Identities online

Identity is something talked about a lot when it comes to cyberspace. The question of identity has raised questions and arguments amongst scolars for centuries and probably will keep them busy exploring for a long time.
With more and more people using cyberspace and virtual environments such as Second Life the question that arise now are if we are loosing our identities in the online environment where we can be whoever we want to be and lead a ‘second life’ or are we enhancing our identities and enduldge in the freedom these worlds give us? Be who we really are, without others judging us?
“The question of identity is being vigorously debated in social theory. In essence, the argument is that the old identities which stabilized the social world for so long are in decline, giving rise to new identities and fragmenting the modern individual as a unified subject. This so-called ‘crisis of identity’ is seen as part of a wider process of change which is dislocating the central structures and processes of modern societies and undermining the frameworks which gave individuals stable anchorage in the social world.” (Hall 1995:596) cited by (Bell 2001:114)
Here Hall argues that identities change through time and that now changes are becoming more defined.
The world has always been changing and people and technology has been evolving rapidly during the last decade. Values of societies change and now people have more freedom in choosing who they want to be, or express who they are without running in danger of being an outcast.
Before where you were only someone important when you were royalty or noble, or had money, nowadays it doesn’t matter as much. One can become famous without having loads of money or a status. In today’s western society, being yourself is not an issue anymore, and the online environment gives us even more choice of sharing our views, our sexuality, our political views and our issues with the rest of the world.
There always have been and always will be people who are not happy who they are, or are too shy to share with the world face to face who they really are.
But now the internet and virtual worlds give people the chance to explore themselves and re-create their identities, maybe even shaping them.
As Bell states: “In cyberspace now one knows you are a dog” (Bell 2001: 116)
Which is very true, no one can never be sure who really is the person behind the computer on the other side of the world. And in reverse the other person can never tell if you are telling them the truth either, unless you know them personally in the outside world.
The issue I will be discussing here is if we are in danger in loosing our identities and if such virtual environments as ‘Second Life’ are a danger to our identities and who we are, or if they are helping us to express ourselves, live our fantasies, be someone else and therefore enhancing our identities.
This text will be looking at race and sexuality online, as these two issues are the most discussed and talked about.







“However we understand who we are, it is clear that questions of identity demand that we think about the other.” (Bell: 2001:117)
Here it is argued that we do understand who we are but that we have to think about other people’s identities as well. There might be the danger of that we like others more than our own. In our society for example looks matter a lot, and as they make up a big part of who we are, a lot of us are determined to change it. With medicine and plastic surgery on the rise, people do want to change the way they look and change it to something better. Something which might make them feel more belonging.
As much as our western society is a free one, we still feel we have to fit in. The media as a medium is very much to blame in terms of creating the ‘perfect human’. In terms of beauty and how we are seen. Nothing is ever good enough in our society, we have the pressure on us, to be someone we are not. Be better looking, be fitter, be thinner, be more successful or even be more political correct.
Although we think we live in a free society where we can be whoever we want there is always the media who tells us that we could be better, by showing us, how to be.
With that pressure on us, I think people need spaces where they can be someone they would like to be, or just be themselves which they might be not able to in the real world.
“Who we are is defined by who we are not, and the practices of exclusion that define identity have to be recognized – an issue we have already witnessed in the context of online communities. “ (Bell 2001: 117)
But who are we really? Do we really know or are we just trying to be someone everyone else wants us to be?
Are we truthful to ourselves or are we just trying to please everyone and hiding our real identities under a coat of lies?
I guess it is really hard to tell and only for every individual to know for themselves, and again everyone has to choose for themselves, the live they want to live and if they want to be honest with ones self and others or lying.

Whenever we enter a virtual environment we have the choice of who we want to be. We can choose if we want to be ourselves or someone else.
In Second Life for example where one can create their own Avatars, the way they look, how they are shaped, what hair colour they have and so on. Here we can choose how we want to look like. We can either choose to create the Avatar in our likeness or be someone completely different. From personal experience, I first tried to create my Avatar as closely to the way I look in the real world but after a while I decided to change it and make it look like a Barbie doll. Just to see how people would react to it. And I have to say that I was very disappointed as I got more attention with my ‘other me’ than before when my Avatar looked similar to me.
So here looks matter as well, but at least here you have the possibility to change to whatever you want to be. In the real world this is not possible.
But is it really healthy to be someone else?
I also found that with looking different one can act different as well. As it is not you, you can say whatever you want, do whatever you want. Of course there just as in the real world people will take offence, or maybe even judge you, but that is a risk you can take as you can create another character in no time and start all over again.
When entering a virtual environment we leave our ‘meat’ meaning our body behind.
Whatever problems we have with our body, if we are unhappy about the way we look or if we are not able to walk, or talk, or move the way we want, all this doesn’t matter. We are in a clean and pure environment where nothing to do with our physical needs and problems actually matters. If you are not able to walk in real life in the virtual worlds it doesn’t matter and you can walk and fly(SL).
For some this might be an escape from the stigma of their real lives and gives them the opportunities to do what they would normally not be able to do. But we have to be true and clear to ourselves that this is not real and that we are only pretending. If it makes one feel good one might be in danger of loosing themselves in the illusion.
The same goes for personalities. If you are pretending to be someone you are not and creating a character so very different from your real you, you are also in danger of loosing the touch to reality. This of course does not happen very often, but the dangers are there.


A very hot topic amongst academics is the question if race disappears in cyberspace. The arguments are that cyberspace is a dominantly white, western domain where race does matter and is taken seriously.
“ Does race ‘disappear’ in cyberspace? How is race usually represented in popular film and advertisements about cyberspace? Do narratives that depict racial and ethnic minorities in cyberspace simply recapitulate the old racist stereotypes, do they challenge them, do they use the medium to sketch out new virtual realities of race?” Kolko et al 2000:11)
I think it is wrong to say that race disappears in cyberspace. Here everyone can be whoever they want and race does not matter as much. In my point of view race is a lot more tolerated in the virtual environment than it is in real life. It is people on the outside who make it an issue. If we take Second Life as an example there you can choose of course what colour your skin has, and how you would like to look. I don’t think it has anything to do with race, as it is everyone choice to be who you want to be. If you want to be black, Asian, White or if you want to be a mystical figure, a monster, a wolf, a cat or something completely different; it is up to you. The choices are there, and if you feel more comfortable to be something else, why not? Maybe only to see how people will react to you. It doesn’t really matter.
“…, by making race purely elective, they introduce a theme common to a number of writings on ethnicity in cyberculture: the fantasy of becoming the other( in the safety of cyberspace). “ (Bell 2001: 119)
In retrospective to this argument, we could also look at the fantasy of becoming the other as that a white person might want to be black, or asian or something else. By making it a choice does not make it bad, it just gives people a choice to be who they want to be. If we can choose what shape we want to be, what hair and eye colour we want to have, why not give the choice of race? If we look at it from this point of view what makes it so different? Here is a space which evolved from people’s imagination and fantasies. How can we look at race and skin colour if we discard our bodies and looks?
Does it really matter who we are online or we pretend to be? Just because we are given a choice does not necessarily mean that race disappears in cyberspace. Even more so, it enhances it I think. As people are open to ‘otherness’ more as it gives a feel of anonymity. Therefore we can be more tolerant to race and sexuality.
“Nestled in this debate is, of course, the problem of authenticity-does arguing against these kinds of ‘virtual ethnicity’(Poster 1998) reaffirm an authentic, essential racial identity outside of cyberspace?” (Bell 2001: 119-120)





The other hot debate about cyberspace is sexuality. In terms of that online hiding behind a computer screen and a keyboard, we can pretend to be someone else. We can be a man or a woman, gay or straight. We can indulged in ways of life we could not in the real world.
“Stephen Whittle (2001) argues that cyberspace has become a valuable resource for transgendered people, facilitating support networks and a political community, as well as offering ‘safe’ space to experiment with gender.” (Bell 2001:126)
According to the Second Life Official Guide there is only a few men who pretend to be women and even less women pretending to be a men.
According to their research these are the numbers:
Male playing male: 41.95%
Female playing female: 40.05%
Male playing female: 14.45%
Female playing male: 3.55%
(Linden Labs 2007:76)
So there are a substantial number of men playing a women which is interesting to see as in comparisons women are less likely to play the role of a men.
In loads of research I read about one story where a thirty something old psychiatrist pretended to be a women and started groups and giving advice. Pretending to be a disabled elderly women stuck to her home. When it actually came out that he was a men, the women who were his ‘close’ friends were disappointed and felt cheated. Of course this does not happen very often but it does happen that men pretend to be women online to see what they think and to get into their lives.
There is always the danger of something like that happening to you but one just has to be careful in what one reveals online. And most of the time people are lying about who they are. Not only online but also in real life. So we just have to be as careful online who to trust than in real life. But we just seem to forget that and tend to be more open online, as it gives us anonymity. And because we can be more open about our problems, if we are finding out we have been deceived it can be an even harder blow to deal with.

On the other hand, cyberspace has been known to be a good space for people to ‘come out’ with their sexuality. Here there are able to follow their call to be what they really are without doing any damage to their lives outside cyberspace. I think especially for young people the internet gives them a chance to test coming out, and to see how people would react, without actually doing it in the real world. To have that certain anonymity can help a lot of people to find their true identities and to maybe have the courage and change their lives. Online you can not only be someone else, you might want to be, but there are also people who are the same as you and can give you tips and help with your issues. This is not only for gay people but it also applies to all sorts of problems people might have.
“One of the most frequently- cited positive features of cyberqueer space is safety- or at least competitive safety. The anonymity offered makes cyberqueer spaces important sites for coming out, while retaining the protective shell of the RL closet.” (Woodland, CR) cited by (Bell 2001: 129)


Even if you are straight in RL and are just curious about how it would be, and not confident enough to try it out in RL, in SL and other virtual environments you have the chance to experiment. Experiment not only with looks, personality but also with sexuality.



When looking at identities in cyberspace, we have to realise that we are a product of our societies and cyberspace gives us the change to be someone else. To give us a chance to experience different things and try out different identities.
Looks and skin colour are only an outside shell for our identities, as they are who we are, our personalities. Identity is not only the way we look but who we are inside. The whole makes us who we are and we have to recognize that there are others. If we want to be individual and different it is up to us, and the internet might give some the chance to experience to be someone they want to be but cannot because of their social networks.
Everyone wants to be liked and respected and therefore loosing our identities might not be an issue of the virtual worlds but also in the real world. We are shown by the media of how not to be, how to be, how to dress, how to eat, how to look like. Our identities are shaped thought that, and changed all the time. The virtual environment, gives us the chance to experience ourselves to enhance our identities, to reveal the true selves or to hide them.
The are of course dangers as some people might start relying on their fantasy of being someone else. But overall I think cyberspace is doing our identities good. As we can espace, shape, change or enhance ourselves. We can be who we are , or want to be and maybe take a little bit of some new found confidence into the real world.



Shields, R. (2003), The Virtual. Routledge: London and New York

Bell, D. & Kennedy, B.M. (ed), (2000). The Cybercultures Reader. Routledge: London and New York

Bell, D. (2001). An Introduction to Cybercultures. Routledge: London and New York.

Kolko, B.E., Nakamura, L. & Rodman, G.B. (ed) (2000). Race in Cyberspace. Routledge: New York and London.