"Second Life is my wheelchair"
by Tateru Nino 
Sep 21st 2008 at 6:00PM
Filed under: Culture, Second Life, Virtual worlds
That's the money-quote from Seshat Czeret in Feldspar Epstein's piece on disability and accessibility at The Metaverse Journal this week. Really, those five words condense thousands of written words on the empowering properties of a collaborative virtual environment, and not just for the differently-abled, but for the regularly able as well.
It is interesting to note that those with physical limitations and disablements tend to view their own physical bodies as a physical, fleshy avatar far more frequently than those who have no such impairment. To the physically handicapped, the body may not function as it ought, but their minds and persons are as whole and complete as any. Many view their bodies as simply a malfunctioning vehicle, and their step into online avatars in a 3D environment is as slight a transition as getting into a car and driving.
To many such physically impaired users, the body is no more nor less a tool than an online avatar, and the latter (despite lag, occasional inventory loss, network problems and all the other hurly-burly of a virtual environment) is the more reliable, expressive and liberating, allowing more ability to contribute, work, play and socialize.
Why then, do the able-bodied among us tend to see so much more distinction between our bodies in the physical world and our digital representations? Is that distinction merely an artificial one, a handicap brought about by our able-bodied perspective?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SignpostMarv Martin said on 10:46PM 9-21-2008
Personally, I view my corporeal "avatar" as a rather annoying restraint (I have no physical disabilities, though I do suffer from arthritis).
A non-corporeal/virtual avatar can navigate spaces with ease- overcoming gravity (flight), obstructions (sit-on-a-prim-and-move or really fast flight), or even (through scripted assistance) being able to move from point a to point b without occupying the intervening space.
Though my views are brought about due to my arthritis, I suspect that most able-bodied people see a distinction due to taking their physical body for granted- it's always been there, and it's considerably more difficult to modify (tattoos are painful, a hair cut takes time to grow out, excess flab requires exercise or liposuction) than a virtual avatar (change skin, change hair, change shape)
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Coldbrand said on 11:19PM 9-21-2008
Very, very interesting and powerful stuff. I'm interested in further coverage of this topic.
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Jacek Antonelli said on 11:45PM 9-21-2008
My response grew too long-winded, so I made a blog post out of it: http://tentacolor.com/2008/09/21/tools-avatars-and-the-self/
Short answer: when your avatar provides an equally or more satisfying and enabling experience than your physical body, you develop a strong emotional attachment to it and a sense of it being an extension of your self, possibly to the point of preferring your avatar to your physical body.
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Feldspar Epstein said on 1:41AM 9-22-2008
I'm able of body but not of emotion and thought in the traditional sense. I'm finding that I'm getting more attached to my avatar, emotionally, the more time I spend learning to speak through her - IRL I am very shy and retiring, and have used SL as a place to learn to be more outspoken.
I have identified strongly with my avatar as myself for a long time. Thinking of what Jacek says in her post, relating to tools that people use, I think of my avatar as a tool in that sense, and am now emotionally and 'physically' attached to her; I find this attachment, and additional identity with, with other tools, too: my car and my computer are primary examples.
Additionally, I think that familiarity with the interface has added to my sense of identity through my avatar.
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