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WHAT DREAMS MAY COME: RITUAL PERFORMANCE AS LEGITIMIZATION OF GENDERED INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY IDENTITY IN SECOND LIFE by ALICIA BETH CORTS (Under the Direction of Marla Carlson) ABSTRACT Research into virtual worlds has overlooked how performance has influenced the categorization and standardization of gendered performance in these worlds. This dissertation investigates how the specific habitus of Second Life grew from its earliest days in 2002 until 2012. The original world was an open space of potentials, one in which a multitude of gender performances became available that played with commonly held first-life norms. Using Brian Massumi’s notion of the positional grid, this study demonstrates how early Second Life residents challenged the first-life binary positions of male/female, but how that same group came to need a way of reading gender despite the anonymity of other users and the veiling of the biological body. Rather than doing away with these new gender categories, residents of Second Life instituted ritual performances of birth and marriage as one means to regulate and control gender in this particular virtual world. Using participant observation, in-depth interviews, and archival research, the study traces the evolution of these performances and society has tightened controls surrounding birth and marriage to normalize them. This research points to ways that new virtual worlds may extend the possibility of gender play while cautioning that virtual citizens will find specific regulatory devices to control new gender performances. INDEX WORDS: Virtual worlds; Second Life; Identity; Gender studies; Gender and technology; Ritual performance; Avatar performance; Virtual communities; Online Identity WHAT DREAMS MAY COME: RITUAL PERFORMANCE AS LEGITIMIZATION OF GENDERED INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY IDENTITY IN SECOND LIFE by ALICIA BETH CORTS B.A., Wheaton College, 1995 M.A.T., Bethel University, 2007 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2014 © 2014 Alicia Beth Corts All Rights Reserved WHAT DREAMS MAY COME: RITUAL PERFORMANCE AS LEGITIMIZATION OF GENDERED INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY IDENTITY IN SECOND LIFE by ALICIA BETH CORTS Major Professor: Marla Carlson Committee: David Saltz Farley Richmond Chris Cuomo Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2014 iv DEDICATION Soli Deo Gloria. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would never have finished this degree without the constant, unwavering support of the finest parents anyone could ever wish or hope for, Dr. John and Jo-Ann Corts. Without their cheerleading, I would have quit without hesitation. Their example taught me the habitus of our family, the deep and abiding love of faith and learning. Thank you, Mom and Dad. The same deep appreciation goes to the future Dr. Arnab Banerji, my dear WonderTwin. He was always ready to read my work, listen to me worry over what I was doing, and believe in my ability to finish. While attaining my degree is an amazing accomplishment, finding a brother is a far rarer treasure. Get it done, Dr. Banerji. We have other work to do. Dr. Marla Carlson has remained the constant encourager while simultaneously challenging me to do my very best work. She told me in my first year that I could switch to another professor if I wished, and I responded by saying I respected her as a scholar, artist, and human being. My faith was not misplaced. It is a great honor to have her as my major professor and mentor. The contributions of my committee have been invaluable to me. Dr. David Saltz, Dr. Farley Richmond, and Dr. Chris Cuomo are all scholars whom I look up to and admire, and their thoughts on my work have strengthened my scholarship and broadened my view of the world. I am forever in your debt. vi My joy of theatre can be directly traced to my college theatre family, Workout, and the many kindnesses and encouragements from Dr. M. James “Jimma” Young and Mr. Michael Stauffer. I know what excellent theatre looks like because of these men. I chase the bar they set for me every time I enter the holy place of the theatre, and I always will. I can never, ever say thank you enough. Carolyn Carter, Ms. Carolyn to the grad students she loves, has kept my heart singing with joy from the moment I entered the theatre building. Her drive to finish her GED and go on to Athens Technical College is the biggest inspiration I had during this process. I come away knowing her prayers and her smiles got me through this dissertation. To all my digital friends and guides in Second Life, I offer my sincere thanks. You showed me a fantastic world with grace and charm, and you taught me how to fly. Finally, my sincerest thanks to all of the friends and colleagues who have made my time at UGA worthwhile. To mention only a few, in no particular order: Shannon O’Neill, Angela Hall, Adron Farris, Roy Brooks, Amy Ingalls, Flint Buchanan, Scott Higgs, George Pate, Libby Ricardo, Tressa Preston, Matt Bowdren, Dr. Kris Biesinger, Evonne Jones, Tifany Lee, Lynwoodt B. Jenkins, Jennie Czuba, Josh Marsh, Jennifer Schottstaedt, Marzena Bukowska, and Kristyl Tift. Many thanks to all of you for the laughter, the joy, and the fun of my grad student experience. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 Importance of Study .....................................................................................9 Conventions ...............................................................................................18 Methodology ..............................................................................................19 2 SECOND LIFE HABITUS ..............................................................................23 Freebies: Objects Moving Through Cultural Capital Designations ...........41 The Rocket Wars: Habitus Versus Rule-making .......................................47 Communicating Habitus and Cultural Capital ..........................................63 3 GENDERED PERFORMANCE REQUIRED: POTENTIALS, THE POSITIONAL GRID, AND THE LIMITS OF GENDER ....................................83 Birth ...........................................................................................................99 Marriage ...................................................................................................113 4 MARRIAGE RIGHTS: REGULATING INTIMACY ..................................131 Second Life Wedding Ritual ....................................................................134 Economic, Social, and Cultural Regulations ...........................................140 SunsetSky Magic and Blaser Xue ...........................................................152 Marriage Movement: Transgression in the Ritual ..................................165 Chevy Bravin and Barella ........................................................................166 viii Slag Loon and Plath Skytower .................................................................184 The Need to Regulate Gender ..................................................................209 5 BIRTH CONTROLS: RESTRICTING MOTHERHOOD ............................212 Economic, Social, and Cultural Regulations ...........................................213 Motherhood and Iconic Imagining...........................................................220 Medical Schools, Doctors, and the High Priest Role in Birth .................243 POP – Pregnant on Parade ......................................................................257 6 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................278 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................293 APPENDICES A GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................303 B FORUM RESEARCH LIST ................................................................................308 C INTERVIEW AND FIELD NOTE DOCUMENTS ............................................317 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Virtual worlds offer a new place of performance and play. Users wander these landscapes in bodies with capabilities far beyond those of the biological body. Among these worlds, Second Life has carved a reputation for being a space where users have the highest degree of control. Second Life is a persistent virtual world, an environment "implemented by a computer (or network of computers) that simulates an environment" in a way that allows users to share information within a persistent space.1 Users in the physical world craft a highly detailed digital body called an avatar. By performing through that avatar, the user grows into a resident of the world who understands how society functions in the virtual space. An avatar is simply a digital representation of a body, but Mark Meadows describes a Second Life resident as a fully-present member of society capable of interacting with other avatars and moving within the environment.2 Millions of people have created an avatar and started the journey toward becoming a resident in virtual worlds, and Second Life, started in 2002 by Linden Lab, has several thousand residents online at any given moment. This