when I interacted with other avatars. It didn't take long for someone to approach me given I was walking around as a female in a barely-there bikini. The person, who shall be known as Paolo, identified himself as a 23-year old male from Brazil. He asked where I was from to which I honestly replied Ohio. Within the first few minutes of chat he asked if he could kiss me. I replied that we had just met and perhaps he should get to know me before making such advances. :) At least I didn't tell him I was saving myself for marriage! He seemed okay with my mild-mannered rejection and asked if we could walk. So we walked and eventually ended at the hot tub on the island. We both got in and he decided to edit his appearance, evidently trying to create a swim suit on the fly. Just as it seemed that he was finished, he moved away from the hot tub and continued to edit his appearance.

After waiting a few minutes (and getting propositioned by a male avatar with an erect penis), I went over to sunbathe by the pool. Hey - why not earn a couple of dollars while waiting! I could see Paolo in the distance still editing his appearance, but I couldn't tell what changes he was making. I even sent an IM but got no response. Eventually, I sauntered over to Paolo and to my surprise, he had sprouted breasts! I made some comment that he certainly had changed, but still received no reply. And I thought there had been a connection. :(

Anyway, I know for sure now that you can never tell gender in SL. But I have to wonder...did my refusal to make avatar contact have anything to do with his gender switching? Had I caused him to question whether or not my avatar was truly female since I had not leaped into his arms right away and thus led him to consider making him/herself female? Who knows? It was certainly an interesting experience and I am still trying to decide if I should feel rejected in RL because my avatar had been rejected in SL. Hmmmm.

Since last night, I have been attempting to relate my readings to my continued experiences in SL. I had two chapters - one by Code and the other by Collins. The latter was certainly more interesting and accessible. Collins work focused on the concept of family and how that concept related intersectionally to gender, race, class, and nation. Part of her argument is that power relations that exist in the ideal family (men in power, women subordinate, etc...) reflect themselves at other levels such as race and nation. I can certainly see this played out in SL, but I don't think it is as absolute as in RL. The fact that one can switch gender lets any person assume the role they wish, thus turning the tables.

In addition, the phallus is so overwhelmingly evident in SL (see above). One can certainly see how such a focus is a symbol of male power. People with avatars sporting such appendages certainly seem to think that it makes them the envy of all female avatars. I have witnessed these characters strutting around asking every female avatar in sight to have some type of sexual interaction. It's as if they are saying, "Hey! Look at my huge, erect penis. You must want to be with a man like me!" I haven't seen enough interactions between differently-raced avatars to give any thoughts on how Collins work might relate. Til next time - NL will be thinking of Paolo and dreaming of what might have been....

Ethnography in Perrysburg Heights

Last night I traveled with Sue Ellen, Shuang, and Heather to a home in Perrysburg Heights. The team was sent to complete some fieldwork collecting information from the residents in this area. On a previous trip, I had driven through the area and then spent some time walking around Levis Commons. This time I had the chance to hear from local residents about how the changes in the community were affecting them. In addition to the homeowners, both of their daughters were present. One of the themes that ran through the conversation dealt with the sense of community that the residents had, and how few people moved away. Even if they did move away, they often came back.

On the way back to BG, Heather, Shuang, and I discussed the conversation that took place and used a feminist lens to unpack what we had heard. One of the first observations was how the husband had dominated the conversation and the wife deferred to him quite often (although not always). Other comments were made in reference to the daughters, who when younger, were not allowed to stray far away from home, because "they were girls." The reaction to Shuang was quite strong as well. The notion that this person from China could actually be in their home seemed to completely surprise them, and the wife asked about Shuang's note taking which was in Chinese. To me, it seemed as though the husband was a little surprised that she was not writing in English - almost as if she should have been writing in English because she was in America. Heather didn't agree with me completely on this point, but that is how I took the comments. Indeed, her Otherness seemed to mystify the couple quite a bit.

Those were a few of the items we talked about, and I am sure that other revelations will be forthcoming once the tape is reviewed. All in all, it was an interesting experience and this family made us quite welcome in their home.

Semiotics and Second Life

I am adding an additional entry to help collect some of my thoughts based on recent readings. In particular, I have been completing a close reading of Jonathan Bignell's Media Semiotics. While I have had a class on visual communication which included semiotics, this book is much more accessible and it focuses specifically on the media. This is different from Chandler's Semiotics, which is a good book, but a lot more dense.

Currently, I am reading a chapter about Barthe's book Mythology and have been making some connections with our experiences in Second Life (SL). To me, Barthe's biggest contribution was his unmasking of how myth makes a sign seem natural. In SL, I recently changed my appearance. At first, my avatar was based on a male body and designed to look ambiguous. For a while the avatar was even green. During this time, I was never approached by anyone other than classmates. However, my new appearance is that of a female, probably considered "pretty" by current Western cultural standards. She is tall, with a slim figure and fairly large breasts. Almost immediately I had other avatars asking me to chat and/or be friends.

The signs encoded by the female form I chose for my avatar indicated to others (specifically male avatars) that I was sexy, approachable, and possibly interesting. Other sexual connotations may have been implied, but I never let the interactions go far enough to find out. What struck me was how my form gave off these signs as if they were natural. Her looks and shape were signifiers to other users based on what has been learned in our culture. The person behind the avatar was never questioned and neither were the intentions behind creation of my avatar. I am very interested to see what happens if the avatar is made to appear "unattractive."

More Second Life

Last night we spent the entire class exploring in SL. I found myself doing a little adventuring and ran across another sex-related establishment. There were all kinds of clothing available related to bondage or at the very least, it was very revealing. Another item was a collar, that when put on, allowed another to control that avatar, making them submissive, etc. The prevalence of the sex industry in this world is unbelievable. Amy ran across a conversation that mentioned roughly touching a penis. Cybersex evidently is still going strong on the Internet.

However, what I found myself continually returning to was the appearance function. I am fascinated by the choices (and lack of choices) that are available. I have changed my appearance to female and had previously looked a little androgynous. I also played with race a bit. After talking with Dr. G., I think I will use this as the focus for my papers in this class as well as the proposal.

One thing I did figure out is that I am not a Judith Butler fan, at least not based on the chapter I had to read and summarize for class. Thankfully, she is not required for my dissertation.

Journal Entry #4 - Butler, Embodiment, and Second Life

Tonight was both frustrating and fun. The first part of class, while discussing Butler, was the frustrating part. I just have a hard time grasping what she is trying to say. I am glad Dr. G let me wait until Thursday to discuss my chapter since I need to revisit it. I am not sure how much the class discussion will help because I had a hard tome following much of what was said. I'll see what happens - tomorrow is a new day. I did see Butler's writing reflected in Sloop's from last week. The idea that gender needs to move away from the binary was evident in both. These ideas were played out in SL. Amy's avatar, Eggbert, was a mixture of female and male signifiers. There was a hint of breasts and a full beard. I think I'll play with my avatar a little to see what I can do. In the meantime, it would be interesting to see how others react to Eggbert and what/who they think the person is in RL.

The discussion on embodiment in SL was interesting, but difficult to follow because I have not read much on embodiment. However, holding the discussion in SL made it interesting. I wish I knew more about Gore (?) since there were so many references. I did not enjoy the experience as much because of the rapid progression of text. It was hard to read it all let alone contribute. I did manage a few lines though. In addition, the existence of my avatar in SL didn't really make a difference to me. You are so focused on reading that the graphics seem irrelevant. Not vey immersive. I thought of the time we used the Blackboard system for chat last semester. This was less frustrating because you could see more text in the SL system. Perhaps having fewer participants would make it easier. I am eager to see the transcript so that I can review the discussion for more info. Till next time - toodles.

Journal Entry #3 - A Few Connections

I am not sure if an entry is needed for last Tuesday's class, but I am going to start one anyway, and then after tonight's class, I may add more to these thoughts.

I have been going over the readings/summaries from our first two books as well as thinking about the assignments we have had so far. One of the themes in Potter's book dealt with how morals affect science and another dealt with how knowledge is produced in communities, not in isolation. In looking back at Tuesday's trip to Perrysburg Heights (PH)/Levis Commons (LC), I can certainly see how both of these themes tied to the assignment.

For one, we have been encouraged to work in groups to summarize the books, complete assignments, and interact in Second Life. All of these interactions allow us to process and produce knowledge ala Potter's themes. This process will continue for the next four weeks as we complete this class, and for those of us who continue on in research, perhaps for a lifetime.

The values/morals theme was apparent in our trip to PH and LC. What an interesting contrast there was between the two with PH evidently a low income area and LC as an example of capitalism at its finest (and still in development). One has to wonder if the surrounding development will eventually squeeze PH out of existence, and what was the moral reasoning behind choosing this location as the spot for LC?

I have some interesting pictures that I have made into a slideshow. I have brought this into our discussion boards and am interested to see others' reactions to my little movie as well as their own trips. More on the readings and Second Life in the next post.

Journal Entry #2 - A Second Life

Apparently I missed a good class on Thursday, and it feels like I am already behind a bit. Going over the discussion boards is helping as well as the summaries from Potter that were available. I would still like to see chapter 2 however. In particular, I like Heather’s thread on transpeople and SL, and I am eager to see the other postings.

SL has been a little disconcerting. I had used it very briefly last spring, but only one time. Somehow I transported myself to a different location, and I still have no idea how to get back or how to go to other locations in the game. I need some more time and to speak with some of my classmates. This weekend I did spend some time “flying” around my current realm. I certainly discovered some interesting things. For instance, I found what is apparently a gentlemen’s club (see image) called Vixen’s. There were women running around scantily clad. Interesting how sexuality has spilled into this online environment. I wonder though, after reading our chapters, if any LBGT activity goes on. It might be interesting to try an experiment. :)

I still find the interface rather awkward, and as I remember, changing my appearance was no easy task. I would like to play a bit and even try being a female. As of yet, I have not interacted with any of the other players. Just not feeling gabby the first couple of times out. Tonight I’m heading to Perrysburg with a few other students. Will get into SL a little more later on.

Journal Entry #1 - The Token Male

Tonight’s class was interesting on many levels. I was the “token” male in the class which was a new experience for me. Since much of the discussion centered on marginalization, my situation gave me a different perspective. I am not trying to say that anyone was intentionally trying to make me uncomfortable. If anything, it was my change in status that made the difference – I made myself uncomfortable. I think that the experience was mitigated by the fact that I knew 2/3 of the people already. If I had not known so many of the students, I would have felt even stranger. In addition, I was also a little out of my comfort zone with the topic. However, I am sure that will change as I get into the readings.

In regard to the discussion, I was reminded of some discussions we had in Cyberculture and Philosophical Foundations. Specifically, I thought of Keller’s Reflections on Gender and Science. She also dealt with the beginnings of science and the positivists. The article we were given in class partially dealt with positivism and how feminists have reacted to it. There seems to be a mixed reaction, but I believe that is good since it leads to multiple ways of knowing (something else discussed in class).

On a side note, every time someone used the word oppressed/repressed, I had to keep myself from laughing. I recently watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so I kept hearing, “Help! Help! I’m being repressed! Come and see the violence inherent in the system.” So much for autonomist collectives!

I am glad to see more structure to this class. Having the readings planned out is a big help. Thanks Dr. G!

Back in the game!

I am back to occassional blogging for a femininst research class I have with Dr. Radhi G. Can't promise I will maintain the blog past the first week of August, but this is a convenient outlet for class.

School's Out for Summer!!!

Actually the title is a little misleading. BG is out, but I am taking summer classes so I am not really free. Got a mixed methods research class and MCOM history. Foust's class seems really interesting. I am going to explore historiography as a research method for my dissertation. Need to talk to OBB as well because I need to find a way to blend vis comm, emerging media, and political economy. Oh the fun that is grad school. Well, I wanted to make at least a brief appearance on my blog. Now it's off to yard work and studying. Quite a day planned!