Hear Me Talking Racism & Avatars on The Treatment Here

Click below to hear me talking about racism and avatars on today's episode of public radio's The Treatment:

We did the recording close to 4am my time, but hopefully I don't sound too groggy. Some highlights:

• The Treatment's co-host, Celeste Headlee, and Jeff Yang suggest that kids are more likely to make avatars which are not like themeselves (in terms of race, gender, and age.) I don't have any hard data for that on hand, but I think that's probably true, and helps explain why virtual worlds for kids and teens remain very popular. (As a safe place for them to experiment with identity.)
• I tried to emphasize the importance of virtual worlds as an important place to expose issues of race and gender that we're generally not comfortable discussing openly in the Facebook era of real identities.

But give it a listen, share your thoughts in Comments. Bonus musical button: Felicia Day's "Do You Want to Date My Avatar".

Comments

[Shon Charisma]

Interesting video. As an African American (IRL and ISL), I've been looking at how race is played out in SL and during the almost two years I've been on SL, I've been going through a race/identity growth process. In the social circles I move in, in world most of the AAs are lighter-skinned--both male and female. It's almost to the point where this color has become neutralized in-world, the norm of black folks. During my time in-world, my color changed from light to dark, and I've noticed how "exotic" I'm found by others now that my race is decidedly marked, and just like in real life where I am more often than not the only black in the room, in world, I often feel that way and in how people communicate with me, I feel that way even more.

[Shon Charisma]

Meant interesting audio. LOL

[Hamlet Au]

Haha thanks. I sure wouldn't want any video of me at 4 in the fricking morning!

[June Stormcrow]

I have a black skin in sl despite the fact that I am a pale irish person irl. It does seem to intimidate some people, but I love the idea of dark elves that are actually dark, so I haven't changed it in at least 6 months despite some comments that I should. Yes, that is right, I've been told I should wear a lighter skin to fit in better. Grey was even too dark for some when I was a noob. That mentality almost made me walk away from sl, but I found a better community to hang in and stayed.

Like everything in sl, this question comes down to the community you find yourself in. If people give you crap about your skin color, they aren't really worth your time and you should find somewhere more enjoyable to be. On sl, this is very easy to do.

[Adeon Writer]

My avatar is not human, therefore anything I say about race and is probably invalid. The clothing style choices still are representative of my personality, though.

[Arwyn Quandry]

As some of you have seen on here, I'm nothing like my avatar. I feel more comfortable being black in SL and rarely, if ever, wear a Caucasian style. I also switch forms, become a child, a Na'vi, a furry, just about anything. My saying is that I'm not here to confine myself in one form. While it might confuse people, I enjoy myself.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

One thing to remember is that kids who grow up with virtual worlds are a relatively new phenomenon. It's far too early to say with any degree of confidence whether the majority of them will transition to mundane representations of themselves as adults (due either to their own inclination or to online societal pressure to conform), or whether their willingness to experiment with alternate identities represents a fundamental shift in cultural values.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

One thing to remember is that kids who grow up with virtual worlds are a relatively new phenomenon. It's far too early to say with any degree of confidence whether the majority of them will transition to mundane representations of themselves as adults (due either to their own inclination or to online societal pressure to conform), or whether their willingness to experiment with alternate identities represents a fundamental shift in cultural values.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

One thing to remember is that kids who grow up with virtual worlds are a relatively new phenomenon. It's far too early to say with any degree of confidence whether the majority of them will transition to mundane representations of themselves as adults (due either to their own inclination or to online societal pressure to conform), or whether their willingness to experiment with alternate identities represents a fundamental shift in cultural values.

[Adeon Writer]

I wonder if those in SL when it started whom joined at a very young age and still use it today have chosen to age their avatars.

[samantha]

Yes, I totally agree with your criticism. That's all I have to say ...
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