Barbie with Brains: The Second Life of a First Life Nerd
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Gender Discourse, Research, and Education in Second Life
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Abstract
Educators hope to use the SL platform to teach research and dissemination. This interactive presentation will discuss a 30 day study of gender discourse by a virtual "Barbie." The presentation will discuss methodology and dissemination of research in SL. Further, the presentation will explore student research initiatives. Finally, the presentation will help provide a network to connect academics looking at research in SL.
Watch the Screencast Here!
Additional Text Notes:
Hi! Welcome to the ACHUB conference! I would like to thank Chris Hambly and AudioCourses for providing us the opportunity to share professional ideas with one another. I have placed a recorder here up front; please tap it to signify that we can publish this chat on the wiki. I have also placed 2 RSS feed boxes here; one is to my student podcast series and the other is to my SL blog.
My name is Beth Ritter-Guth in real life, and I teach English and Women's Studies at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Pennsylvania. My BA is in English and Communication and my MA is in English with a focus on the archetypal constructs of Mothers and Temptresses in American Women's Literature. I am currently working on my PhD in Technical Communication and Rhetoric at Texas Tech University with a specialization in Gender discourse in primary documents.
If you click on the screen, I have prepared a short movie for you to view. You must have QT installed and your SL preferences set to accept audio and video. It will take a few moments to load.
Basically, I came to SL with the idea of doing some research and some teaching. My background in archetypal theory led me to wonder how the role of temptress was played out here, as it seems that the best money is made in the adult entertainment industry. As a result, I created the Barbie with Brains Project. It was a 30 day study of a virtual Barbie and her interaction with other dancers and customers at an adult entertainment venue.
As a research study, this project had serious limitations. Verification of gender was one major set back. However, I knew this going into the project, and understood that any "data" extraction would be virtually impossible in this environment without an extended study and/or without funding for course release time to work round the clock. The other setcack was my limited knowledge of the adult entertainment industry.
My initial hypothesis was that dancers relied on lifeworld communication strategies as outlined by Jurgen Habermas to receive better tips. I did not see this, however, and would argue that the system communication style is most used in the adult entertainment industry. So, I instead focused my attention on examining the chat text of dancers to see if the better communicators - those who used specific personal references...making connections to the avatars individually - would receive better tips. This was, as expected, what happened. Spelling and grammar didn't count as much as those personal connections to the people behind the avatar.
I suppose that revelation isn’t so surprising, but what surprised me the most was the way Barbie was treated outside of the club. The people who treated her in the stereotypical way were not the ones at the club portraying the "working class." In fact, it was people portraying themselves as intellectually affluent that treated her worst. My conclusion being, of course, that the Barbie Syndrome is perpetuated by the intellectually affluent and not, necessarily, the community from which she springs.
Again, this isn't the kind of research study that is grounded in standard research practices, and I hesitate to call it research for that reason. I prefer "exploration." Since I have no real life understanding of adult entertainment, I was limited by not being able to make comparisons. Also, I was amazed by the exhaustion I felt after two hours of chat...personalized...energized... While my body wasn’t as sore as it would be IRL, my brain hurt.
Overall, I think there is great potential for a study here on gender discourse. If someone has the resources, it would be an excellent study. Thank you for participating, please feel free to ask any questions.
Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCrgen_Habermas
http://lccccollegeenglish.wikispaces.com
http://bethssecondlife.blogspot.com
Dialogue from the proceedings
Desideria Stockton -Barbie with Brains: The Second Life of a First Life Nerd,
14:58 Desideria Stockton: please feel free tostart watching the movie on the screens above
14:58 Desideria Stockton: and pick up a gift pack
14:58 Desideria Stockton: Hi! Welcome to the ACHUB conference! I would like to thank Chris Hambly and AudioCourses for providing us the opportunity to share professional ideas with one another. I have placed a recorder here up front; please tap it to signify that we can publish this chat on the wiki. I have also placed 2 RSS feed boxes here; one is to my student podcast series and the other is to my SL blog.
14:59 Desideria Stockton: oh wait
15:00 Doug Whittaker: DS where arre we supposed to touch to give out permissions?
15:00 Desideria Stockton: Please feel free tostart watching the movie
15:00 Desideria Stockton: if you dont have access to the movie
15:00 Decka Mah shouts: by Merridy Eastman
15:00 Desideria Stockton: i will be posting up notes
15:00 Desideria Stockton: and these notes are also in the gift boxes
15:02 Doug Whittaker: ?
15:02 Vincent Doctorow: Oops, audio restarted?
15:02 You: :)
15:02 Ravenel Mathieson: Awwwww
15:02 Vincent Doctorow: =o
15:02 RSS Reader 1.0 whispers: Requesting feed.
15:02 RSS Reader 1.0 whispers: Parsing feed.
15:02 RSS Reader 1.0 whispers: Done!
15:02 Vincent Doctorow: Is it just me or did the audio restart?
15:02 Ravenel Mathieson: Fast forward please?
15:02 You: it did ..
15:03 Vincent Doctorow: Well, you can verify your notes now. =D
15:03 Desideria Stockton: Hi! Welcome to the ACHUB conference! I would like to thank Chris Hambly and AudioCourses for providing us the opportunity to share professional ideas with one another. I have placed a recorder here up front; please tap it to signify that we can publish this chat on the wiki. I have also placed 2 RSS feed boxes here; one is to my student podcast series and the other is to my SL blog.
15:03 Desideria Stockton: My name is Beth Ritter-Guth in real life, and I teach English and Women's Studies at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Pennsylvania. My BA is in English and Communication and my MA is in English with a focus on the archetypal constructs of Mothers and Temptresses in American Women's Literature. I am currently working on my PhD in Technical Communication and Rhetoric at Texas Tech University with a specialization in Gender discourse in primary documents.
15:03 Desideria Stockton: If you click on the screen, I have prepared a short movie for you to view. You must have QT installed and your SL preferences set to accept audio and video. It will take a few moments to load.
15:03 Ravenel Mathieson: Hey... there is text in chat too now??
15:03 Desideria Stockton: Basically, I came to SL with the idea of doing some research and some teaching. My background in archetypal theory led me to wonder how the role of temptress was played out here, as it seems that the best money is made in the adult entertainment industry. As a result, I created the Barbie with Brains Project. It was a 30 day study of a virtual Barbie and her interaction with other dancers and customers at an adult entertainment venue.
15:05 Desideria Stockton: As a research study, this project had serious limitations. Verification of gender was one major set back. However, I knew this going into the project, and understood that any "data" extraction would be virtually impossible in this environment without an extended study and/or without funding for course release time to work round the clock. The other setcack was my limited knowledge of the adult entertainment industry.
15:06 Desideria Stockton: My initial hypothesis was that dancers relied on lifeworld communication strategies as outlined by Jurgen Habermas to receive better tips. I did not see this, however, and would argue that the system communication style is most used in the adult entertainment industry. So, I instead focused my attention on examining the chat text of dancers to see if the better communicators - those who used specific personal references...making connections to the avatars individually - would receive better tips. This was, as expected, what happened. Spelling and grammar didn't count as much as those personal connections to the people behind the avatar.
15:06 Decka Mah shouts: The Production of Identity and the Negotiation of Intimacy in aGentleman's Club'
15:06 Desideria Stockton: Decka, I will be happy to take your questions/statements at the end
15:07 Desideria Stockton: I suppose that revelation isn't so surprising, but what surprised me the most was the way Barbie was treated outside of the club. The people who treated her in the stereotypical way were not the ones at the club portraying the "working class." In fact, it was people portraying themselves as intellectually affluent that treated her worst. My conclusion being, of course, that the Barbie Syndrome is perpetuated by the intellectually affluent and not, necessarily, the community from which she springs.
15:07 Desideria Stockton: Again, this isn't the kind of research study that is grounded in standard research practices, and I hesitate to call it research for that reason. I prefer "exploration." Since I have no real life understanding of adult entertainment, I was limited by not being able to make comparisons. Also, I was amazed by the exhaustion I felt after two hours of chat...personalized...energized... While my body wasn't as sore as it would be IRL, my brain hurt.
15:08 Desideria Stockton: Overall, I think there is great potential for a study here on gender discourse. If someone has the resources, it would be an excellent study. Thank you for participating, please feel free to ask any questions. Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCrgen_Habermas http://lccccollegeenglish.wikispaces.com http://bethssecondlife.blogspot.com
15:08 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Yes, me too ...
15:08 Desideria Stockton: for those of you just arriving, please feel free to watch the movie
15:08 Desideria Stockton: playing on the screens
15:08 Lady Smashcan: naw, this dont work...
15:08 Desideria Stockton: and click on the bozex here
15:08 Desideria Stockton: to receive a notecard with the notes i hgave out in chat
15:09 Desideria Stockton: just to highlight some major points
15:09 Shay Ellison is Offline
15:09 Desideria Stockton: I do not consider what I have done in SL to be "research" and prefer the terms "exploration"
15:09 Desideria Stockton: I wanted to see if it was worth studying
15:09 Desideria Stockton: and if research could be done here
15:09 Micala Lumiere is Offline
15:10 Desideria Stockton: so, as Decka mentioed, there is lots of research out there on strip club communication
15:10 Desideria Stockton: on the web
15:10 Desideria Stockton: and in peer reviewed journals
15:10 Calypso DeSantis is Offline
15:10 Vincent Doctorow: Indeed.
15:10 Tarnay Tandino is Offline
15:10 Gardner Broome: Do you feel this is indicative of real world behavior, or is limited to virtual interaction?
15:10 Desideria Stockton: since this was an exploration, I did not not write about what I read
15:10 Calypso DeSantis is Online
15:10 Skubwa Prototype is Offline
15:10 Desideria Stockton: I am really not credentialled to verify it one way or another Gardner, but I think it might be true
15:10 Vincent Doctorow: More of an academic narrative then systematic research, right?
15:11 Gardner Broome: Thank you.
15:11 Desideria Stockton: really, just an exploration
15:11 Desideria Stockton: I wanted to test the waters for research in sl
15:11 Desideria Stockton: and this was the topic I picked
15:11 Ravenel Mathieson: What I find interesting about your rerearch is, that it adresses the topic of sex in SL.... which is often unmentioned in research
15:11 Shay Ellison is Online
15:11 Desideria Stockton: that is true
15:12 Vincent Doctorow: It gets plenty of coverage in the media, though.
15:12 Desideria Stockton: and sex is the reason a lot of educational places won't allow its use of funds to support it
15:12 Desideria Stockton: yes
15:12 Vincent Doctorow: Sex and Second Life are package when any news outlet runs a story on it.
15:12 Vincent Doctorow: That's really unfortunate, about the funding.
15:12 Ravenel Mathieson: Not where I live... it's all bout virtual economics
15:12 Desideria Stockton: has everyone finished watching and reading?
15:12 You: Desi do you think with voice coming in a few months that its possible to do research like this ? Would it make it more feasible for study ?
15:12 Emmadw Rickenbacker: We've not got to the end of the presentation yet, it keeps restarting.
15:12 Vincent Doctorow: Saying they won't fund research because of sex in second life is like saying you can't fund research on the internet because of sex on the internet.
15:12 Desideria Stockton: I do actually believe with time and funding, someone could do this
15:12 Sarah Tennant: The stream kept restarting before I could hear the end, and now I can't get it to play, Desideria.
15:12 Desideria Stockton: you would have to work with an IRB
15:13 Ravenel Mathieson: Yes we shouldn't hide it
15:13 Ravenel Mathieson: It's there
15:13 Vincent Doctorow: I think it's less to do with hiding, and more to do with research as practice in Second Life still being new and developing.
15:13 Desideria Stockton: Maybe audio can help you, Sarah
15:13 Doug Whittaker: Could you post a direct link to the video?
15:13 Charity Colville is Offline
15:13 Desideria Stockton: yes
15:13 Vincent Doctorow: I doubt audio would help a study in a strip club - I would imagine visiting a virtual strip club has a lot to do with privacy of identity.
15:13 Ravenel Mathieson: I'm not sure there... seems like we - researchers - feel theatnend?
15:13 Doug Whittaker: Thank you
15:14 Vincent Doctorow: In what capacity?
15:14 Desideria Stockton: http://showme/physics.drexel.edu/share/achubstockton.mov
15:14 Desideria Stockton: lol
15:14 Desideria Stockton: i meant help her with the audio
15:14 Desideria Stockton: so, the point of this
15:14 Desideria Stockton: was to see if and how research could be done
15:14 Desideria Stockton: and also to see if it is wise to encourage undergrads to do research here
15:15 Desideria Stockton: and, granted, this is not my field of major study
15:15 Vincent Doctorow: Several professors have already completed courses with undergrads doing research here.
15:15 Desideria Stockton: I am a literature person
15:15 Ravenel Mathieson: There is some interesting research done inside the MMORPG World of Warcraft
15:15 Desideria Stockton: right Vincent
15:15 Vincent Doctorow: http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/490/bloglinks.html
15:15 Vincent Doctorow: For anyone interested
15:15 Vincent Doctorow: WOW is really different from SL.
15:15 Desideria Stockton: perhaps it would be btter to qualify it this way - i wanted to see what it would take my students to do research here
15:16 Ravenel Mathieson nods
15:16 Vincent Doctorow: Would your students be researching from a gender studies angle as well?
15:16 Desideria Stockton: if they were taking the women's study survey course
15:16 Vincent Doctorow: I think gender is kind of understudied in SL, it would be good to have more people looking into it.
15:16 Desideria Stockton: studies
15:16 Vincent Doctorow: Especially with the power one has over gender here.
15:16 Desideria Stockton: I do recommend it for further study
15:16 Skubwa Prototype is Online
15:17 Desideria Stockton: and I learned a lot about being Barbie
15:17 Desideria Stockton: I learned a lot about how do help my students
15:17 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Foloowing on from Deck'a question - what impact do you think that voice will have?
15:17 Dwight Douglas is Offline
15:17 Vincent Doctorow: Desideria, your research I think seemed focused on the audience you interacted with, do you have any insights on the other strippers you worked with?
15:17 Desideria Stockton: I am not sure about voice
15:17 Ravenel Mathieson: This is about gender in WoW: http://sybil.nl/2006/content/view/34/45/
15:17 Desideria Stockton: well, since i did not work with an IRB, I could not use their responses
15:17 Desideria Stockton: but the sense i get
15:17 Vincent Doctorow: I see.
15:17 Desideria Stockton: are single moms
15:17 Desideria Stockton: or middle aged
15:17 Desideria Stockton: is that most of them
15:17 Desideria Stockton: at home moms
15:18 Desideria Stockton: that wanted to have fun
15:18 Desideria Stockton: and feel sexy
15:18 Desideria Stockton: but, again, that is based off of my own hunches
15:18 Vincent Doctorow: That's pretty fascinating.
15:18 Desideria Stockton: and not actual research
15:18 Desideria Stockton: it was just a test to see what could be done here
15:18 Desideria Stockton: so, this eploration was not meant to be an academic research project
15:18 Ravenel Mathieson: Thanks Decka
15:18 Vincent Doctorow: Desideria, if you had funding and been reviewed by an IRB, how would you go about doing this particular project, so you wouldn't feel like you had to qualify it as "not research?"
15:19 Desideria Stockton: and, I wanted to push my own personal limits
15:19 Vincent Doctorow: What would you do differentl?
15:19 Jonny Dusk is Online
15:19 Tribulete Alcott: What about the number of men asuming female role as strippers??
15:19 Desideria Stockton: I would have tried to interview the women I worked iwth
15:19 baller Quaggy is Online
15:19 Desideria Stockton: in real life
15:19 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Side question - from the UK, what's IRB?
15:19 Desideria Stockton: about their roles in SL
15:19 Zam Boyle is Offline
15:19 Zam Boyle is Online
15:19 Desideria Stockton: Institutional REview Board
15:19 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Thanks :)
15:20 Desideria Stockton: it allows us to do human subject research
15:20 Vincent Doctorow: The ethics checker =)
15:20 Desideria Stockton: lol
15:20 Vincent Doctorow: No more Milgram shock experiments. ;D
15:20 Ravenel Mathieson: ((Decka... URL isn't working))
15:20 Desideria Stockton: so, I would have had more time
15:20 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Ah, like our Ethical Approval guys.
15:20 Drax Lemieux is Online
15:20 Desideria Stockton: to preapre some ideas
15:20 Desideria Stockton: go to strip clubs irl
15:20 Desideria Stockton: interview strippers
15:20 Desideria Stockton: have them play the game
15:20 Desideria Stockton: irl
15:20 Gardner Broome: That would be an interesting study.
15:20 Vincent Doctorow: A lot of research examines the relationship between second life and first life.
15:20 Desideria Stockton: and draw some lines
15:20 Vincent Doctorow: Well, ONGOING research.
15:21 Desideria Stockton: it would be
15:21 Vincent Doctorow: Not much completed research on SL, yet.
15:21 Desideria Stockton: but, again, this is not specifically my field
15:21 Desideria Stockton: I really wanted to see what could be done here
15:21 Desideria Stockton: and to see wwhat i was going to ask my students to do
15:21 Desideria Stockton: so, in many ways it was research on teaching, as well
15:21 Gardner Broome: Just out of curiosity, is there some kind of review board that exists on SL? If not, do you think it would be possible to create one?
15:21 Lannorra Sion is Online
15:22 Desideria Stockton: there used to be by Linden
15:22 Desideria Stockton: but not anymore
15:22 Gardner Broome nods.
15:22 Desideria Stockton: I do think we could create one
15:22 Desideria Stockton: but we couldnt enforce it
15:22 Vincent Doctorow: I think LL knows the responsibility for review is with the researcher's institution.
15:22 Gloria Lemuria is Offline
15:22 Desideria Stockton: right
15:22 Vincent Doctorow: I mean, think about blogging.
15:22 Desideria Stockton: right
15:22 Desideria Stockton: exacctly
15:22 Vincent Doctorow: People blog about other SL people and quote them all the time.
15:22 Vincent Doctorow: There's no institutional review for blogging,
15:23 Desideria Stockton: does anyone have questions that I may have missed?
15:23 Sarah Tennant: I have a question, Desi?
15:23 Sabane Talamasca is Offline
15:23 Desideria Stockton: sure
15:23 Gardner Broome: Right, not so much enforcement as... certification.
15:23 Sarah Tennant: May I ask what the perceived breakdown of avatar genders who came to see you as clients was?
15:23 Atheene Dodonpa is Offline
15:23 Vincent Doctorow: Heh heh good question.
15:24 Sarah Tennant: I know that there's no way to determine the RL gender, but I feel very curious if the mix of avatar genders who came to patronize you is different from the overall mix of apparent genders in the SL world as a whole?
15:24 Joda Ratner is Online
15:24 Sarah Tennant: I would also be fascinated to hear about the way in which male-appearing patrons interacted with you, versus how female-appearing patrons did?
15:25 Bob Lomba is Offline
15:25 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Following on from Sarah's question, has anyone done a study of actual gender usage of SL (regardless of what their avatar is?) - is that changing as it's getting more popular?
15:25 Desideria Stockton: i do actually believe that everyone i encountered was the gender they represented
15:25 Desideria Stockton: and 1 furry
15:25 Bob Lomba is Online
15:25 Sarah Tennant: But what was the mix, Desi?
15:26 Desideria Stockton: well, the other part of that question was about men and women avies
15:26 Drax Lemieux is Offline
15:26 Desideria Stockton: i had equal audiences bc i catered to both populations
15:26 Desideria Stockton: and otehr dancers did not always do that
15:26 Drax Lemieux is Online
15:26 Sarah Tennant: So you felt that fifty percent of your audience was female in both RL and SL?
15:26 Desideria Stockton: men and women treated me with equal respect
15:26 Desideria Stockton: and i only had 2 griefs
15:26 Desideria Stockton: and 1 stalker
15:26 Sarah Tennant: In terms of conversation topics, though... Um, how can I ask this?
15:27 Desideria Stockton: yesit was pretty even
15:27 Bob Lomba is Offline
15:27 Desideria Stockton: men and women
15:27 Desideria Stockton: i wouldnt feel comfortable asigning a percentage
15:27 Desideria Stockton: but it seemed equal for regalr danves
15:27 Sarah Tennant: Did men and women tend to discuss different aspects of your performance or avatar, or bring up widely varying topics of conversation?
15:27 Vincent Doctorow: Desideria do you have any idea of the geographica spread of your clients?
15:27 Desideria Stockton: and about 75/25 male for private
15:28 Sarah Tennant: I saw just recently, for instance, a small study that was widely publicized online that says that men and women tend to visually focus on different aspects of the bodies of humans and animals... Did you notice a disparity in that coming through in how your clients interacted with you?
15:29 Desideria Stockton: the approach for men and women was different
15:29 Desideria Stockton: for women, for example, they liked to talk a little more about regular stuff
15:29 Desideria Stockton: shopping
15:29 Desideria Stockton: etc
15:29 Desideria Stockton: men wanted tactile expressions
15:29 Desideria Stockton: men and women
15:29 Desideria Stockton: both liked to be called
15:30 Desideria Stockton: honey, baby, sweetie, sexy, and gorgeous
15:30 SirLance Smallville is Offline
15:30 Desideria Stockton: men and women liked to be told they were the best looking person in sl
15:30 Gardner Broome: heh
15:30 Emmadw Rickenbacker: lol!
15:30 Desideria Stockton: the more personalized
15:30 Desideria Stockton: the higher tips
15:30 Desideria Stockton: so, you would truy to remember soemthing they told you from the last time they were there
15:31 Vincent Doctorow: Sounds like it's good to keep files
15:31 Sarah Tennant: Did you feel that certain things that you said to a client had a relationship on how they viewed your, for lack of a better term, humanity?
15:31 Desideria Stockton: and you had to make each person feel as if he or she was the only person in your eye
15:31 Drew Ogg: (notes in people's profiles)
15:31 Desideria Stockton: I dont know
15:31 Desideria Stockton: I think that they perceive Desi as being fun and upbeat all the time
15:31 Vincent Doctorow: Did you have any personal issues with telling multiple people they were the only person in your eye when that obviously wasn't true, for you and probably for them?
15:31 Desideria Stockton: and Beth is not
15:31 Sarah Tennant: For instance, if you were too giggly, did they start to behave in some way that was different than if you cut the giggliness out and acted more sensual, or less overly sexual?
15:31 Desideria Stockton: so, when i would go in just to dace
15:32 Desideria Stockton: they wanted that upbeat person
15:32 Desideria Stockton: for me, personally, yes
15:32 Desideria Stockton: I had a problem leading them on
15:32 Desideria Stockton: I felt it wasnt fair
15:32 Desideria Stockton: and was wasting their linden
15:32 JVonD Television is Online
15:32 Desideria Stockton: which is anotehr reason I could not do this as a study
15:32 Desideria Stockton: it breaks my own ethical code of rght and wrong
15:33 Desideria Stockton: not the nudity
15:33 Desideria Stockton: the leading on
15:33 Desideria Stockton: yes
15:33 Montian Gilruth is Online
15:33 Desideria Stockton: Sarah, when I resigned
15:33 Desideria Stockton: I told everyone about my RL
15:33 Desideria Stockton: and they were in shock
15:33 Sarah Tennant: Why do you feel that they felt so shocked, then?
15:33 Desideria Stockton: as people started to learn abot me irl, they treated me differently
15:34 Desideria Stockton: because I think people assume that desi and Beth are the same person
15:34 You: oh now thats wild ..
15:34 Desideria Stockton: and I clearly see them as different entities sharing a heart and brain
15:34 Desideria Stockton: this is a pile of pixels
15:34 Emmadw Rickenbacker: So how did they behave that was different? Have you met any of them elsewhere in SL since?
15:34 Desideria Stockton: naked or dressed
15:34 Sarah Tennant: Did you feel that they viewed "Beth" as less attractive or desirable than "Desi"?
15:34 Desideria Stockton: I still sponsor events at the dance club
15:34 Desideria Stockton: I made a lot of nice friends there
15:35 Desideria Stockton: but, I dont actually like the music, lol
15:35 You: :)
15:35 Desideria Stockton: and prefer to pend time working on education and with my partern, ADrian
15:35 Desideria Stockton: yes, I think some do view Beth as less attractive
15:35 Gerben Giugiaro is Offline
15:35 Desideria Stockton: bc in reality
15:35 Desideria Stockton: I am not Barbie
15:35 Desideria Stockton: I dont have this body
15:35 Desideria Stockton: or this hair
15:36 Desideria Stockton: or these eyes
15:36 Desideria Stockton: and irlI dress in cords and jeans
15:36 Desideria Stockton: and tee shirts
15:36 Desideria Stockton: and berks
15:36 Sephiroth Czervik is Offline
15:36 Sarah Tennant: So okay.. I think I'm sort of trying to process this... So I think the question that I'm sort of leading to is, if you took an avatar modeled on Beth to the same club and interacted in the same way, but with the different body... how do you feel the patrons there would respond to you?
15:36 Desideria Stockton: so, I think that people are disappointed when they realize that this barbie is the same toy they played with irl
15:37 Desideria Stockton: It would be different
15:37 Desideria Stockton: people would be nice
15:37 Desideria Stockton: but they wouldnt hit on me every 5 seconds
15:37 Desideria Stockton: actually, I started with an avatar that was me
15:37 Desideria Stockton: irl
15:37 Desideria Stockton: I did that part first
15:38 Desideria Stockton: and they were nice
15:38 Desideria Stockton: but they ignored me
15:38 Desideria Stockton: looked at how they treated beth
15:38 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Did both have the same name? Or did you have an alterantive avatar that was "beth"?
15:38 Desideria Stockton: and i went to all the clubs in my rl avatar
15:38 Desideria Stockton: before sleecting aerolite
15:38 Jay May is Offline
15:38 Desideria Stockton: and creating barbie
15:38 Lyr Lobo: was Beth working there and in the same situation/ interactions with them?
15:38 Desideria Stockton: they both have the name desi
15:38 Sarah Tennant: So, you found that it was your intelligence that was actually generating the tips, since I'm sure we've seen that there are a thousand ways to look like a stripper in SL... But it was the appearance that made the initial "catch" that let you work on them?
15:39 Desideria Stockton: i believe the ability to communicate effectively in chat is the key tip generator
15:39 Desideria Stockton: all of us kind of look the same after a while
15:39 Desideria Stockton: it is chatting that seems to make the difference
15:39 seaone Bunyip is Online
15:39 Sarah Tennant: How much variance did you see in the appearances of the other working girls at the club?
15:40 Desideria Stockton: we all kind of look the same
15:40 Desideria Stockton: really
15:40 Sarah Tennant: Was everyone tall, blonde, and fair skinned, for instance?
15:40 Desideria Stockton: no, not necessarily
15:40 Desideria Stockton: some had brown hair
15:40 Desideria Stockton: but all had specialized avies
15:40 Desideria Stockton: there was only one person of color
15:40 Gardner Broome: Now that's interesting.
15:40 Desideria Stockton: I know they would hire more
15:41 Sarah Tennant: I think that sort of leads to me seeing that SL might have a sort of "Stripper's uniform" tha people know to look for an expect...
15:41 Desideria Stockton: one of the things i liked about this club
15:41 Desideria Stockton: is that they have male and female dancers
15:41 Scheurmuis Rossini is Offline
15:41 Sarah Tennant: I'm wondering how much you could stretch that socially expected definition of what it is to be a stripper without impacting income.
15:41 Etherian Kamaboko is Offline
15:41 Skubwa Prototype is Offline
15:41 Desideria Stockton: it would be interesting as astudy
15:41 Avatar frozen.
15:42 Avatar ejected.
15:42 Desideria Stockton: does anyone else have thought or ideas or questions?
15:42 Desideria Stockton: just jump on in
15:42 Traven Sachs is Online
15:43 Kaan Tornado is Online
15:43 Desideria Stockton: how many of you would put yourself in place to study something like this?
15:43 Polly Widdershins: I think it's interesting the way avatars are perceived.
15:43 Desideria Stockton: i can say that it personally impacted me
15:43 Sarah Tennant: Now that youve finished your study as a working girl at a club, may I ask how you feel that you can maintain the same level of income in SL without stripping?
15:43 Desideria Stockton: I am slightly more conservative irl
15:43 Desideria Stockton: I dont wear anything revelaing, lol
15:44 Desideria Stockton: I use my own money now
15:44 Lyr Lobo: I don't view SL as a second life or avatars as pixels, so no, I would not be comfortable stripping
15:44 Desideria Stockton: and, again, I gave back all of my tips
15:44 Desideria Stockton: to other dancers
15:44 Desideria Stockton: i never kept any money there
15:44 Desideria Stockton: I used my onw money for my clothes, etc
15:44 Polly Widdershins: Someone has suggested that one thing our medical students could study is the perception of disability
15:45 Desideria Stockton: I think that is a great idea Polly
15:45 Emmadw Rickenbacker: How much interaction did you have with the other dancers, as opposed to the "clients"?
15:45 Polly Widdershins: by, for example, having an avatar who had some form of disfigurement
15:45 Desideria Stockton: I had a lot of interaction with them in and out of the club
15:45 Bob Lomba is Offline
15:45 Desideria Stockton: that is a great idea Polly
15:45 Desideria Stockton: I know for certain that one dancer is in a wheel chair irl
15:46 Desideria Stockton: she loves being a stripper
15:46 Desideria Stockton: bc she never
15:46 Desideria Stockton: 'danced
15:46 Scheurmuis Rossini is Online
15:46 Desideria Stockton: ' irl
15:46 Emmadw Rickenbacker: That's really interesting ...
15:46 Desideria Stockton: I think that if we are going to ask our students to take risks, we should as well
15:47 Desideria Stockton: this was a risk to me
15:47 Desideria Stockton: to me personally
15:47 Desideria Stockton: to my way of thinking
15:47 Desideria Stockton: and communicating
15:47 Desideria Stockton: I had to lern an enitrly new vocabulary
15:47 Isabella Beckersted is Online
15:47 Gracie Kendal is Offline
15:48 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Very true - we should take risks if we're asking our students to; and I don't think it matters if it's not quite the *same* risk - it's the experience of being way out of comfort zone that's relevant
15:48 Desideria Stockton: iteacly Emma
15:48 DaSaved Eros is Online
15:48 Desideria Stockton: exactly, lol
15:48 Desideria Stockton: typonese
15:48 Polly Widdershins: One thing that struck me on first joining SL was that it was quite mono-cultural
15:48 Desideria Stockton: yes, it really is
15:48 Desideria Stockton: ao on
15:48 Desideria Stockton: so, it was fun for 30 days
15:49 Desideria Stockton: but I could not do it for real
15:49 Desideria Stockton: or doi for longer
15:49 Polly Widdershins nods
15:49 Grace McLeod is Offline
15:49 Desideria Stockton: I felt like a student again, lol
15:49 Desideria Stockton: and I was stressed out about it
15:49 Desideria Stockton: but, it had to end before my RL students came in
15:49 Desideria Stockton: it ended 3 days before I borught my RL students into SL
15:49 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Yes, there are limits!
15:50 Desideria Stockton: yes
15:50 Gardner Broome: Yeah, that could be awkward.
15:50 Desideria Stockton: I could not handle that connection
15:50 Desideria Stockton: I am very rivate irl
15:50 Desideria Stockton: bc I am younger
15:50 Desideria Stockton: so, I needed to create that space
15:50 Armoe Lipo is Offline
15:50 Marbles Tokyo is Offline
15:50 Karen Zohari is Offline
15:50 Desideria Stockton: do any of you worry about that
15:50 Desideria Stockton: students seeing you at the poker table or whatever?
15:51 kitten Drago is Online
15:51 LoriVonne Lustre: It is certainly something we discuss
15:51 LoriVonne Lustre: where are the boundaries...
15:51 Desideria Stockton: how do you handle it?
15:51 LoriVonne Lustre: haven't had to yet :-)
15:51 Desideria Stockton: lol
15:52 LoriVonne Lustre: but I think I will handle it much as in rl
15:52 Desideria Stockton: I liken it to how I would dela with it irl
15:52 Desideria Stockton: but, in realit
15:52 Alienbear Gupte is Offline
15:52 Desideria Stockton: reality, where are they going to find me irl?
15:52 audio Zenith: I encourage mins for a game.. (has been known) but Im not good at it. :)
15:52 LoriVonne Lustre: hehe
15:52 Emmadw Rickenbacker: So far, I've not used SL with students, but I think that I'd look seriously at creating an alternate avatar - if I felt that I'd be straying into things I'd rather they'd not find me ... just as I have an online identity for some forums etc., with a user name that doesn't link to me & I'm careful what I do when I'm it.
15:52 You: :O shock
15:52 LoriVonne Lustre: I am a middle eastern dancer (belly dancer) in one facet of RL
15:52 Desideria Stockton: I thought about that
15:53 Desideria Stockton: creating an alt av
15:53 Desideria Stockton: but it seemed like if i was going to put myself out there
15:53 Desideria Stockton: and feel the risk
15:53 Desideria Stockton: or the fear
15:53 LoriVonne Lustre: and students sometimes have a second thought about that!
15:53 Desideria Stockton: then Ishould take the risk honestly
15:53 LoriVonne Lustre: but it is part of the wya we take the risk
15:53 Desideria Stockton: right
15:53 Desideria Stockton: to me nudity isnt as much a problem
15:53 Desideria Stockton: as the chat
15:54 Polly Widdershins: I do have alternates
15:54 LoriVonne Lustre: that is another way Polly
15:54 Karen Zohari is Online
15:54 Desideria Stockton: I did toy with that idea
15:54 Desideria Stockton: but, I just thought it would be dishonest if my point was to feel uncomfortable
15:54 audio Zenith: I was cautious at first in SL, now I make no distinction... I like poker in RL
15:54 Polly Widdershins: that was because this is a work account ... and I was interested in exploring SL fully, without restrictions.
15:54 Desideria Stockton: right
15:54 Polly Widdershins nods
15:54 Desideria Stockton: i get no funding at all from any source
15:54 You: *big grin*
15:54 Desideria Stockton: so, for me, i was not ties to that ethical bind
15:54 Shay Ellison is Offline
15:54 kitten Drago is Offline
15:55 Desideria Stockton: but, now I am free to explore funding since I no longer do that
15:55 Polly Widdershins: I know have commercial activities as my alternate - so it's good I keep the two separate
15:55 Desideria Stockton: If i were to do this as a real study
15:55 Desideria Stockton: I would have an alt
15:56 Desideria Stockton: thank you Chris
15:56 Desideria Stockton: or allowing me to present here
15:56 audio Zenith: Tomake a real impact it is my belief the students need to believe in you.. it is YOU that captures them...
15:56 Desideria Stockton: yes, Chris, I agree
15:56 You: I agree
15:56 Desideria Stockton: I want to thank all of you for coming
15:56 Polly Widdershins nods
15:56 Desideria Stockton: please make sure you take a copy of the gift bag
15:56 Desideria Stockton: if you want the url to the movie
15:56 audio Zenith: I believe we should embrace this new media.. and not hide. :)
15:56 Desideria Stockton: it will be on the wiki
15:57 Emmadw Rickenbacker: Yes, I have, thank yo - and thanks very much for the ideas.
15:57 audio Zenith: I would like to sincerely thank Beth Ritter-Guth (SL: Desideria Stockton). Was veyr interesting indeed. I will make the dialogue available as a PDF and link to it from here http://audiocourses.pbwiki.com/Spring-Festival-07
15:57 Patrick Cournoyer accepted your inventory offer.
15:57 Gardner Broome: Thank you, Desideria.
15:57 Doug Whittaker: thanks Beth!
15:57 Desideria Stockton: thank you so much for your ideas and suggestions
15:57 Desideria Stockton: thank you
15:57 Polly Widdershins: Thank you, Beth!
15:57 Desideria Stockton: and please feel free to stop by and see me in my real role
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