(no subject)
Apr. 9th, 2003 02:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_haloI'm in the office alone so I'm procrastinating. Evil Laura. (In my defense I worked my ass off on Monday).
Anyway, this morning I had to do a presentation for my "Women in the Media" class about a bunch of assigned articles dealing with women and cyberculture. A lot of it was very interesting (particularly the stuff from 1995; it's so amazing how different the net was back then!) Some of it was irritating (Donna Harraway's "Cyborg Manifesto" is so ridiculous; why the hell would anyone choose to write like that?).
Most of the articles focused on the net as "male territory," a place created by and for men in which women are outsiders. Only one of the articles mentioned fandom, which mentioned it in passing and in stereotypical terms (as if all fans are teenage boys or men with no lives). Some of the theory was based in fact; at the time these articles were written, the vast majority of internet users were male. However, I rather doubt that's true anymore; it's certainly not true in the communities that I frequent. So in my presentation I tried to counter these claims by pointing out contradictory evidence, such as livejournal (it is a traditionally "feminine form," both in its function as a journal and as a method of communication). I gave examples of women who entered cyberculture because of traditionally "feminine" interests but who moved from consumers to creators (such as a girl who creates a fan site for her favorite band, learns programming, and becomes a web designer). Most of the articles described how the net is created by men, therefore it's optimized for use by men, so I gave examples of forms that are created by women (such as various Buffy forums, fanfic sites, livejournals, yahoo groups, etc).
Anyway, much of the class discussion revolved around the dangers of the internet; it isolates you from others, it's a very poor method of communication because you can't see the other face to face, it's dangerous for children, it isolates you from your physical self, blah blah blah. The class tended to speak of people who are heavily involved in the internet as if we are a bunch of emotionally disturbed freaks with no lives. This really irritated me, of course, because I've found the net to be an incredibly rewarding place where I've been able to get to know people very well and to connect with them on a very personal level; in fact, a level that is difficult to reach in "real life" because of the barriers of distance, physical appearance, preconceived stereotypes, etc. Online, you are communicating with your *thoughts*, without all that superficial nonsense of the real world, and when done properly it can be an such a wonderful experience.
Anyway, I tried to explain this, and I think a few people understood (the professor agreed with me), but most people just kind of looked at me funny. Is this something I'm supposed to keep quiet, like a dirty little secret? Should I be embarrassed about the time I spend online? I hear things like this from others, "I haven't told my real life friends that I have a livejournal," or "No one knows that I write fanfiction," or whatever. I don't get that. I don't see anything wrong with communicating via the internet. If there was something wrong with it, I wouldn't do it. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed. I love being part of this community, and I think it's a wonderful place.
Anyway, this morning I had to do a presentation for my "Women in the Media" class about a bunch of assigned articles dealing with women and cyberculture. A lot of it was very interesting (particularly the stuff from 1995; it's so amazing how different the net was back then!) Some of it was irritating (Donna Harraway's "Cyborg Manifesto" is so ridiculous; why the hell would anyone choose to write like that?).
Most of the articles focused on the net as "male territory," a place created by and for men in which women are outsiders. Only one of the articles mentioned fandom, which mentioned it in passing and in stereotypical terms (as if all fans are teenage boys or men with no lives). Some of the theory was based in fact; at the time these articles were written, the vast majority of internet users were male. However, I rather doubt that's true anymore; it's certainly not true in the communities that I frequent. So in my presentation I tried to counter these claims by pointing out contradictory evidence, such as livejournal (it is a traditionally "feminine form," both in its function as a journal and as a method of communication). I gave examples of women who entered cyberculture because of traditionally "feminine" interests but who moved from consumers to creators (such as a girl who creates a fan site for her favorite band, learns programming, and becomes a web designer). Most of the articles described how the net is created by men, therefore it's optimized for use by men, so I gave examples of forms that are created by women (such as various Buffy forums, fanfic sites, livejournals, yahoo groups, etc).
Anyway, much of the class discussion revolved around the dangers of the internet; it isolates you from others, it's a very poor method of communication because you can't see the other face to face, it's dangerous for children, it isolates you from your physical self, blah blah blah. The class tended to speak of people who are heavily involved in the internet as if we are a bunch of emotionally disturbed freaks with no lives. This really irritated me, of course, because I've found the net to be an incredibly rewarding place where I've been able to get to know people very well and to connect with them on a very personal level; in fact, a level that is difficult to reach in "real life" because of the barriers of distance, physical appearance, preconceived stereotypes, etc. Online, you are communicating with your *thoughts*, without all that superficial nonsense of the real world, and when done properly it can be an such a wonderful experience.
Anyway, I tried to explain this, and I think a few people understood (the professor agreed with me), but most people just kind of looked at me funny. Is this something I'm supposed to keep quiet, like a dirty little secret? Should I be embarrassed about the time I spend online? I hear things like this from others, "I haven't told my real life friends that I have a livejournal," or "No one knows that I write fanfiction," or whatever. I don't get that. I don't see anything wrong with communicating via the internet. If there was something wrong with it, I wouldn't do it. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed. I love being part of this community, and I think it's a wonderful place.
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-04-09 12:03 pm (UTC)That's because I might bitch about them in it. Also, I haven't told many of my real life acquaintances about the vampire porn, and I'm not real eager for them to discover it. They think I'm weird enough already. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-04-09 12:08 pm (UTC)As for RL vs. fandom, it's a tough call. I don't think my RL friends know how much time I actually spend in Buffy fandom these days ... I hinted to maybe one of them that I write fanfic, but I feel very much in the closet.
Why? The whole vampire porn thing I guess :) But seriously, part of the problem is separating real life/ real life friends from Internet life and internet friends. My time on-line is PART of my life, and the people I've met on BoB and LJ are fast becoming friends. How are they less legitimate, even if I feel that somehow they must be?
(no subject)
Date: 2003-04-09 01:41 pm (UTC)And you are bang on about the internet actually making it easier to connect with people on a personal level because of the lack of physical distractions and encumbrances of distance. I've met many people over the internet whom I consider close friends even though I've never met them in person. But the relationship that means most to me in this life is the one I have with my husband. We met on Usenet in 1993. He was in New Zealand and I was in Portland, Oregon. In person, we're both very shy, introverted people, but the electronic medium gave us the freedom to get to know each other and fall in love. And we just celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary, so I can attest that it is definitely possible to make a lasting relationship out of such beginnings.
The thing is, you hardly hear about the positive connections that people make here. You usually only hear about the sickos pretending to be young girls but are 40-year old men or whatnot. And why is that? Because the news media has its priorities all skewed and "if it bleeds, it leads".
Anyway, sorry to blather on in your comments.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-04-09 01:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-04-09 03:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-04-09 05:02 pm (UTC)it isolates you from others, it's a very poor method of communication because you can't see the other face to face, it's dangerous for children, it isolates you from your physical self, blah blah blah.
from some people, too. But those were mostly people who didn´t know to use the internet (or a computer at all - you´ll be surprised how many don´t) and felt neglected by someone who knows and enjoys it. Sadly most of them were girlfriends of friends - I call it the my boyfriend rather spends time in front of the PC than spending quality time with me-syndrom ;).
I hear things like this from others, "I haven't told my real life friends that I have a livejournal," or "No one knows that I write fanfiction," or whatever
For me, that´s something completly different. Mainly, I know my friends wouldn´t understand the principle of fandom and why I choose to spend so much time on it. They don´t share this interest that goes beyond just watching the show on TV and I like to keep it that way. I share a lot of my friends, but reading fanfiction or having a LJ is something that belongs to me alone. That doesn´t mean that I´m ashamed or embarassed about this community. Secondly, I can bitch about my friends without it effecting my real life, I can choose to share personal stuff of my real life with my online friends without it having consequences in my real life. And I think sometimes it makes things not only easier but clearer when you share them with people you like without seeing them face to face.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-04-10 12:20 am (UTC)And writing fanfic? Well, it's vampire porn, nuff said - I have mentioned writing to some people, and their horrified reactions, as if I was completely insane, taught me to keep this silent in the future.