Chapter 7 - Miller

Question 1

essentialist modes of thinking were challenged by Derrida how?

Answer 1

identity is something that is always temporary and a unstable effect of relations constructed through marking differences

identity is constructed
- “and always based on, excluding something, thereby establishing a kind of violent hierarchy between two resultant polls, such as man/woman, or black/white. In order to have an identity of ‘man’, for example, a negative/opposite identity of ‘woman’ needs to be created”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 2

essentialist modes of thinking were challenged by Lacan how?

Answer 2

“arguing that there is no ‘ego’ at the centre of the self. He portrayed the self as based completely in language. Children, for example, have no sense of self before they acquire language but, as they acquire language, they acquire self-consciousness. In that respect, the self can be said to be seated within a realm of discourses, emerging externally not internally.”

Question 3

essentialist modes of thinking were challenged by foucault how?

Answer 3

“identities as categories are constructed within discourses that are produced in specific historical contexts and by institutions with particular practices.”

“some groups are created and then marked our as ‘different’ and can therefore be treated in specific ways. These categories of identity emerge and change over time, they are continually in construction, not fixed or essential categories of ‘being”

Question 4

sum up how the work of Barthes, Lacan, Derrida, Foucault, and Deleuze and Guatarri challenged more essentialist notions of identity by suggesting that:

Answer 4

• Identity is constructed, originating and being maintained in relational processes and through the application of power and the labelling of difference or otherness.
• Identity originates (externally) in language (not internally) and is maintained internally and externally through discourses and discursive practices.
• Identities are historically and geographically contingent, and thus change within different contexts and circumstances.
• As a result, identities are not unified, solid and stable, but maintained, changeable and often contradictory.

Question 5

hall’s suggestion of identity

Answer 5

“suggest that the term ‘identity’ itself is problematic, and the more accurate way of describing processes of self awareness is through the term ‘identification’, which is more useful for characterising the processes, multiplicities, contradictions and the general ‘work’ involved in constructing and maintaining identities”

Question 6

Sherry Turkel

Answer 6

conducted in Multi-User Domains’ (MUDs), which were essentially online text-based chat rooms that often had a fantasy-oriented theme, frequently inspired by the face-to-face role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.
Within the MUDs, Turkel found that MUDders, herself included, engaged in a significant amount of identity play ”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 7

Turkels metaphor of ‘windows

Answer 7

“describe this practice of switching between contexts and identities in everyday life, where each window on the computer screen represents a different context, set of relations and potential identity, to be called up or minimised at different points.”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 8

what did MUDS and other types of online interactions demonstrate

Answer 8

“the large amount of identity play that was occurring within what was at the time, the new, exciting and mysterious phenomenon that was the internet.”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 9

large amounts of identity play that was occurring within the internet was seen as resulting from four aspects of online environments (Turkel)

Answer 9

1) The degree of anonymity that is possible in online environments creates a freedom not attainable in the offline world.”
2) That a person can perform whatever identity one chooses, because online identities are based primarily on self-descriptive text that can be crafted in any manner desired by the user.
3) That multiple selves can be explored in parallel, creating an environment of identity shifting, hybridity and fluidity.

Question 10

what did Turkel suggest the advent of the online world had to potential to illustrate?

Answer 10

“poststructuralism to a wider public audience.”

“described MUDs and other online arenas as ‘objects to think with”

Question 11

Gergen (1996) suggested that?

Answer 11

“the profusion of technologies such as the internet have an impact on how selves are constructed and maintained.”

offers us the opportunities of varied contexts which, when combined with anonymity, freedom to self express, the ability to lead parallel lives, creates conditions that are increasingly untenable for the notion of a stable, centred self.

Question 12

cyberspace and having identity constructions that were “disembodied” and therefore -?

Answer 12

“free from the typical bodily/discursive markers of gender, race, disability and class that tends to mark out ‘others’ in society.”

Question 13

cyber-feminism

Answer 13

“suggest that gender is performative in the sense that the qualities which we associate with a particular gender (and generally see as ‘natural’ qualities) are indeed not fixed or natural, but collectively created and constructed through social interaction and regulative discourses. People are obliged and expected to demonstrate or perform their gender identity on a daily basis.”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 14

cyber feminazi’s such as Haraway (1991), Stone (1995), Wajcman (1991, 2004) and Plant (1997).

what did they see in the use of the internet and other emerging communication technologies?

Answer 14

“ the practical realisation of the deconstruction of the notion of ‘natural’, ‘real, or ‘authentic’ (gender) identities based in the body, in favour of the notion of performance”

“Without a body-based ‘identity’, the online self could be seen as inherently transgendered”

Question 15

what was the general tone amongst many writing about digital culture in the later part of the 1990’s was?

Answer 15

“that there was little evidence to suggest that gender swapping, deception and vast amounts of identity play was the purview of more than a minority of internet users, and thus not typical of mainstream internet activity”

“Some even went so far as to suggest that the claims made in the writings of Stone, Turkel and others were sensationalist in nature, and”

Question 16

how did many studies go about countering examples of fragmented and fluid identity performance in MUDs

• personal home pages

Answer 16

“many of these studies looked at another web phenomenon that by the late 1990s, was becoming more popular: the personal home page”

“personal home pages incorporated text and image (usually photographs), as well as links to other web pages. They were also much less interactive in nature, in that they were not just conversations (as MUDs basically were), but fashioned web documents with a certain amount of longevity and consistency imposed by a creator.”

Question 17

Wynn and Katz (1997)

Answer 17

openly attacked the MUD based work of Turkel, stone, and other poststructural and cyberfeminazi authors.

they suggested that ‘identity’ was still indeed grounded in embodied, offline life and that web users generally had a desire to maintain a coherent sense of identity in the online sphere. Rather than portraying a decentred, fragmented, disembodied self, personal home pages are actually attempts at identity integration by demonstrating to others what is important to the individual:”

Question 18

Wynn and Katz (1997)

on the theoretical front, why were they against the poststructural/ fem-nazi’s

Answer 18

“they took issue with what they called ‘deconstructive psychology’ models of internet identity for not being based in social theory, but in psychoanalytic and literary theory. Wynn and Katz suggested that this made the deconstructivist argument overly individualistic and not able to properly take into account how identity and self is a group phenomenon and a product and process of social forces.”

Question 19

what was the difference for Wynn and Katz ?

Answer 19

it was that identity, instead of being something inherently and intrinsically multiple and fragmented - is extrinsically based.

“That is, they suggested that everyday life is fragmented and multiple in terms of the demands that it makes upon people in different contexts, and that subjects actually work from within to create some sense of a coherent self and identity among a number of different roles, interests and preferences. ”

Question 20

Erving Goffman (1959, 1979) - identity is?

Answer 20

“a contextually related personal and social front that is negotiated in face-to-face encounters, with the goal of presenting oneself as an acceptable person. ”

this approach is seen as ‘maturgical’ because

“self-presentation involves a performance of self in front of a particular set of observers,”

Question 21

Erving Goffman

what is a front?

Answer 21

“where fashioned selves are presented”

Question 22

Erving Goffman

what is a back?

Answer 22

regions or more private contexts where the performance is able to be dropped to a certain extent.

this performance varies amongst different sets of observers and in that sense, everyday life is made up of different sets of observers and in that sense, everyday life is made up of different types of role playing within contexts or ‘frames’

Question 23

with Goffmans perspective, studies of personal web pages and other internet shit such as online dating an demonstrate?

Answer 23

“how such sites are ways of integrating the self and both online and offline concerns using new communication resources at hand. ”

Question 24

Wynn and Kats attack the assumption anonymity on the internet as the basis for a liberating environment of identity play. they argue that?

Answer 24

“Anonymous identity play in MUD studies has demonstrated, at best, that such efforts are a way of working out real ‘offline’ issues, and is ultimately unsatisfactory as a mode of social interaction or social change.

Anonymity is not the desire of mainstream internet users, who usually integrate aspects of offline life into online identities.

Anonymity is not really possible to any great degree in online environments. People tend to use cues such as style and grammar to make assumptions about others in terms of education, class, gender. furthermore, the internet itself is a panoptic technology where anonymity is more under threat than in regular, offline daily life

Question 25

overall, Wynn and Kattz suggest that?

Answer 25

“the poststructuralist/deconstructivist online research represented by Turkel and Stone depends upon the imposition of a number of false distinctions, between the social and the technical, between the real and the virtual, between the public and the private. All of these are inconsistent with the technology and how it is actively used by the majority of people in everyday life contexts, which tend to blur these distinctions.”

Question 26

2 points must be made against the work of Turkel, Stone, and others

Answer 26

1) in terms of the technology, the research conducted by Turkel, Stone and others on MUDs took place at a point in time when the internet was very basic in terms of the environment it could create for its users. Because of bandwidth and memory limitations, it was almost completely made up of text. In that sense, it is not really comparable with the digital environment of the late 1990s, when convergence was starting to take place and when it became possible to include pictures of one’s offline life, family and interests.”
2) the explosion of popularity of the internet in the latter part of the 1990s and the demographic effect it had on who were using it, and for what purpose, has to be considered. Reliable demographic information about internet use is difficult to obtain, especially for the 1990s.

it should be noted that such studies were, at least in part, a product of their time and technological circumstances as much as they were the products of a particular deconstructionist outlook and political project.

Question 27

blogs and why did they become so popular

Answer 27

“web-log”

popularized by the development of easy-to-use net-based software in 1999 (Pitas and Blogger). The popularity of blogs increased further because of two major political events (9/11 and the invasion of Iraq), which resulted in both a demand for accounts of these events outside mainstream media and a forum to voice opposition to government policies

Question 28

personal journel blogs

Answer 28

emerged as the next wave of online identity research

Question 29

individualization refers to ?

Answer 29

“refers to a process in which communities and personal relationships, social forms and commitments are less bound by history, place and tradition.

individuals, freed from the contexts of tradition, history, and under globalization, space, are free to, and perhaps forced to, actively construct their own biographies and social bonds.

Question 30

according to Giddens. the subject is unshackled from predetermined life narratives such as class, religion, location and gender because

Answer 30

disembedding and detraditionalization.

This is a kind of double-edged freedom that enables individuals to have a relatively enhanced capacity to reshape and restyle their identities

“identity becomes a ‘reflexive project’, a job that is undertaken that must be continually worked on and thought about.

Question 31

the self (giddens)

Answer 31

“is a person’s understanding of their own narrative, which they attempt to shape in desirable ways.

Question 32

how does Giddens discuss

individualisation within the context of human relationships?

Answer 32

“He argued that in a context of disembeddedness, trust and security becomes of paramount importance.”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 33

Trust (giddens)

Answer 33

“trust, like the ‘reflexive project of the self’, is something that must be continually worked at. As a result, Giddens argued that the late modern social milieu has led to a rise of ‘pure’ relationships: a social relationship entered into for what can be derived from the other. Such relationships are seen as voluntary – and therefore contingent – and have an intimacy based on the trust of mutual reflexivity and self-disclosure

Question 34

Giddens in relation to Blogging

Answer 34

“One aspect that is particularly relevant to blogging is the assertion that self-disclosure becomes increasingly important as a means to gain trust and achieve authentic (but contingent) relationships with others.”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 35

the sociological context of blogging as far as the individualization thesis is concerned rests on three premises?

Answer 35

1) A general context of social disembeddedness.
2) A need to create and sustain a self-narrative and to present that to others.
3) A need to establish trust, intimacy and understanding in an uncertain world through communication and acts of self-disclosure.

Question 36

Manuel Castells.

Answer 36

sees an antagonistic relationship between ‘identity and the network society

Castells argues that in the network society, identity becomes a tool of political mobilisation and resistance.

Question 37

what impact did social media sites have

Answer 37

“These sites pushed the networking element of ‘friends’ or contacts into the forefront at the expense of textual content

“the rise of social networking profiles continues the move towards the re-centring of online identity within embodied, online life

Question 38

social networking profiles

Answer 38

narrow gap between multiple or ideal selves

Question 39

in dating sites

Answer 39

“the representation of self is usually grounded by the possibility of meeting online contacts in an offline setting, with the ambition of a romantic relationship ”

Question 40

in social networking sites

Answer 40

the self representing profile is grounded within the context of offline friends and contracts

Question 41

Zhoa et al (2008)

there are 3 modes of identity construction apparent on facebook:

Answer 41

1) The visual self or ‘self as social actor’, which is demonstrated through peer photographs and aimed at implicit identity claims. The aim is to generate desired impressions of self by ‘showing without telling’ the extent and depth of social ties.
2) The cultural self, which displays consumption and lifestyle tastes and preferences through photographs and lists in an act of self-definition by consumerist proxy.
3) Explicit descriptions of self, for instance, in ‘about me’ sections. For Zhao et al., this was the least elaborated of the three identity strategies on Facebook profiles.

.

Question 42

‘taste performance’ - Liu (2007)

Answer 42

In effect, the identity statement emerges from the constellation of friendship networks and consumerist associations

Question 43

Situated self - ismael (2007)

Answer 43

the self is a reflexive representation in a continual cycle of self-location and relocation. In other words, the self continually maps itself egocentrically through representation and the creation of locational context. The social networking profile can be seen as one obvious attempt at an egocentric mapping of the self through the relational context of friends, images and consumer tastes.

Question 44

Online Avatars

Answer 44

online worlds achieve an identity through the construction of avatars.

an avatar can be defined as ‘an interactive social representation of a user’

although - there is a larger body of work which argues that the task-orientated nature of these games determines a certain consistency of character that largely works against such fragmentation.

• things like leveling up

Question 45

how do everquest players see avatars

Answer 45

“see avatars as tools for accomplishing tasks and the ambitions of the player: social and game-oriented. Wolfendale (2007) similarly suggests that the attachment that people feel towards their avatars is based on what the avatar provides for the player. So while the attachment is real, and even emotional, it is not seen as a reflection of the self but more like a character that one has grown fond of, which might have some aspects of oneself in it. ”

Excerpt From: Miller, Vincent. “Understanding Digital Culture.” iBooks.

Question 46

Research conducted by blinka (2008) suggests three types of identity relationships among players and avatars

Answer 46

1) Identification with avatars, where there is a unity expressed between players and avatars. This is rare but more common in adolescent gamers.
2) An independent status between player and avatar, where the avatar is seen in terms of its capacity as a game tool, most common among adult players.
3) Avatars as compensation, in the sense that the avatar is seen as a kind of idealistic projection of some of the qualities of the player.

Question 47

Cybersex

Answer 47

“a social interaction between at least two persons who are exchanging real-time digital messages in order to become sexually aroused and satisfied.

• a sexually-charged computer-mediated personal interaction in which the parties in question are seeking arousal and satisfaction.

Question 48

what are the novel qualities of cybersex?

Answer 48

1) The participants may be completely anonymous to each other.
2) The participants will not be co-present in physical space, but are telepresent with each other through the use of real-time digital communication (chat, text, email).
3) The sexual encounter, and the relationship more generally, takes place entirely within the virtual space or the imaginations of the participants.

Question 49

Web-marriage (Chinese phenomenon)

Answer 49

“expands the simulation to encompass relationships, marriage, home building and children.

“Less sexually-oriented, but definitely romantic, web marriage provides an online forum for young Chinese adults to participate in the adult practices of courting, relationships building, marriage and family building with anonymous virtual partners

Question 50

giddens suggestion of cultural shifting in terms of relationships?

Answer 50

away from romantic love and towards ‘pure’ or ‘confluent’ love

‘choice instead of fate’

Question 51

what does Gidden attribute this cultural shift too?

2 things

Answer 51

detraditionalisation

the disembedding, increased life choices and greater potential number of life narratives offered up to individuals in the context of globalisation and late modern consumer culture

Question 52

the pure relationship is:

Answer 52

Voluntary in that commitment is contingent and open to change. Pure relationships are sought as part of a means of self-development. When relationships cease to be seen as useful or are seen as preventative to self-actualisation within the reflexive project of the self, they can be ended. This contrasts the lifelong commitment and ‘for better or worse’ expectation embodied in romantic love.

Based on equality between parties, who are both expected – and expect – to benefit from the relationship.

Reflexive, in that the relationship is not taken for granted but continually open to scrutiny and evaluation.

Based on intimacy, which is achieved through constant communication (particularly expression of self and needs), and the gaining of knowledge of the other’s intimate self. This in turn creates mutual trust.

Question 53

the pure relationship is really about (Giddens)

Answer 53

ones own self fulfilment

this insecurity is manifested in rising rates of compulsive behaviour and addictions within contemporary society, such as additions to drugs, work, sex, as well as eating disorders.

• Sex becomes another tool or property to bring to the reflexive project of the self, becoming simultaneously a means of self-expression and a means towards achieving intimacy and self-disclosure with another.

Question 54

what does Giddens pure relationship and reflexive project of the self demonstrate?

Answer 54

the ultimate removal of sex from reproduction, and thus leaves room for sex to be reflexively investigated as a property of the individual in the construction of a sexual identity.

Question 55

Ben Ze’ev (2004) suggest that there are four main features that enable online intimacy and make it a novel form of relationship.

Answer 55

1) there is imagination, in that since the situations are virtual, there are no practical limitations in how settings, scenarios, partners or even selves can be constructed
2) “interactivity fosters reciprocity in communications, which both increases self disclosure and places fewer burdens on the actors involved.
3) availability suggests that online there is easy access to many available options, meaning that it is easy to find partners (among a large pool of prospects) and that they are continually available through ubiquity of internet and mobile communications.
4) anonymity reduces the risk of online activities when compared to offline risks.

Question 56

intimate closeness at a distance (Ben Ze’ev)

detached attachment consists of

also, online intimacy provides an easy and desirable alternative to the difficult circumstances of real life relationships.

Answer 56

• distance and immediacy;
• lean and rich communication
• anonymity and self-disclosure
• continuity and discontinuity
• physical and mental investment
• distant relationships

Question 57

feminist-inspired studies have suggested that engaging in cybersex?

Answer 57

can enhance self-esteem and sexual satisfaction for women in particular by allowing them to engage in consequence-free exploration and expression in a way not possible generally for women offline

Question 58

Doring (2000) feminist scholar. presents cybersex behaviour as

Answer 58

present cybersex behaviour as largely empowering, for women in particular, as a means of exploring their sexual identities free from the vulnerabilities associated with a patriarchal offline world.

Question 59

main concern of cybersex?

Answer 59

one main concern is addiction or the supporting of obsessive behaviour patterns, especially in individuals who have had previous problems with addictions to sex or pornography. In these cases, cybersex can be a new form of compulsive behaviour, or cause a relapse of prior conditions.