Tags
DTC 475, facebook, gender roles, myspace, technology, Turkle
My final project will be arguing that traditional gender roles found in meatspace are reinforced and perpetuated in social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Stardoll, and Club Penguin. This is in part because of the developers of the sites and the profile setup they employ by offering users gender specific choices.
A common definition of gender roles is described as “Learned behaviors that condition activities, tasks, and responsibilities viewed within a given society as “masculine” or “feminine.”” These roles are learned from society (which includes family and peers) and they are culture specific. American families begin from birth engendering their children. Girls are encouraged to look and act in a feminine manner and likewise boys are encouraged to be tough and be masculine.
In social spaces the pressure to conform to the social norms are just as great as it is in real space. The Social Networking cites I will focus on include Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Stardoll, and Club Penguin. Each site has a profile or avatar that users define and my research includes the following information:
What is Stardoll.com about? (from Stardoll.com) “Stardoll is a virtual paperdoll community site for everyone who enjoys fashion, design and making friends. At Stardoll you can create your own MeDoll or choose from our ever growing collection of celebrity dolls and dress them up in our wide selection of fashions. Every celebrity doll has a wardrobe full of unique clothes and there are new dolls released every week. The membership is completely FREE and most of our members are girls between the ages of 7 and 17. Stardoll is one of few places on the Internet developed with an emphasis on girls’ self-expression through fantasy and fashion play. Stardoll is a great place to spend time with friends and to meet other kids from all over the world. We are committed to Stardoll as an inspiring, safe and creative environment.”
Club Penguin (from club penguin) “Club Penguin is a snow-covered, virtual world where children play games and interact with friends in the guise of colourful penguin avatars. Players create a penguin and explore the snow-covered island of Club Penguin, engaging in a variety of fun and imaginative activities. Players can chat, send greeting cards, use emotes (emotion icons), or choose from a set of pre-defined actions such as waving or dancing. Users can also attend parties and special events, take on a role in the latest stage play, adopt and care for a cute and cuddly puffle pet, and play games to earn virtual coins which can be used to design the perfect igloo and create hundreds of outfits for their penguin. New content is added every week.”
Annotated Bibliography
Bruckman, Amy. Gender Swapping on the Internet. Amy S. Bruckman, Web. 9 Mar 2010. <http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/papers/gender-swapping.txt >.
Bruckman addresses gender in online spaces and talks about how technology is changing the way we view culture. There is a section about MUD’s and MOO’s which does not specifically pertain to my topic but the section called ‘A Public Debate about Gender’ does. I plan on using the information from this article to substantiate my argument and show that gender roles are reinforced in online spaces.
Calvert, Sandra, Brian Mahler, Sean Zehnder, Abby Jenkins, and Mickey Lee. “Gender differences in preadolescent children’s online interactions: Symbolic modes of self-presentation and self-expression.” Applied Developmental Psychology 24. (2003): 627–644. Web. 28 Mar 2010. <http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2053/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6W52-49RBNV4-5-7&_cdi=6558&_user=7810834&_pii=S0193397303001114&_orig=search&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2003&_sk=999759993&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzb-zSkWz&_valck=1&md5=d6b8558ceaf29882ca28f4c174044121&ie=/sdarticle.pdf>.
This article includes a study that focuses on preadolescent online interactions with same-sex and opposite-sex peers. One of the questions addressed is“[w]ould play patterns be similar to those observed in real life, or would they be different online?” The information the study collected on choosing avatar gender will support my thesis because it says that “[c]hildren overwhelmingly selected a gender for their character that was consistent with their own gender”. This is in line with my thesis of traditional gender roles being reinforced by online spaces because even online kids are choosing cultural and society appropriate choices.
Strano, Michele. “User Descriptions and Interpretations of Self-Presentation through Facebook Profile Images.” Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 2.2 (2008). Web. 28 Mar 2010. <http://www.cyberpsychology.eu/view.php?cisloclanku=2008110402&article=%28search%20in%20Issues%29>.
Strano’s article deals with impression management and relationships in youth, and specifically looks at profile images. There are mentions of sexy, attractive, and self confident in regard to profile pictures. This article does not address traditional gender roles in those terms it does speak to my topic and will help support my thesis.
Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1995. Print.
Turkle looks at the ways in which computers are implemented into everyday lives and how views about technology have changed. Her examination of how lines between human and machine have become blurred is important in that we now get meaning from our lives on screen. If we get meaning from our lives onscreen it would be safe to argue that our gender roles are formed and reinforced there as well. This will support my thesis.
Witt, Susan. “The Influence of Peers on Children’s Socialization to Gender Roles.” Susan Witt. The University of Akron, n.d. Web. 28 Mar 2010. <http://gozips.uakron.edu/~susan8/artpeers.htm>.
Background information on traditional gender roles and how they are developed will be taken from this article. I will use to cite from and give a specific explanation about traditional gender roles. Although many of the references for this article are from 1980’s-1990’s the theories about gender roles and socialization remain valid.
Ok. You will need one example showing the other side of things — all the sites you listed about do A, when they should really allow B, so what would be an example of B in action? Is there such a place? I would consider cutting one of your examples to fit in the example of B in action if you can find one (you don’t have to cut, but I’m thinking of your sanity). AND, if there isn’t an example of B in action, discuss _that_ as well.
* Contact me via e-mail if you want to work out any aspects of your argument or organization along the way, or to evaluate scholarly sources (provide citation and annotation in the e-mail), or to bounce presentation ideas off me.
Julie, Thanks for the feedback on my proposal.