Some of the research I have done discusses the way people interact on Second Life [5,6]. Other articles focus on other virtual worlds, or virtual forms of communication [1,2,3,4,7]. Studies have shown that in real world negotiation, men fare better than women [3].  From business deals to car deals, to everyday negotiations, women are commonly cheated, intimidated and less self confident in their assertions.  In virtual communication, however, women have the opportunity to be much more hostile and forthright in their claims.  In feminist perspective, this communication pattern makes sense, because women are engendered at an early age to be soft spoken, docile and submissive.  Men however, are raised to be well spoken, strong, sure footed, confident and even stubborn.  Though this argument is plausible and I cannot necessarily disagree with it, virtual communication and lifestyles are not necessarily a solution of liberation.  As other scholars have shown, virtual worlds are indeed not a liberation of social constraints [1,6].

Many have studied gender and sexuality on cyberspace.  Arguably, cyberspace is a safe space to explore one’s sexuality and to even question and manipulate one’s gender.  In real life, these individuals often identify themselves as gay, lesbian, queer and transgender.  When individuals do not feel comfortable with public displays of their sexual and gender exploration, they now have the opportunity of playing out these explorations online, relatively anonymously. 

Cyberspace is also often argued as a refuge where individuals can flee from traditional gender roles, sexism, homophobia, and expectations and prejudices in general.  However, it has also been argued that this is in fact no utopia.  There are unfortunately still these stereotypes present in one’s avatar and online environment.  Further, though individuals have the opportunity on cyberspace to resist stereotypes, “perpetuate the established norms of gender and sexuality” [6].

Avatars on Second Life, an online community, have the opportunity to engage in sexual encounters.  Often however, these encounters feature the woman as the submissive player in these acts.  Actions can be purchasd for couples to engage in, but even so, the actions designated for the female character are the submissive acts, encouraging dominant, often aggressive male actions.   However, these women engage in these acts.  It is their willingness to tolerate these acts that perpetuates the expectation for women to be submissive.  There have also been reported cases of online harassment and virtual rape [2,7]. 

Further, heteronormative extends to other expectations.  For example, in some virtual worlds, “Default” race is inevitably white.  Only with distinction can an avatar possess a different race.  [1]. 

The virtual world has been argued to be a place of liberation, where all individuals can be free of prejudices, expectations of gender roles, inequalities.  However, the virtual world is not always such a place of escape.  Often, behaviors online can transfer to real world effects, producing negative results. [2]

Similar to these explorations, this Hypertext project will explore the perpetuation fo gender stereotypes online, as similar to those in Real life. This exploration will begin with an analysis of gender stereotypes and expectations in Real life, and how this transfers to Virtual communities as well. This Hypertext focuses on the issue of women in real life and Second life, because often, the plight of the woman is far worse than her male counterpart. Please enjoy this exploration, as I have!