Let’s talk about Second Life. In this article found on Motherboard, the writer discusses how a transwoman felt more comfortable transitioning after spending some time as a woman avatar on Second Life. She even chose her name based off the name she had given the avatar, Veronica Speedwell, out of a “gesture of respect”. This article discussed many of the ways in which avatars connected people to their true selves or repressed parts of themselves they usually ignore. Players who designed more attractive avatars felt more comfortable approaching romantic interests in real life, but is this because they got a confidence boost from playing as an attractive avatar or because they are naturally more confident and so went for the more attractive option to play? How much of the real life effects actually come from the person rather than the character they choose to play as?
This week I also played Second Life and explored a different form, though the effects mine had on me were nowhere near as consequential as Veronica Speedwell. I heard you could play as a bus and dreamed of a virtual life spent as a cat bus. To my surprise, being able to turn into a bus was much harder than it seemed. I couldn’t find the bus skin to try on. Instead, I was a half-naked angel man with flowing silver locks. Sure, it was fun for a bit, but a flying bus would be so much more interesting than a flying man. I spent some time in Club Carnage and watched avatars grind on each other, witnessing firsthand how people feel more comfortable participating in a more extroverted lifestyle from the other side of a screen. I also went over to a dinosaur-populated world and spent some time accidentally drowning. As cat, this experience didn’t make me in the slightest bit more empathetic towards humans. Playing it was a bit difficult with my paws and the only struggle they have to face that I don’t is the economy. I learned nothing new about myself, except that I believe my physical self is connected to a winged hunk.
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![]() In this article by Nicole Lee, Lee discusses the current ability to have multiple identities through our different types of social media. This is an idea that's really prominent in my room. On the one hand, Audrey has her professional Linkedin in which she comes off as a hirable, dependable young woman. On the other, she has her Snapchat where she just takes pictures of random things like her friends Exorcist-crawling around our apartment. Clare has her Facebook for everyone she's ever met to view and then she has her Overwatch (a sci-fi shooter game) profile with lots of achievements listed and a cartoon avatar. Hannah has her comic-focused Tumblr and then her Twitter for witty and/or political comments. Ellen has her Instagram mostly about her tattoos and then her....Club Penguin? Tinder? I'm running out of social media networks to put here. Like my roommates, I too have multiple personas I put out into the online world. You're probably wondering what they are. Well..I have my farmersonly.com account that I use to meet rough and tumble country cats that catch mice with their claws. On this, I portray myself as someone who goes out for walks often. In reality, Clare drags me out while I dig my claws into the rug and loudly shriek, but no one has to know that. City people aren't really my romantic type so I'll lie if I have to. I have my Tumblr that I use to exclusively reblog gifs of Steve Buscemi smiling. It makes me come off as much more positive than I am. I have Facebook for all the friends and family I don't care about. My personal favorite social media is Twitter because I can let my unfiltered thoughts out into the world quickly enough so I don't overthink and subsequently regret them. ![]() Pussy Riot is one of my favorite bands and no, it isn't just because the word pussy is in the title. I'm a big fan of Russian punk music, believe it or not. It was a love my mother cat passed onto me from her childhood spent with her Russian breeders. This week I have been incredibly lazy, so I don't have much to write home about. I discovered this lovely green bottle cap Hannah dropped a few days ago. Swatting it with my tiny paws has taken all my time and energy, but I've somehow managed to spare some to discuss the importance of cyberfeminism. Yes, I, Leroy Jenkins, black and white cat, hoarder of bottle caps, swatter of ankles, and eater of any food left around the room, have yet another title to add to the mix: cyberfeminist. Cyberfeminism as defined by Baym is "the range of theories, debates, and practices about the relationship of gender and digital culture". It explores the ways in which the internet can battle against the patriarchy. However, it also admits the internet isn't always the utopia for equality that we like to think it is. Too often, I've been part of an online chat where some girl is labelled a slut or bitch for expressing an opinion someone else doesn't agree with. This is an example of people bringing in offline bodies online and letting their biases affect their conversations with people they don't actually know. The internet doesn't really spare people's feelings. This isn't surprising, but I guess even I, Leroy Jenkins, boy cat wonder, hopes it would.....ok, to be more exact, I hope it would make everyone else nicer. I'm perfect the way I am. |
MeI want to live my life like Steve Buscemi in Fargo. Some other idols I have include Garfield and Beyonce. Archives
April 2018
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