https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v_Dl7i4Bcw

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  • playground of identity

    • Good expression (blu3mo)
  • 55% representation of their identity

  • a simple button press can change it

    • in this situation, they choose an anime girl
  • not universal

  • questions

  • fluid zone

  • VRChat is not just a game

    • it’s social
    • first person
      • cognitive perspective of others
      • subjectivity vs objectivity
      • possessing, seeing one’s own body
  • language

    • subjective
    • my
      • stating how they want to be seen by their avatar
  • concept of presence

  • agreement on the sensation of “feather touch”

  • child perception

  • not only expressing but also playing with identity

    • effect on perception
  • gender identity becomes less coherent and more fluid

  • community factor

    • meta community, mixed
    • more accepting of strange things?
    • quotes
      • “shared vision: redefine themselves”
      • “weird”
      • “comfortable with myself at the first time”
      • admiration, desire
    • in a way, it attracts people with otaku-like interests, a taste of intersectionality (blu3mo)
    • tolerance for strange situations
      • like being asked for a hug
  • fundamentally separated from “reality”

    • -> behaves differently
    • it’s very similar to a ball (blu3mo)
  • they even quoted Butler lol (blu3mo)

    • gender is culturally formed but also something else
    • labeled by cultures and society
  • West and Zimmerman

    • “doing Gender”: not something you are, but something you achieve
  • as a premise, it tends to be distributed

  • Difference from cosplay

    • cosplay: performance art where cosplayers bring the audience into their world
    • creating a fictional own identity
      • talking about “reality”
  • Talking about the Western English Community, but also influenced by Japan

    • both in cosplay and VRChat
    • a non-western centered perspective seems important here, bringing in one’s own perspective too? (blu3mo)
    • cosplay, “play with gender” and challenge masculinity
  • Talking about 4chan, but it’s vague so it’s hard to understand

  • a joking, ironic atmosphere

    • some people are joking around, which in turn makes it a good place to play around and explore identity
    • calling it “community meta”
  • When they say “play with gender,” it means exploring their own identity

    • there is an unserious atmosphere, and they intentionally mean that
    • however, it only refers to a superficial unseriousness
      • a safe place within the community where you can explore within the realm of jokes
    • this seems like something the author intended to mention (blu3mo)(blu3mo)(blu3mo)
  • The software enables it, but the community assists it

    • the environment encourages a “greater reality”
  • They don’t want to deeply discuss the trans community they don’t belong to, as they are afraid of misrepresenting it

    • seems aware of the criticism in Paris is Burning (blu3mo)(blu3mo)
    • this also connects (blu3mo)
  • However, there is also harassment towards women, for example

  • Gender is also a cage for cis men/women, it comes with constraints

  • for some the gendered play present in VRChat will lead to meaningful discoveries about who they are

  • for others it will let them experience gender euphoria for others it’ll just mean escaping society’s brutal expectations

  • and yet for others still it’ll just be a momentary escape a way to make friends or explore new places

  • An environment where you don’t have to worry about judgment

Other points

  • What is the intention of appearing as an avatar in VR?
  • First time seeing the format of a “Video Essay”