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Dissertation Information for Shannon Roper

NAME:
- Shannon Roper

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Rutgers University (USA) (2001)

ADVISORS:
- Lea Stewart

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Ronald Rice
- Lisa Covi
- Karen Cerulo

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Muddying identity: The construction of gendered personae in an online role-playing environment

Abstract: This dissertation investigates how gender can be performed online. The goals of this project are to suggest a framework and model from which gender may be investigated in computer mediated environments; expand the previous work on performance aspects of identity, including gender, in online and offline environments to a multi-user domain, object-oriented (MOO); and define the enacting of gender online as a social construction (Gergen, 1991; Schutz, 1970; West & Zimmerman, 1987) expanding on the work of Butler (1990), Danet (1996), and Rodino (1997). This dissertation examines the social codes, structures, and interactional practices of gender as performance in a MOO by proposing research questions about the ways gender is performed and how environmental structure affects gendered performance.

The MOO under investigation is one of 30 MOOS based on a series of fantasy novels by Anne McCaffrey involving people, dragons, and a pre-industrial/early industrial society. Each player creates at least one character and unravels a life story for her/his character via how s/he interacts, explores areas, creates rooms, and personal items.

Content analysis is used to create a typology of the performance aspects (Butler, 1990; Rodino, 1997) and model for constructing a gendered persona. This method allows a researcher to examine the way gender emerges out of social interactions among members of this online community. Findings suggest that there are definite structural boundaries in place, even in an online setting, that affect the performance of gender. These structures limit the types of interactions and gendered performances, which goes against previous research that posit online environments as places where people can be and do anything.

In some instances, these boundaries allow the perpetuation of gender stereotypes. However, the environmental structure appears to be a key factor when examining the way that gender is performed and not the given sex of a particular character. There appears to be, from this data sample, a definite distinction between sex (biological) and gender (the social and psychological) in this MOO, supporting the concept that gender is not preset but created and maintained via interactions with others and the environment itself.

MPACT Scores for Shannon Roper

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:11:18

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Students under Shannon Roper

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None