In my Senior Media Seminar last semester called Disability in Media, I was introduced to the concept of Second Life and the possibilities that it presented to people with disabilities, people looking to escape their own lives, or just people who wanted to play an online game that is “similar” to reality. It provides many opportunities for people from all walks of life to interact with one another. In my Disability class, I learned that Second Life is an opportunity for people who have crippling disabilities or who are part of the disability community, to re-create themselves on this site to completely change their public image. For my project this semester, I am interested in hair and hair loss, so Second Life provided me with an outlet to change my appearance and undertake a new one in society, or technically speaking in virtual society.
When I was in middle school I was an avid Sims player. I enjoyed creating new characters and would get lost for a few hours at a time within the Sim world. This only lasted for about a year until I grew up and realized that I didn’t need to escape to a virtual world anymore. While playing Sims, I did not frequently change my appearance. I normally made my main character a girl with blond hair and blue eyes and I would make her husband, a handsome man who I dreamed up. Nowadays, I do not play virtual games and I have never been a fan of the games on Facebook or any other sort of computer game. So entering this virtual world was a completely new experience for me. As I downloaded the program, I found myself thinking about how as soon as the project was over I was going to have to uninstall it because I don’t want to admit to having played it or be tempted by it.
Experiment:
After waiting about five minutes for the program to download onto my computer, I was prompted to choose a username. I chose a random name Mandy and the numbers 1234. Then, I was prompted to choose my avatar for the game. In creating my avatar, I set out to create a person that was not similar to myself. I wanted to see how people would react to someone who wasn’t just a regular girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. So, I entered Second Life as a bald woman, with brown eyes, about 5’2” tall and carrying about thirty extra pounds. She was by no means attractive, but that was partially the point. I was curious as to how people would react to her and if I would get any comments about her bald head.
When Mandy was planted on Welcome Island, she was greeted by a chat request from Chatbird, who said “I mostly repeat everything you say. But if you ask nicely I’ll give you a kiss. Please say ‘Give me a kiss.’” I have to admit I found this chat a little bit creepy, so I ignored it and followed the arrows to Welcome Island, while I tested out allowing my avatar to run, walk and fly. Quickly after entering, I was asked to be friends with a character named Baby Sookie. This person engaged me in conversation and asked me if I knew how to play, which of course I did not have any idea how to do. I engaged in conversation with Baby Sookie and other people, mainly mindless chat about how the game worked, and I discovered how to make my avatar dance, make certain gestures and teleport to different islands.
As I reflect on what I saw on Welcome Island, it is amazing that no one commented on my appearance. The conversation was mainly light and friendly, the first steps in a friendship. I purposely made myself appear different from reality and was wondering if anyone would comment on my bald head. But, I was not the only one with a strange appearance. Some of my fellow users were wearing strange outfits, looked like silver statues and had crazy hair. I was not the only one with a strange and non conventional appearance and it didn’t seem to matter.
Analysis:
Reflecting on my experience with Second Life, I thought about John Berger and his take on the way that we see and make sense of things in the world. Berger says that, “the way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe” (Berger 8). Being bald has become more common nowadays. In the past, people would more frequently wear wigs if they were bald, but now people aren’t as afraid to show off their bald head because the public is more accepting and understanding of the unconventional. This does not mean though that people do not stare or take a second look, it is still not the norm. Berger also discusses nudity and the changes over time of women in art from shame aimed at the viewer and then to shame as a display. We are also able to see the differences between women and men in art, as “Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at” (Berger 47). As a woman playing Second Life I noticed that the default woman was tall and skinny. This is obviously the typical beautiful woman that people strive for. Although you are allowed to change your avatar, many people leave it as the stick skinny woman and just change her clothes and hair color. In creating their avatars, I would assume that women spend more time adjusting its appearance, and Berger notes this in his book, saying “She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life” (Berger 46). Women who want to interact and form relationships with men on Second Life would be likely to create a sexy avatar to get attention. I spent a great deal of time making my avatar look more plain and trying to make her stick out, but once I got to Second Life I realized that everyone is different, and maybe that is the point of this virtual reality world, you can be whoever you want to be with minimal judgment.
Goffman in discussing the presentation of self talks about the expressions we give and the expressions we give off (Goffman 2). Particularly important to Second Life interactions are the expressions we give off. How we present ourselves allows people to figure out who we are and certain clues about our identity. Goffman believes that everyone wears a mask and is playing a role, and this is not only the case in real life but also in Second Life. The performance a person puts on when creating an avatar and interacting asks others “to believe that the character they see actually possesses the attributes he appears to possess” (Goffman 17). In virtual reality we are asking others to believe our mask and we believe other people’s masks. We are able to express a part of ourselves maybe in a different way than is possible in the real world and for many people this provides an escape and a chance to redefine themselves.
In our secondary readings, I was shocked to come across the article about a couple who divorced because of a Second Life affair. In my short experience with Second Life I didn’t reach a level where intimacy occurred, but apparently fantasies can be played out and have got some people in trouble in their marriages. While playing the game, it was hard for me to understand how a person could get so sucked into the game and lose sense of real reality, but it is obviously possible and close relationships have occurred.
Looking back, I can see that Second Life is a virtual reality world for all types of people where everyone is accepted. It allows a person to interact with others and spend their free time being someone else. I will not likely enter the Second Life world ever again, but millions of people will continue to play and continue to form virtual relationships with strangers and experience an escape from their own real reality.
Works Cited
"7 Things You Should Know About...Second Life." Educause Learning Initiative, June 2008. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1977.
Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Double Day, 1959.
Morris, Steven. “Second Life Affair Leads to Real Life Divorce.” The Guardian. November 13, 2008.
This is interesting, I like the idea of exploring Second Life as a bald woman, a far cry from the 'ideal' tall/ thin /luscious hair ideal for most woman. I think that, like you said though, this is not as huge of a risk to take on Second Life as it would be in real life, because appearing very 'non-normal' on second life seems to be the norm. I would be interested to observe reactions to being a bald man- it seems like they might be looked down upon more subtly in the real world, where a real world bald woman might rather be regarded with sympathy, if her baldness is because of a disease, or awe, if she is trying to make a statement.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Rachel. Although I've never explored Second Life before, I can imagine that the majority of the users create either extremely bizarre looking characters or very attractive ones, not mundane, balding ones. I am interested in what other users had to say about your character's bald head. Also, what did the characters you interacted with look like? Great analysis- the readings relate really well.
ReplyDeletePS. I have a soft spot for The Sims too (guilty pleasure)!
I've also haven't explored Second Life, so it was great to read about and see visuals from your experience. You included Goffman in your analysis, and specifically mentioned his thoughts on the audience believing ones performance. Because Second Life allows people so much freedom when creating an avatar, to a point where the avatar could not even be human, I am so intrigued by line between having fun and believing performances for the sake of the game, and taking that believability so much farther by getting so attached to other avatars that it could lead to the divorce between a couple in real life. I am looking forward to reading about your next field experiment as your project topic on hair and hair loss is really interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteI read the secondary reading too, and I found it so shocked that an online game would destroy a marriage in real life. In your analysis, I like that you include Goffman's belief that everyone wears a mask and is playing a role. I am also interested in how other users will think of when they see a bald head player.
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