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last.updated 3.3.09

 

Gender & Technology

Purpose

Digital technologies have a vexing relationship with social inequalities and ideologies, especially in terms of gender. Although the metaphor of technological egalitarianism is prevalent in our cyberculture (and sometimes our cyberculture scholarship), there are many ways that gender inequalities transfer from the "real world" to online spaces. However, there are some ways in which these technologies have opened up opportunities and potential social avenues for groups that have been traditionally discriminated against. Today we will examine this paradox.

Activity: Being in a Virtual Space

We are going to spend the first part of class in a virtual space to get a feel for what existing in an online space is like. To enter an online space...

  • Go to SchMOOze University and read the description of this virtual world
  • Click on the first link "Visit schMOOze! (Java-enabled browsers only)"
  • Choose a color (lighter colors work best) and a size (regular works well) and click "Connect"
  • If a window with the color you have selected does not appear, double click the empty space. A window with an ASCII drawing of a cow will appear.
  • In the very bottom space type "connect guest"
  • Follow the instructions by typing in a name (then type "yes") and then a description
  • Use the commands below the screen to explore the virtual world. For more advanced commands, see VRoma Moo Commands.
  • If anybody is there, interact with them, but be polite.

Discussion I: Let's SchMOOze

For the first discussion we will discuss your experience in light of various reading from the semester:

  • What did you name yourself? Why? How did you describe yourself? Why?
  • What did you do while you explored?
  • What did you like about this experience? dislike?
  • How easy what this program to use? What did you want to do that it would not let you do?
  • How does this online experience compare to those afforded by Second Life or World of Warcraft?

Discussion II: Gender & Technology

As a class we will discuss the following questions:

  • What questions did you have about the readings?
  • Should Mr. Bungle's offense be called "cyberrape"? Do you think his actions are illegal?
  • How does Mr. Bungle's offences compare to those of Alex or Harry? What do these individuals tell us about the possibilities of online communities? about the separation between virtual life and real, especially when it comes to issue of gender relations?
  • What do the designs of the various ALife games Kember describe tell us about the separation between real life and the virtual world?
  • Gorkemli gives his audience a relatively positive perspective of the technologies potential for gender minorities. But his narrative is far from deterministic. How does his mapping help us to understand this potential as rhetorical?