In last week’s reading, “Multi-User Dungeons and Alternate Identities” by Howard Rheingold, MUDs are introduced as “imaginary worlds in computer databases where people use words and programming languages to improvise melodramas, build worlds and all the objects in them, solve puzzles, invent amusements” and much more. As users log on to MUDs they create new identities and/or false identities. Rheingold says, “…the population of online-gender-switchers numbers in the hundreds of thousands.” What he means here is that when users create new identities, there is an overabundance of males creating female characters and females creating female characters. As I read the article, I found it a little weird that this was occurring so I decided to do a little research to find out why users participate in gender switching.
http://www.lubbockonline.net/blogs/duff/index.php?entry=entry071116-091531
I managed to find the blog post above entitled, “Confessions of a gender-switch gamer.” The blog poster, a gender switch gamer, says he plays as female characters when participating in online games. He immediately refutes that he is a man who likes to dress in women’s clothing. When he creates female avatars, he doesn’t think of the female characters as himself, but rather as a story he is watching. This can be compared to fans of popular television shows such as Alias or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Male fans of the show don’t see themselves as the female characters. They merely enjoy watching the female characters in action. By reading the blog post, I now understand Rhinegold’s statement regarding the heavy appeal of gender switching in the online gaming world.
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2 comments:
Thats funny, I checked that out too when I did my blog. I was real weirded out when I heard about the gender switching. I checked out the link you had and I liked it. It may have lessened my curiosity, but you have to admit, it still might put some people in question. I guess it serves as a form of psychotherapy for some people in more ways than one.
As I struggle with understanding Second Life and MUDs, and why people behave the way they do on them, your blog really clicked with me. It does make sense that a male who creates a female avatar does so in order to watch her act out a story. I can see the attraction that someone would have in being able to actively control a character in a story he/she is interested in. However, I wonder if that is the norm in Second Life and MUDs. Do people want to create their own story? In class we talked about how people can experience real heart break. Would that happen if someone was just... watching a character he/she didn't identify with? I guess I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anything, I am just trying to wrap my mind what kinds of things are completely normal in a MUD. Why is gender switching so common?
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