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University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/59711 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. Performative Identity and the Embodied Avatar: An Online Ethnography of Final Fantasy XIV By Emma Jane Hutchinson A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology University of Warwick, Sociology Department September 2013 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 2 List of Illustrations and Tables ........................................................................................ 4 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ 6 Declaration ........................................................................................................................ 7 Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 8 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 9 Background: The Rise of Video Games and Online Games .................................. 12 A Short History of Final Fantasy and the Release of Final Fantasy XIV .............. 15 Motivation For the Study and Contributions ......................................................... 28 Outline of the Thesis ............................................................................................. 31 2. Situating Gaming Socially: A Review of the Literature ............................................ 35 Studying "Games as Games": Game Content and the Ergodic Approach .............. 37 Gaming as Problem: "Violent" Video Game Research .......................................... 39 Content Analyses of Gaming and Risk to Children ............................................... 41 Critical Responses to the Effects Research: Moving Towards a Broader Conception of Video Gaming ................................................................................................... 42 Class and Gaming ................................................................................................. 45 Race/'Race' in Online Games ................................................................................ 47 Gender and Online Gaming ................................................................................... 53 Sexuality and Online Gaming ............................................................................... 59 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 62 3. Online Identity and Embodiment: situating the avatar in sociological theory ........ 65 Performative Identity and the Body in the Work of Judith Butler ......................... 69 Performativity and Intelligibility Online: Text-Based Spaces ............................... 74 Performative Identities in Newer Online Spaces ................................................... 77 Performativity and the Social Construction of „Race‟ ........................................... 83 Embodiment: The Avatar as Digital Body ............................................................ 91 Avatar as surface: Identity on its Body ..................................................... 93 The internet and (dis)embodiment ............................................................ 96 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 104 4. Researching Online: Methods and Methodology ...................................................... 106 Defining Online Ethnography .............................................................................. 109 Participant Observation and Insider Status ........................................................... 119 Online Asynchronous Interviews ......................................................................... 125 Observation of the Official Forum ....................................................................... 139 Coding and Analysis ............................................................................................ 143 Ethics Online ........................................................................................................ 145 The Ethics of Participant Observation in an Online Game ...................... 146 Ethics and Online Interviews ................................................................... 150 Ethics and Forum Observation ................................................................ 152 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 154 5. The Performative Online Identity: Learning to Play and the “Doing” of Identity 156 2 Learning to Play: Social Interaction and the Performance of Identity .................. 157 Learning to Talk: The Use of Chat in the Performance of Identity .......... 157 The Importance of Emotes in Social Interaction ..................................... 167 Meta-Roleplay and the Enactment of Identity ...................................................... 180 “Why Play an MMORPG if You Don‟t Want to Hang Out With Other People?”: Social Interaction and the Importance of the Group ............................................. 184 Gaming Etiquette: The Rules of Social Interaction, or Knowing Not to Step on Anyone‟s Toes ..................................................................................................... 190 Skill and Embodiment: The Avatar as a Body Project ......................................... 199 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 203 6. Gender and Sexuality: Heteronormativity Online and the Effects on Performative Identity ............................................................................................................................. 206 Maintaining a Gender: Players‟ Explanations of Congruent Avatar Gender ........ 209 The Sit Emote: Gendering the Avatar and “Girling the Girl” ............................... 211 “… if you never met me before I am 99% confident I could make you believe I was female”, Gender Switching in Final Fantasy XIV Among Self-Defined Male Players ............................................................................................................................. 218 The Performance of Two Genders: One Player, Two Avatars.............................. 225 Heteronormativity in the Official Forum: Authenticity or Meta-Roleplay? ......... 231 The “Missing Genders” Thread: Heteronormativity and the Embodied Avatar ... 240 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 247 7 Race/’Race’: Racial Signifiers, Embodiment and the Performance of Identity ...... 250 Selecting Race: Player History, Relationships, and Embodiment ......................... 253 Player History and Continuity of Race .................................................... 254 Players and Their Partners: Visibility and Race ...................................... 256 Offline Embodiment and Race ................................................................ 258 The Performance of Race: Meta-Roleplay and the Relationship Between Norms and Interpellation ........................................................................................................ 269 The Elezen............................................................................................... 274 The Hyur ................................................................................................. 279 Race or „Race‟: The Players‟ Performative Exclusion of „Race‟ From Final „Fantasy‟ .............................................................................................................. 284 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 294 8. Conclusion: Performative Identity and Embodiment in Online Games – Reflections and Future Possibilities................................................................................................... 296 Revisiting the Thesis Themes and Contributions ................................................. 296 Reflections on Being a Researcher Player ............................................................ 301 Future Possibilities: Directions for Further Research ........................................... 305 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 307 Appendix I ....................................................................................................................... 325 Appendix II ...................................................................................................................... 326 3 List of Illustrations and Tables Figure 1 ...................................................................................................................