Blog #8

Cybertyping is not just racial typing applied to the Internet. According to Lisa Nakamura author of Cybertyping and the Work of Race in the Age of Digital Reproduction, “Because the Internet is interactive and collectively authored, cybertypes are created in a particularly collaborative way; they reflect the ways that machine-enabled interactivity gives rise to images of race that both stem from a common cultural logic and seek to redress anxieties about the ways that computer-enabled communication can challenge these old logics. (5).” In other words, cybertyping is a culture construct and the masses of online users help to perpetuate the issue.

Identity Tourism is a name coined by Nakamara, which describes when individuals take online personas of a different gender or race during gaming and act them out in stereotypical ways. These individuals then feel as if they have a better understanding of what it is like to be the other gender or race. This creates a misguided view for the players. Similar to a tourist that assumes visiting a place makes them knowledgeable about the native culture. In reality, they only know an outsider’s perspective of the culture.

While playing Street Fighter 2 I noticed an assumption by the game developers that all Asians are masters of Marshall Arts. This cybertyping is prevalent throughout the game. In addition, noticeable in the background the imagery depicts a seemingly Japanese room. Although the fighters are supposed to be from Japan, the game developers went to the extreme in designing a stereotypical Japanese genre. This cybertyping is present in all the various game boards. The Indian character is similar to what one would see in a bad Hollywood movie. It is as if the developers watched many old B movies and designed the characters to fit the Hollywood stereotypes.

Works Cited

Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.

Honda the Sumo Wrestler. Digital image. Unreality Magazine. 25 Mar. 2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2009/03/25/a-tribute-to-fat-guys-in-video-games/>.

Blog #7

In Super Mario Brother 2, gender roles are present in that there are both male and female characters to choose. Unfortunately, for women that want to use a female character there is only one female character. I guess this alone shows the gender issues seen in the gaming industry that Anne-Marie Schleiner discusses in her journal article titled, “Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games.” Playing Super Mario Brothers 2 is an interesting way to evaluate gender-roles in the gaming industry. Interestingly, although the characters were similar regardless of gender, there are subtle differences in male and female characters. For example, an important difference is the way that Princess Peach reacts to the gamers cues. The Princess seems to be more graceful and actually hover more than the other characters. This seemingly is what female gamers prefer or perhaps what the gaming manufacturers “think” that females prefer. Personally, I like the faster and kick butt reaction of the male characters. Another issue is that female gamers like the ability to choose between a few different female characters as the male gamers can.

Schleiner describes creating the female characters specifically so the game manufacturers will make more money. Importantly, by opening the game up to a much more diverse audience the game manufacturer will have bigger sales. Accordingly, Schleiner suggests, “The fusion of femininity, death, and technology in characters like Lara Croft is a lucrative and enduring formula in capitalist market-based economies…,” meaning the gaming industry foresaw the importance of a female character to create a more profitable game (222). I agree that if the female characters did not bring in profits for the gaming industry, then there would be no need to create characters like Princess Peach and Lara Croft.

Works Cited

Princess Peach. Digital image. ING.com. 20 May 2008. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://cheats.ign.com/dor/objects/6695/super-mario-bros-2/images/super-mario-bros-2-20080520104104340.html>.

Schleiner, Ann-Marie. "Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games." MIT Press 34.3 (2001): 221-26. Web. 17 March 2011.

Blog #6

The movie Avatar dichotomizes gender the same way that other typical movies dichotomize gender . The main character is male, very masculine, and ready for action. The supporting character is the female who is at the beginning a leader but soon is relegated to a supporting role.  As always the movie generally revolves around the male character. The movie also shows the female characters as more caring and nurturing than the males. Although the Na’vi are not human it seems to me they are portrayed in a similar manner as human male and female roles. I guess one difference is that the female Na’vi can kick butt and are more equipped physically to compete with the male Na’vi.




The avatar in the movie could be compared to a logo on a webpage. The avatar is like an identity and so is a logo. The avatar for Jake is different in that Jake is disabled and his avatar is able bodied. This is similar to web pages such as the creator of a web page may not be exactly what one may think. One never knows how credible or ethical a person creating a web page is really. A webpage may seem credible because it has professional polish, however it could be a scam or unethical in some manner. Some people create a polished and fabricated identity rather than show their true identity on their web pages because as Cheung says, “…if we present these identities in inappropriate social settings, we experience embarrassment, rejection, or harassment” (275). In a sense, the web page is an avatar, logo, or identity that the creator wants to present to the public.

Works Cited

Cheung, Charles (2007). Identity Construction and Self-Presentation. In D. Bell and B.
M. Kennedy (Eds.), The Cybercultures Reader (2nd Ed.). London and New York: Routeledge. Print.