Sexual Identity Online Main Page
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There is increasing debate about the connection between the on and offline persona of Internet users. With the virtual world allowing, and often encouraging, users to set new boundaries and reassign personality traits of their own choice, it is no wonder that identity is constantly being questioned.
In the “real� Western society, identity is constructed through a number of characteristics that include (but are not restricted to) physical appearance, personality, perception by others and standards within society. In opposition to this, the virtual world presents users with a unique opportunity to reconstruct their entire persona to reflect how they wish to be perceived by others.
While the Internet does offer some relief from the impact physicality plays in the “real� world, other qualifiers act as social dividers for virtual communities. The most prominent of these is the ability to type and write well, with this the only way to access cyberspace. Importantly, assumptions are based on the text one provides, and thus, each and every word posted by a user contributes to the construction of their identity. As Wilbur (1997, p.6) writes,
“We use words as tools…on the Internet we use little else. Whatever else Internet culture might be, it is still largely a text-based affair. Words are not simply tools which we can use in any way we see fit. They come to us framed by specific histories of use and meaning, and are products of particular ideological struggles�.
This argument is important in recognising that while the virtual world does remove some of the social boundaries caused by the physical, ultimately it remains bound to some forms of the inequality of the “real� world.
The relationship between on and offline identities is largely determined by individual users who are primarily responsible for their depiction online. While some offline elements such as ability to write and type may impact perception online, most users will decide whether the two lives will cross paths. As Stone (1999, 94) states, “ Remembering – discovering – that bodies and communities constitute each other surely suggests a set of questions and debates for the burgeoning virtual electronic community �.
Sexual Identity Online Main Page
