In combing back over the blog the last few days, I realized that I never actually posted my (final) thoughts about virtual identities and avatars in relation to costuming and “Masquerade.” It isn’t really final since I have been noodling with these ideas all semester and am constantly switching things up and trying to look at it from different angles. I’ll likely find even more as I continue to embark on this paper writing journey. Any thoughts or suggestions are always welcome :)1) Virtual Communities could be the space to explore Masquerade beyond gender difference.
2) The avatar is the ultimate costume, providing a space for fantasy, escapism and (virtual) social mobility/boundary crossing.
3) Identity is dependent on consumerism. A virtual consuming self and a real consuming self are becoming one in the same.
Thanks for reading. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to take my virtual self to the Avatar mall to buy a new hat to wear to my South of Nowhere online screening party tonight. I hope I have enough creds!
2 comments:
I'm admittedly very ignorant about this topic as I don't have any avatars and the limited virtual identity I do have pretty closely mirrors my own, but I am interested, as you clearly are, in the degree to which people create a virtual identity to themselves versus creating one to transform themselves. I think a very interesting empirical study could be done (maybe one already exists) match themselves, invent neutral characteristics and overtly deviate from their own qualities when they create themselves online.
I've recently become really intrigued by this virtual identity formation also and the impact if any this has on one's true identity.
I discovered the gaia.com site and started to build an avatar, mainly to check out the costumes associated with the otaku subculture and maids...
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