My Metamorphic Avatar Journey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of the gendered body in the Second Life® virtual environment by creating gender ambiguous avatar bodies. This autoethnographic inquiry is weaved with my stories about body image, online avatar experience, and the attempt to create gender ambiguous ava-tars. These three elements provide a critical understanding of the gendered body images in Second Life®. My difficulty in creating a gender ambiguous avatar highlights the importance of critically and carefully considering the meaning of avatars and their visual presentation.