Yes i believe that i am still confined to the dominant hegemonic ideology. Regardless of the how I can change my identity, I still have to base my level of superior"ness" off of the dominant culture. In my virtual world, the dominant hegemony is the White, wealthy, heterosexual, cute, blonde, blue- eyed girl barbie. i have already noticed them oppressing the black, less fortunate barbie, as myself, in a way by not adding me a friend. This is the way of keeping me out of their dominant hegemonic group. The dominant ideology of these particular barbies is "money is power" and it will make you prettier and have more friends. it almost makes me wanna change my barbie girl avartar to the dominant one and see if i get more friends and invited to more activities. But i also feel like if i do that, i too, will be giving in and allowing the social norm of the most prevelant to flow and introduce dominance and subordination relations. So i am still debating on what i am going to do with my AmberRose Barbie avartar... stay tuned to find out!
I think I'd have to disagree. If think that because we are given the option to self-invent and play with multiple identities we are not necessarily confined to the dominant hegemonic ideology. I think this because self-inventing is the power to create whatever type of persona that you want. If you have the freedom to self-invent you can be who you want. That goes for clothes, race, lifestyle choices, sexual preference or whatever. What I like most about participating in a virtual world is the option to be whoever you want. You can create an avatar just like you or you could create one totally different. On the flip side, because you can self-invent it does make being a part of a virtual world a little strange and this is because you can be who you want. Personally, I was not confined to the dominant hegemonic ideology when creating my avatar because she is different. The dominant hegemonic ideology is white middle class Christian male. My avatar is a black middle class female. ------Tiera Allen
I think at the heart of things, yes, we still submit to hegemonic ideals though we have the freedom to portray any gender, sexual orientation, race, or whatever, that we want. In my opinion, the people who spend the most time on these virtual world sites are in search of some personal affirmation that they are not getting in the "real world." Whether it's sexual affirmation or what, portraying a gender or race that gains widespread attention will most likely fall under some hegemonic ideological standards. Unless there are tons of people (like us?) who are just in these worlds to observe, research and get a rise out of people, they are in it to develop relationships of some sort. I think the people who have those intentions, will tend to portray themselves in this way, which could be where all of the cyber-hate comes from. It all seems so exaggerated; perhaps people feel more comfortable "hating" when there's almost no way to trace back to actual identity.
Even though we are able to "self-invent" on the internet through our avatars, I believe that we are still confined by dominant hegemonic ideologies, as they are instilled in us over time through exposure to the television and other forms of media. Even if we are trying to express our opposition to the dominant ideologies, they are still confining us as they are the reason that we are acting out. My Barbie avatar is a perfect example of not being able to escape from the dominant hegemonic ideologies that women are not as smart or powerful as men and that women are more attractive to men if they are scandalously dressed. These ideas are obviously inescapable just by enteringBarbiegirls.com. All of the avatar choices conform to society’s idea of an "ideal" woman, with her long hair, large eyes and petite figure. Also, in the Barbie's world, the activities that can be selected are very limited and include shopping for clothing and visiting a psychic. I believe that adding the psychic into a little girl's play place is very stereotypical, as it frames women as people who are irrational and imbalanced, and will even turn to a psychic to answer their problems. Ridiculous!
Barbie World is my virtual world and even with the change of identity and being able to transform myself and completely portray myself as a different identity, I still feel confined to the dominant hegemonic identity. Participating in this virtual world and changing my identity temporary does not change what I have been confined to my entire life. As a young black girl the preponderance of power and the construction of consent from the powerless through cultural values do not change. When I am on Barbie World and I take on a different identity I am still a young female and the way that I am looked at does not change just because I can self- invent and change my appearance. On Barbie World I chose to make my avatar a darker complexion with darker hair and eyes. I could not change the body shape of my avatar but if I could I would have. They assume that pretty is thin with the long hair and light skin when not everyone fits this mold of what they are assuming young girls should want to look/be like. It does not matter that we can change our identities temporarily because at the end of the day we are who we are and we know what is dominantly accepted and what is not from a very young age.
There is definitely a dominant hegemonic ideology in Second Life. Males are still the dominant characters while women are subordinate. Many of the different places i have been to have women on stripper poles, doing sexually suggestive dance moves, wearing sexy outfits, and etc. Its sending the message to men that these women are okay to objectified and enjoy being watched by males. It also is sending the message that in real life it is okay also because all girls just want to dress and behave this way (they act this way in second life, they must really want to in real life) but its socially not accepted. Girls dance around in barely no clothes while men just walk around and can pick who they want to talk to. In my opinion, this virtual world only promotes the hegemonic ideology that it is okay for men to be dominant over women.
I believe that even though a person can be whoever they would like to be in virtual worlds, there will always be a dominant hegemonic ideology present. Even if it is not white, wealthy, and male, there will still be a group of people who have an ideology that represses the minority group on the web. I believe that in many of these virtual worlds there is a tech savvy social group that has dominants over people those of technology struggles. For example, in Habbo there are people that have “Habbo money” in which they are able to spend it on very detailed rooms that everyone participates in, while I have a desk and a chair in my room. That person decides how I live my virtual world because they have the power to attract people while I am still learning how to sit down in a chair.
I have changed my identity a lot. It's weird I started out as being "higher up" on the dominant hegemonic food chain; I was a white female. However, I didn't feel powerful or confident in Habbo Hotel at all. I decided I wanted to change my avatar to an African American woman. I don't know what it was but I instantly had more confidence after I changed from the red-haired, awkward white girl to the more mature, beautiful African American woman even though I was the same person behind the screen the entire time. This to me still remains very much a mystery. I don't know if it deals with a specific connection to the avatar but I really liked the second one better and definitely had better experiences after changing my appearance.
Having said all of this though, I still do believe the dominant hegemonic group is still very much in control of the virtual world. People do not change things that are embedded in them, if that makes sense. Instinctively we know, in America, that the dominant hegemonic group is white male. We do not need to be told that. It is obvious whenever you turn on the tv, talk radio, walk down the street. People of all ages realize this whether they can put it into an actual thought or not. I think this definitely plays into people whether they are virtual or not. It still exists. It doesn't matter how many times you change your clothes or skin color, the dominant hegemonic group remains the same because WE are the same in the real world and as the person behind the screen moving the avatar. We can act differently, but we are really the same person. The dominant hegemonic group is constant even though we change. Especially from my experiences in Habbo Hotel too where I have seen maybe 3 or 4 other Black people, I would say the dominant hegemonic group is still very much in effect and very powerful, at least in Habbo Hotel.
Maybe im naive, but i dont think we are confined by any dominant hegemony. We create ourselves and i havent been so deeply involved that ive noticed any difference in how white and black or male and females are treated. I think everyone is on there to be someone or something else. I dont think people are getting on virtual worlds to be better than anyone else or to fall into the cool or popular category. i just dont think the dominant hegemony exists in such things as virtual worlds. i know that i dont see anyone as less or more than me or anyone else on yoville. but maybe everyone doesnt think the same as me.
Yes i believe that i am still confined to the dominant hegemonic ideology. Regardless of the how I can change my identity, I still have to base my level of superior"ness" off of the dominant culture. In my virtual world, the dominant hegemony is the White, wealthy, heterosexual, cute, blonde, blue- eyed girl barbie. i have already noticed them oppressing the black, less fortunate barbie, as myself, in a way by not adding me a friend. This is the way of keeping me out of their dominant hegemonic group. The dominant ideology of these particular barbies is "money is power" and it will make you prettier and have more friends. it almost makes me wanna change my barbie girl avartar to the dominant one and see if i get more friends and invited to more activities. But i also feel like if i do that, i too, will be giving in and allowing the social norm of the most prevelant to flow and introduce dominance and subordination relations. So i am still debating on what i am going to do with my AmberRose Barbie avartar... stay tuned to find out!
ReplyDeleteAmber, you'll have to explore the class differentiations further! you're on to something for sure.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd have to disagree. If think that because we are given the option to self-invent and play with multiple identities we are not necessarily confined to the dominant hegemonic ideology. I think this because self-inventing is the power to create whatever type of persona that you want. If you have the freedom to self-invent you can be who you want. That goes for clothes, race, lifestyle choices, sexual preference or whatever. What I like most about participating in a virtual world is the option to be whoever you want. You can create an avatar just like you or you could create one totally different. On the flip side, because you can self-invent it does make being a part of a virtual world a little strange and this is because you can be who you want. Personally, I was not confined to the dominant hegemonic ideology when creating my avatar because she is different. The dominant hegemonic ideology is white middle class Christian male. My avatar is a black middle class female. ------Tiera Allen
ReplyDeleteTiera, interesting argument--I hope others weigh in!
ReplyDeleteI think at the heart of things, yes, we still submit to hegemonic ideals though we have the freedom to portray any gender, sexual orientation, race, or whatever, that we want. In my opinion, the people who spend the most time on these virtual world sites are in search of some personal affirmation that they are not getting in the "real world." Whether it's sexual affirmation or what, portraying a gender or race that gains widespread attention will most likely fall under some hegemonic ideological standards. Unless there are tons of people (like us?) who are just in these worlds to observe, research and get a rise out of people, they are in it to develop relationships of some sort. I think the people who have those intentions, will tend to portray themselves in this way, which could be where all of the cyber-hate comes from. It all seems so exaggerated; perhaps people feel more comfortable "hating" when there's almost no way to trace back to actual identity.
ReplyDeleteLydia Van Harlingen
ReplyDeleteEven though we are able to "self-invent" on the internet through our avatars, I believe that we are still confined by dominant hegemonic ideologies, as they are instilled in us over time through exposure to the television and other forms of media. Even if we are trying to express our opposition to the dominant ideologies, they are still confining us as they are the reason that we are acting out. My Barbie avatar is a perfect example of not being able to escape from the dominant hegemonic ideologies that women are not as smart or powerful as men and that women are more attractive to men if they are scandalously dressed. These ideas are obviously inescapable just by enteringBarbiegirls.com. All of the avatar choices conform to society’s idea of an "ideal" woman, with her long hair, large eyes and petite figure. Also, in the Barbie's world, the activities that can be selected are very limited and include shopping for clothing and visiting a psychic. I believe that adding the psychic into a little girl's play place is very stereotypical, as it frames women as people who are irrational and imbalanced, and will even turn to a psychic to answer their problems. Ridiculous!
Barbie World is my virtual world and even with the change of identity and being able to transform myself and completely portray myself as a different identity, I still feel confined to the dominant hegemonic identity. Participating in this virtual world and changing my identity temporary does not change what I have been confined to my entire life. As a young black girl the preponderance of power and the construction of consent from the powerless through cultural values do not change. When I am on Barbie World and I take on a different identity I am still a young female and the way that I am looked at does not change just because I can self- invent and change my appearance. On Barbie World I chose to make my avatar a darker complexion with darker hair and eyes. I could not change the body shape of my avatar but if I could I would have. They assume that pretty is thin with the long hair and light skin when not everyone fits this mold of what they are assuming young girls should want to look/be like. It does not matter that we can change our identities temporarily because at the end of the day we are who we are and we know what is dominantly accepted and what is not from a very young age.
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a dominant hegemonic ideology in Second Life. Males are still the dominant characters while women are subordinate. Many of the different places i have been to have women on stripper poles, doing sexually suggestive dance moves, wearing sexy outfits, and etc. Its sending the message to men that these women are okay to objectified and enjoy being watched by males. It also is sending the message that in real life it is okay also because all girls just want to dress and behave this way (they act this way in second life, they must really want to in real life) but its socially not accepted. Girls dance around in barely no clothes while men just walk around and can pick who they want to talk to. In my opinion, this virtual world only promotes the hegemonic ideology that it is okay for men to be dominant over women.
ReplyDeleteI believe that even though a person can be whoever they would like to be in virtual worlds, there will always be a dominant hegemonic ideology present. Even if it is not white, wealthy, and male, there will still be a group of people who have an ideology that represses the minority group on the web. I believe that in many of these virtual worlds there is a tech savvy social group that has dominants over people those of technology struggles. For example, in Habbo there are people that have “Habbo money” in which they are able to spend it on very detailed rooms that everyone participates in, while I have a desk and a chair in my room. That person decides how I live my virtual world because they have the power to attract people while I am still learning how to sit down in a chair.
ReplyDeleteI have changed my identity a lot. It's weird I started out as being "higher up" on the dominant hegemonic food chain; I was a white female. However, I didn't feel powerful or confident in Habbo Hotel at all. I decided I wanted to change my avatar to an African American woman. I don't know what it was but I instantly had more confidence after I changed from the red-haired, awkward white girl to the more mature, beautiful African American woman even though I was the same person behind the screen the entire time. This to me still remains very much a mystery. I don't know if it deals with a specific connection to the avatar but I really liked the second one better and definitely had better experiences after changing my appearance.
ReplyDeleteHaving said all of this though, I still do believe the dominant hegemonic group is still very much in control of the virtual world. People do not change things that are embedded in them, if that makes sense. Instinctively we know, in America, that the dominant hegemonic group is white male. We do not need to be told that. It is obvious whenever you turn on the tv, talk radio, walk down the street. People of all ages realize this whether they can put it into an actual thought or not. I think this definitely plays into people whether they are virtual or not. It still exists. It doesn't matter how many times you change your clothes or skin color, the dominant hegemonic group remains the same because WE are the same in the real world and as the person behind the screen moving the avatar. We can act differently, but we are really the same person. The dominant hegemonic group is constant even though we change. Especially from my experiences in Habbo Hotel too where I have seen maybe 3 or 4 other Black people, I would say the dominant hegemonic group is still very much in effect and very powerful, at least in Habbo Hotel.
Maybe im naive, but i dont think we are confined by any dominant hegemony. We create ourselves and i havent been so deeply involved that ive noticed any difference in how white and black or male and females are treated. I think everyone is on there to be someone or something else. I dont think people are getting on virtual worlds to be better than anyone else or to fall into the cool or popular category. i just dont think the dominant hegemony exists in such things as virtual worlds. i know that i dont see anyone as less or more than me or anyone else on yoville. but maybe everyone doesnt think the same as me.
ReplyDelete