Feeling Trapped by Design?

*Sorry, Guys, this is kind of a long one. I tried to make it as short as possible, I promise!*

I was surfing YouTube while reading these three articles and realized a theme: performing a self-identity on the Internet and what people do to perform the identity of their choice – or protect it. Several of Turkle’s case studies focused on people using MUDs to achieve some type of identity that they felt was lacking from their “RL” identity.

Then I came across this Chris Crocker video (which is kind of vulgar, just a warning for anyone who may be offended) in which he asks: “What is the difference between a man and a woman?”

“Design” is his answer. Our physiology: as he makes reference to genitalia being a major difference. But goes on to say that his “dick doesn’t define him.” Of course, this led me right back to Turkle’s article where some of the male case studies didn’t let their genitalia define them while participating in the MUDs, and played out the desire to be more like aggressive women. Women were the same way, not letting their biology define them online while pretending to be men in order to be more aggressive as well. The anonymity of the Internet frees us from our given design, if we so desire.

Crocker also makes the statement that gender/individuality (ultimately identity) is about “creating yourself,” and having a freedom from “physical bodies” like Barlow mentions in The Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace allows people to make a psychological/ physiological change that would otherwise be difficult offline. Turkle comments that a user must “come to the game with a self that is healthy enough to be able to grow from relationships” (205). If, like Stewart, a player can’t find themselves in the character they create, self-esteem can get even lower.

I’ve had to face “constructing an online identity” with creating a profile on a couple different social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook), but it seems from the readings that anything anyone puts “out there” is up for judgment against who one “really” is. Like Nakamura’s articles about race and online activities: being honest about one’s race can incite direct harassment or assumptions about how one’s specific online hobbies can reflect on an entire race (Example: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans seek out more “fun” activities compared to Caucasians seeking out “major life practices” or “transactions.”)

Should I be worried about the message I send to people about the design of the “real” me when I say that Green Day is my favorite band, my favorite genre of movies is horror, and that I’m a liberal feminist who practices non-denominational Christianity? What message does it send that I voluntarily watched a Chris Crocker video on YouTube? And that’s only the tip of the iceberg…