Gender-Bender in Online Games: A Disembodied Coping Mechanism or an Embodied Experience?
Introduction
Online games allow the embodiment of a gamer’s corporeal body to be transposed into an immaterial form, which ultimately acts as an extension of one’s self. Eventually, sociocultural norms from the offline world are transferred and cultivated in these gaming environments as individuals interact with each other in networked technologies. The interrelationships among the sociotechnical norms and the notion of a digital self in online gaming illustrate a paradox between sexism and gender performance leading to discrepancies for gender identity. While most research suggests that people prefer avatars to be based on their corporeal identity, there are many cases where users choose to assume another gender identity. Usually, these discrepancies are caused by the rigid normative characteristics of masculinity and femininity ranging from situations where there are limited choices of avatars that represent genders to cases of hostile networks hosted through computer-mediated communications (CMCs). Regardless of these reasons, the disconnection between a user’s corporeal identity with his/her online counterpart challenges the mainstream understanding of the embodiment of the body into the virtual realm. Consequently, I argue that continuous renegotiation of gender identity within the sociocultural norms of online gaming show a disembodied experience as users find a disconnection between their immaterial identities with the online equivalent. This situation hinders the users’ experience of immersion (Munster 2006, 92) — where the user’s physical movement corresponds into certain actions in the digital realm, producing an affective aesthetic experience from virtual reality back into the corporeal body. I continue to acknowledge that the proponents of the embodiment have better explanations regarding the interexchange of identity and social norms from the physical world into the digital world. However, I would further propose that different users experience a variance between embodied and disembodied virtuality. This inequality stems from an imbalance of power where modern sociocultural norms in games are more advantageous towards certain groups of people. Particularly, how male gamers have more embodied experience in online gaming than female gamers, also known as ‘girl-gamers’, who face more frequent disembodied experiences. Investigating the relationship between the disembodied and embodied experience through gender management in online games shows the disproportional powers that are ascribed to different genders.
Distinguishing Between Disembodiment and Embodiment
Disembodiment portrays the separation between the physical self and digital self. According to Munster, disembodiment relies on the idea of digital Cartesianism — where the mind is separated from the body (2006, 191). One can imagine disembodiment as the situation where physical bodies are parked in front of a computer screen while their disembodied minds are able to roam around the virtual space (Van Doorn 2011, 532). This complements Stone’s idea of cyberspace — an electronically-generated reality inhabited by people who are separated from their corporeal bodies in ‘normal space’ (Munster 2006, 89). I infer a technological deterministic description of disembodiment, as they have the similar sentiment of a one-way interaction between the physical body and the digital realm. Furthermore, the notion of ‘physical bodies in normal spaces’ and ‘bodies stuck in front of the computer screen’ imply that users have no human agency as they cannot choose whether their body can experience the emotional component of the digital environment. Assuming that most gamers like the sense that they are in control of their online persona, the idea of having no agency through a disconnection with their bodies provides a negative impression that their bodies are not in control of their digital life. Additionally, the proponents of embodiment heavily criticize this disassociation between the mind and body because it contradicts the idea of users’ affective experiences created from these digitally aesthetic worlds.
The disembodiment of sociocultural norms lacks the organic forces that allow realism in the digital sphere. Creating the digital from forces of realism fails to match those of the past; therefore the digital reconstruction of the past eventually leads to poor imitation (Munster 2006, 94). For the context of this paper, the reconstruction of the past represents the overall norms and values that evolved over time in society. From this perspective, the idea of recreating the corporeal society in the digital environment lacks a genuine representation of sociocultural norms, because developers fabricate them according to their perceptions rather than letting them emerge from organic interactions. This problem with disembodiment continues to show a technological deterministic view, as there is only a top-down approach for digitally reconstructing the past. Additionally, there is also the question of who controls the digital reconstruction? In this argument, there is an implication that the developers would be the ones to recreate a digital society. However, the technological determinist perspective would further argue that even if the developers reconstruct these digital societies, there is still no human agency as they fall under a gaming industry that are greatly influenced by the evolvement of technology and the economic resources available for investment, rather than the interactions between people. Regardless of this view, the imitation of sociocultural norms from the offline world into the online world cannot provide an authentic experience for the users. Interactive forces found in networked technologies are needed to create a more authentic sociotechnical system.
The embodiment of virtuality provides a better way of understanding of self and sociocultural norms because it allows a user to be simultaneously present in both the online and offline world. In relation to immersion, embodiment is further developed by the idea of correspondence — when the controller is tied to an object in the fictional world and the participant’s actual movements become movements through the virtual space (Munster 2006, 89). In other words, there is a reciprocal transposition of physical movements that interact with the online world, causing affective experiences which are then felt by the corporeal body. This idea of extending oneself through embodiment shows a mutual shaping perspective as the users continue to navigate between their physical body and digital selves through technological platforms. Unlike the disembodied experience, the proponents of the embodiment of virtuality grasp the interconnected relationship between the physical body and its experiences that are both bounded in the digital and physical space.
The embodiment discourse sees people extending themselves into the web where they have symbiotic experiences between the digital and physical spaces. As Van Doorn argues, there is a boundary-crossing potential of social processes that interlace media technologies, discursive practices, and embodied users shaping one another within a network, which extends from physical into digital space and back again (Van Doorn 2011, 536). In other words, this symbiotic exchange also evolves into social norms and values as users interact with each other in the digital space. Hence, there is an organic force that causes norms to transfer from the offline world into the online world. By looking at the embodiment of social norms, I suggest that the arguments that ascribed to this idea complements an Actor-Network Theory approach that shows how people are connecting with each other and their technological devices to shape norms in cyberspace.
As a result, I argue that the proponents of disembodied relates with the technological deterministic section of the STS perspective. Meanwhile, those who argue for the embodied experience range from mutual shaping supporters to the proponents of ANT. The technological determinist understands that the representation of one’s self and the creation of sociocultural norms are external from the human agency, as the users do not have the ability to digitize their bodies. Meanwhile the creation of norms is an imitation created by the designers and their perspective of reality which becomes dismissive of the idea that there can be user-input that would shape the norms. These claims contradict disembodiment, as this idea supports human agency when extending one’s self and creating the digital culture. Consequently, I acknowledge that the ANT and mutual shaping theory that are present within the embodiment principle show a better understanding of how identity can be extended into the digital sphere and how it continues to be renegotiated through the established norms and values. However, I would also add that by providing a sense of human agency, embodiment implies a more positive experience for the user.
Cultivating Gender from Corporeal to Digital
Using the embodiment principle for extension of self and shifting of sociocultural norms, certain protocols emerges and guides gender performance and identity management. Gender and sexuality are neither ‘concrete nor materially existing entities but rather constitute… of events, affects, ideals, and regulatory norms…’ (Van Doorn 2011, 534). McNay also describes gender and sexuality as ‘lived social relations’ that have to be continually renegotiated (ibid, 533). Both of these descriptions show how the digital environment provides fluidity for gender which is continually renegotiated by the users themselves. Henceforth, the recreation of gender identity through performance mean that in order to be perceived as a man or woman, they have to conform to the established norms characterizing what are masculine or feminine traits.
Gender Identity in Online Gaming: Extension of Identities through Avatars and the Norms Surrounding the Gaming World
Users are able to create an extension of themselves through selecting and building avatars. Avatars carry their gender identity through its second-order physicality and by behaving and performing in networked interactions. In this context, avatars are described as user’s representation of themselves or act as their alter ego (Todd 2012, 101). Making a further comment onto the relationship between avatars in videogames, MacCallum-Stewart states that videogame allows players to celebrate their digital embodiment by assuming the role of a fictional character represented by an avatar (ibid, 103). Relating this idea with gender identity, the physicality of the avatar materializes from the masculine or feminine qualities found in sociocultural norms. Butler suggests gender is a performance that is autonomous from the restrictions of sex as masculinity is not restricted to the male sex as femininity is to the female order (ibid, 104). Hence, a self-identified heterosexual male corporeal body can change their gender through choosing a female avatar usually represented by extreme feminine digital body and continues to renegotiate their female identity by using this avatar and acting stereotypical feminine qualities within CMCs.
Sociocultural norms surrounding the gaming industry and its environments affect how users can navigate their gender. The established norms for masculine and feminine traits are often exaggerated which creates a rigid distinction as to how to characterize one’s gender. This notion is seen with Jensen et. al. when they argue that the gaming industry is embedded in sociocultural networks where games are created to reflect the real-world sociocultural values and norms including the dominant notion of gender performance (Todd 2012, 102). This claim is further emphasized as Shaw argues that there is an exclusion for minorities such as the LGBT community as the industry effectively maintains the dictation of heterosexuality as the dominant norm (ibid). Hence, game developers are reluctant to disrupt the current construction of their gamer audience (ibid). This situation results with most users eventually being forced to adhere to these dominant norms to express any gender identity. These norms are usually neither acknowledged by the community, regarding how they are incorporated into their psyches, nor heavily criticized by the users. Hence, many enhanced stereotypes about masculinity and femininity continues to provide the guidelines for how users should present their gender identity.
Jenson and Shaw’s arguments show a technologically deterministic way of looking at how social norms develop in the digital sphere. Jenson’s claim raises the question of who are able to choose and dictate which real-world sociocultural values and norms are reflected in the gaming environment. I argue that this situation also promotes the issue of power inequality because those who are able to dictate the norms excludes a proportion of gamer population as they have to select within a limited avatar options and behaviours. Nonetheless, I also recognize that the Actor-Network Theory can explain Jenson and Shaw’s claim as there are dominant groups who are able to influence the industry through constant interconnection within the network. Regardless of the perspectives, understanding through these different theoretical lenses suggest that there is a sense of control and power at play in creating the sociocultural norms in online gaming which can exclude some users from fully participating in their environments.
Gender-Bending in Online Gaming: A Disembodied Coping Mechanism or an Embodied Experience Allowing for Greater Fluidity and Movement?
While most users express the desire to create avatars that would most represent themselves, there are established stereotypes in online games which hinder users from fully expressing their gender identity. Anonymity is one of the main features of digital environments where users experience a loss sense of self which enables others to engage in anti-normative behaviours online such as flaming, trolling, or other forms of harassment (Fox and Tang 2014, 316). This CMC characteristic helps create hypernegative effects where users engage in a more negative form of communication (Kuzenkoff and Rose 2012, 552). Rigid heteronormative qualities heighten hostility in an environment, as interactions are evaluated within emphases of stereotypical masculine or feminine manner. Case in point, female voices receive three times as many directed negative comments than male voice or no voice counterparts when interacting in CMCs (ibid). These types of results explain why many female users do not express their gender identity as they feel the need to pretend to be males or not participate in CMCs.
The hypernegative effects in these online gaming environment is one of the main reasons why many users choose avatars that does not fully represent their gender identity. This phenomena where users swap genders in online games using avatars is called Gender-Bending (Todd 2012, 102). In Todd’s study, women choose to play as a male character because: 1.) female avatars are usually constructed as weaker than their male counterparts 2.) there are no female avatars available 3.) playing as a male character usually gives them more advantages (ibid, 105). The women in this study shows willingness to adopt pragmatic and performative relationships with their virtually gendered selves in order to participate in game-play (ibid). This situation shows how gender-bender is used as a form of coping mechanism as females choose to play with male avatars so they can participate in online gaming even if they renounce their gender identity through not performing as their corporeal gender.
By focusing on the prominent sexism in the gaming industry, this paper looks at the discrepancies of identities between heterosexual female gamers and their male avatars. Looking at this situation, I argue that there is a disconnection between the corporeal self and the digitalized self that hinders an immersive experience and then causes a disembodied experience. This discourse contradicts the notion that gamers remain connected to the real-world as gamers experience an embodied performance felt on a physical and emotion level when navigating the virtual environments via their avatars (Todd 2012, 106). Whereas Todd’s argument explains an embodied immersive experience, this immersion is disconnected due to their inability to play the right gender representation given by the negative discourse surrounding the environment. In this case, I argue that the disruption of embodied experience shows the inequality of power as some female gamers feel the need to misrepresent their gender to navigate in a hostile environment.
On the other hand, I will look at a different form of gender-bender to illustrate the complex issue of embodiment and disembodiment of gender identity by examining self-identified heterosexual male players whom choose to play with female avatars. Gray states that there is the privileged default gamer which is the white straight male who maintains the whiteness and masculinity in the virtual setting (Fox and Tang 2014, 315). However, men are three times more likely than women to gender-bend with 27% versus 7% for the latter (Yee, 2014). These men would prefer traditional hairstyles to make their avatars more attractive and tend to use more emotional phrases and explanation points to emulate how real women spoke in chats (ibid). Hence, these men would create a female avatar that is more stereotypically female with the physical traits and their behaviours conforming to the dominant norms. These findings suggest that some men find incentives to play as female avatars even if research shows that females receive more online harassment. Therefore, this phenomenon raises the questions of is there power inequality between genders? Or alternatively, are the privileged male gamers able to escape said harassment because they are voluntarily expressing stereotypical behaviours that are disconnected with their true identities.
One can suggest that men also undergo a disembodied experiment as they also experience a discrepancy between their corporeal and digital identity. However, their ability to consciously and voluntarily choose a female character and revert back to the privilege default gamer complicates the issue of disembodiment because these male players are able to have an ‘escape route’ but more importantly, more freedom of expression that they would not have in the physical realm. For example, men are able to perform more feminine attitudes in the digital realm that they cannot perform in the physical realm due to stigma. Hence, I would argue that males continue to have an embodied experience because they are able to freely express their feminine qualities without worrying about harassment since they adhere to the dominant stereotypes which leads the male gamer to not break their immersive experience. Additionally, male gamers are able to actively engage their male gaze since many female avatars are also designed to be hyper-sexualized. Listing all these advantages, I believe that the male-gamers’ ability to be fully immersed even after engaging in gender-bending shows that they are more dominant group that have more power in terms of controlling the sociocultural norms and embodied experience.
Power as an Actor between the Embodiment and Disembodiment Experiences in Online Games
As stated before, proponents of the disembodied experience show a technological deterministic view implying that sociocultural norms in online gaming world are outside the control of human agency. Meanwhile, ANT and mutual shaping would explain that the gamers are able to influence developers along with creating the sociocultural norms through their networked interaction, therefore showing an embodied experience. In either cases, the established norms and values in these sociotechnical gaming world depend on a certain group who has more influence upon the creation of avatars (ie. Whether female avatars would be more disadvantageous than male avatars) or the social behaviour interacted through CMCs (online harassment, hypernegative world). Hence, I argue that the white male gender usually have more privilege in shaping the sociocultural environment of the online gaming which allows them freely choose a female avatar and express their feminine qualities without worrying about the negative consequences since they can easily disconnect their corporeal gender identity with their avatars and still be immersed into the environment.
Meanwhile, this privilege does not transfer over the female counterpart as their choice of male avatars may be seen as made under duress from societal pressure. They cannot be fully immersed through a disruption of their gender identity. However, if they do express their identity outside of the social norms, they have a higher chance of being harassed, which would be actualized back into their corporeal body through embodiment experience. Hence, I argue that girl-gamers are in disadvantageous position through their limited capabilities of changing the sociocultural norms of the digital environment along with the disembodied experience as a form of coping mechanism as they cannot be fully immersed into the gameplay.
Conclusion
By differentiating the disembodied and embodied experiences and understanding that these experiences can be felt with various extents, I illustrated that the proponents of each side have a common understanding which is the factor of power in terms of distributing this experiences. Using sexism in the online gaming as a case study, one can see how girl-gamers experience more disembodied form of virtuality rather than their male counterparts due to sociotechnical system that are shaped in these environments. There is a disruption of immersion for many minorities in gaming and by illustrating how this gap emerges, then there is a chance to understand why there are many girl-gamers who are reluctant to admit they play games and that the gaming industry, developers and gamers alike, should understand that there are different experiences for people and that the current situation is in need of improvement.
Reference
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