Summary by Jessica Bergmann

In this article Turkle discusses the gendered arrangement of Multi User Dungeons, an on-line game which several people play simultaneously. By having a net presence which is separated from our Real Life visual presence people are able to choose a different gender or choose to be androgynous. Turkle cites and example of a Japanese MUD that has 1.5 million users; there is a ratio of four real life male users to each real life female user. However, on-line the ratio is different; three male characters to each female character. There are a significant number of people involved in this on-line gender swapping.

Gender Trouble

On-line gender swapping is easier than passing as a different gender in person for various reasons. The biggest is that there is no visual encounter with the people you meet- thus no risk of arrest or violence. "To pass as a woman for any length of time requires understanding of how gender inflects speech, manner, the interpretation of experience." (178) This goes for women trying to pass as men as well. A major repercussion of trying to pass as someone of another gender is the self-discovery involved. One will soon question why they should act differently because they are of a different gender. One begins to understand their own conceptions and stereo-types about this other gender.

All the World's a Stage

In this section Turkle makes a comparison to Shakespeare's "comedy that uses gender-swapping to reveal new aspects of identity and to permit greater complexity of relationships." (Turkle 215) The MUDders also "gender-swap as double agents.... (M)en play women pretending to be men, and women play men pretending to be women." (215) The motivations behind all this switching around varies only slightly by people's RL gender. The women interviewed for the article did this for various reasons. The author felt less threatened by sexual advances and had more of a sense of freedom. "I finally experienced the freedom to move freely I had always imagined to be the birthright of men. Not only was I approached less frequently, but I found it easier to respond to an unwanted overture with aplomb." (Turkle 211) Another woman stated that as a man she felt she could be more aggressive without being a "bitch".

One man interviewed stated he felt he could be more helpful instead of competitive as an on-line woman. Another man said he felt "strong women were admirable" (219). On-line as a woman he felt more freedom to be assertive.

Both men and women felt they could claim parts of their personality which were normally considered unattractive qualities for their real life genders. What was interesting was that they chose the same qualities. This has less to do with gendered differences than what we perceive as those differences.

Virtual Sex

The gender play extends to on-line sex as well. Men play lesbians, women play gay men, etc.... It is a forum for experimentation and fantasies which can "create enormous practical and emotional confusion" (224). Some people involved in real monogamous relations go on-line to sow virtual wild oats. Is it cheating if there is no physical contact, no real relationship? Is "virtual adultery" adultery after all? Some felt the on-line sex was a way to build up courage to go out and find adulterous relationships in the real world.

Children and Netsex

Children participate in the net gender-swapping too. They use it as a forum to have conversations with adults who believe they are talking to other adults. They also experiment sexually without being forced into situations they aren't ready for. There is the comfort of being able to disconnect if in an uncomfortable situation. Parents are afraid in part because they may not be as net-savvy as their kids.

Deception

Turkle talks in this section about what crosses the line of experimentation into cruel deception. She gives suggestions for on-line behavior and asks "what kind of accountability do we have for our actions in real life and in cyberspace? What kind of society or societies are we creating, both on and off the screen?" (231) I would add that things are not always what they seem, and this is especially true on-line where fantasy is a keystroke away.

Being Digital

She concludes by saying "we have seen people doing what they have always done, trying to understand themselves and improve their lives by using the materials they have at hand. (231)