Second Life

This week we went for a bit of a tour of Second Life.  In theory, the program is useful for the study of sociology, particularly in how people act in virtual environments.  If what you are studying is the menacing, fetish-obsessed alter egos of gamers in the virtual worlds, this is the place to explore.  Although we were convinced that Second Life is a new platform for artists to display their work, those spaces were difficult to find.  Apparently, the places on the map that have stacks of members are not the creative educational spaces I was looking for, but the complete opposite.  I call these the pornographic sites, although there are many variations of pornography and fetish-gratification contained within these specific areas.  

I realize that I am able to avoid porn sites as I encounter them, but the problem I have is when the porn-peddlers enter other areas and disrupt my experience in the program.  Nothing has really happened to my avatar, but in previous virtual reality games I’ve played, the norm is that it is easy to be victimized.  

Julian Dibbell’s “A Rape in Cyberspace“  explains the experience of an early form of virtual reality, the text-based MUD, LambdaMOO.  A virtual rape occurred by a character named Mr. Bungle on some female characters in which the perpetrator was able to write script that allowed him to control their movements and statements.  The incidents were reported, but nothing much could be done.  The author attended meetings that were set up to decide what to do with the rapist within a small group of the community.  Many lost interest in the issue, but those that were victimized in this virtual world also felt victimized in their physical lives.  

A game such as Second Life has made it possible to create an avatar, an extension of one’s self, and a landscape that makes simulation much more real.  The discussion around whether or not virtual rape is actually harmful can only be explained by those that it has happened to, but in such a realistic environment where sex and fetish are high on the list of players’ priorities it is getting easier to find the victims.  In our class alone, Elaine described her first experience in Second Life where her avatar was raped.  As humorous as it was to hear, the reality for me is that a simulation environment such as Second Life has little to offer at the moment.  As innovative and interesting as the works we toured in class are, I wouldn’t have found those spaces on my own and have little desire to try.  The ratio of porn sites to educational spaces is quite different, and for my own practices, I’m not interested in wasting real time in virtual porn sites to find the art in Second Life.  Saying that, I believe the game will only grow in content and innovation, and perhaps be the great platform for artists in the next ten years.  At the present it’s just not quite there yet.