Life in the Network

The Meez character that I chose to create reflects a different kind of personality from mine. The character that I created has a bad boy attitude and it is reflected not only from his body language, but also by his unique hairstyle, the eyebrow piercing, as well as the punk-like clothing. I am far from being this kind of character. I for one, do not have half-shaven hair and I only have ear piercings. The character that I created is far more aggressive and also forward than I am. You could tell from "his" looks and attitude that he doesn't really care about what other people think and is not shy to express his personality. I think that this character represents some of the things that I wish I had. For instance, I wish that I could have as bold of a personality and attitude as well as the inner freedom to express personality and not care about what other people think. I am one of those people who tries to please everyone and tries to avoid fights and confrontations. This character represents someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and stands up for his views. The dark alley in the background is supposed to suggest that he's not afraid of any other person and could defend himself in any fight.

In relation to Cyberliteracy, I think that my Meez character represents a classic male who can flame another person without a second thought in his mind. As Susan Herring has found, "flaming is often a male style of communication" because "men [make] more sarcastic and self-promoting" remarks (Cyberliteracy, 72). Women, on the other hand, such as me, tend to use language that is "attenuated and meek" (Cyberliteracy, 72). Women are also more likely to use emoticons such as smiley faces which are "used to deflect the tension of a situation and provide a bit of comfort for the reader" (Cyberliteracy, 73). The underlying reason for that difference in communication styles is due the social "norms" and expectations. For hundreds of thousands or millions of years, women have been inferior and subordinate to men's power and statis in societies across the world. This sort of view, which has been changing over the years, had leaked into the cyberworld from the beginning of the computer age. "Gender bias, just as in real life, are evident online" (Cyberliteracy, 66). Gender biases have been carried into the cyberworld because from the very beginning, they have reflected the views of men who were seeing women as sex objects and not as people who were on the same plain field. I think that with more time, the gap between the two gender roles are going to become more diminished. I think that through the means of gender swapping, people are going to become more aware of what it is like to be in the shoes of someone of the opposite gender.

"Gender-swapping is an opportunity to explore conflicts raised by one's biological gender...the practice encourages reflection on the way ideas about gender shape our expectations" (Turkle, 213).
The "exercise" of switching genders on online communication programs has allowed many people to experiment and better understand the other gender. By pretending to be of someone of the opposite sex, they get to experience the ways in which they get approached by other people. For instance, Turkle has stated that when she pretended to be a man on MUDs, she felt that it "was a strange exercise, especially because a significant portion of the female-presenting characters were RL men, and a good number of the male-presenting characters were RL women" (Turkle, 211). This kind of gender play is a much safer way of experimenting than in real life. For instance, Turkle gave the possible scenario of a man trying to pretend to be a woman and the various things that he would need to do in order to play it off well. For one thing, he would need to change his voice, mannerisms, wear makeup, dress up in a woman's attire, and risk being harrassed or arrested if he wasn't successful. (Turkle, 212). There is just a lot more work involved into pulling off a stunt like that in real life than on the computer where everyone hides behind a screen. I think that if people were to experiment with gender swapping, it is better to do it online because many people probably are aware of the possibility that the person that they are communicating with are not who they say they are. I know that the article "Tinysex and Gender Trouble" has talked about the issue of deception. "Although some peopel think that representing oneself as other than one is is always a deception, many people turn to online life with the intention of playing it in precisely this way" (Turkle, 228). I personally think that deception is not a good thing, and I really don't know if it is right to pose as someone else online, but I think that it's better when you don't know the person that you're communicating with. Let me explain by saying that, everyone who goes online and chats with people all over the country and world, needs to be aware of the possibility that they are being deceived by the other person's description of themselves. Many times, people pose to be someone who they are not whether it is personality wise, or gender wise. In either case, I think that if people are aware of that, and they are okay with it, then it's not probably not that big of a deal. But to think of a fourteen year old girl having online sex with a fourty year old man is kinda creepy. I know that from my own experience, I tend to not fully believe the other person who I am speaking to unless they consistently prove to me that they are who they saw they are. The way that I can tell is if the things that they say and the way that they write have consistent patterns and fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. Overall, I think that the gender playing is more like a game of getting to know what it is like to be someone of the opposite gender and is much safer and easier to do than in RL. Other than that, things like the ethics of online sex still require more time for people to figure out. I think that it has a lot to do with personal morals and preferrances. It's still a hazy issue.