Realism and Safety
Prompt
Is cyberspace a safer space than physical space? Think about the claims that are discussed in these readings, and the ways in which these readings position themselves in relation to the issues surrounding a consideration of safety (what is it? why is it important? and so on). Reference at least two of the readings in your discussion.
I keep thinking about one sentence in Taylor’s piece that I think will help this discussion of safety: “Unfortunately, what I continually have found is that women in EQ often struggle with the conflicting meanings around their avatars, feeling they have to ‘bracket’ or ignore how they look” (110). This is really intriguing, the idea that women who want to play avatar-based games have this extra layer of repression they have to do; instead of just playing, they have to consciously ignore how the game represents them. I’d like to know how prevalent this is–like Taylor points out, many women don’t have this “need to ignore” problem. But for women who do this “bracketing” work in their minds every time they play, safety begins to mean more than the safety of not having pushy avatar-guys make comments about their chain-mail bras, and even more than the safety of being able to express different parts of their identities in a nonthreatening online space. Safety here takes on a psychological dimension, where some people are more able to safely embrace the relaxation or escape the game offers. In that sense, games that don’t embody users (Tetris; Myst; Pong) are eminently safer, as no one has to do any mind-bracketing.
Alexander’s discussions with his interviewee Emily also expand our ideas of safe spaces online. Alexander writes, “Despite her interest and involvement with the Web, Emily was skeptical about the vaulted democratizing effects of it. She presented herself as a ‘realist’ . . .” (268). For queer students like Emily (and for anyone whose identity categories are the object of widespread wrath from another group), this realistic outlook must be a necessary safety move. Confronted with constant self-squelching in online and offline spaces, they are forced into a role where they don’t expect too much, knowing that often the “vaulted democratizing effects” are little more than good intentions.
-Kyle
