Introduction

This book is about the construction of identity in digitised and virtual screen environments. It investigates the phenomenon of three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVEs) in relation to our physical, or corporeal, selves. Using four regions of Second Life as a foundation of analysis, this book explores the issues surrounding the body, embodiment, virtual space and tourism, as well as examining notions of subversion as they relate to gender and sexuality in screen environments. The key arguments put forth in this work have their foundations in poststructuralist theories of the body and the cultural construction of identity, which follow a thematic application of discourse analysis within each chapter as a basis for critiquing Western screen culture. Most important to this analysis are the cultural and social conditions that replicate dominant paradigms of power and agency as they are applied to representational practices, such as embodying oneself via an avatar through the screen. Although mainly focused on Second Life, the arguments in this book are readily extendable to other on-screen environments due to the proliferation of 3DVEs and other social networks which are premised on real-time engagement through digitised and representational interaction.