Trans/Virtual: The Anxieties of Transsexual and Electronic Embodiments

Abstract

The transsexual body, modified with medical technology, enters the realm of the unreal as it destabilizes notions of binary sex and gender. It can be, for many anxious viewers of it, a body in opposition to nature. Anxieties about the real versus the virtual also arise in relation to cyberspace. This paper, originally written as an oral PowerPoint presentation, explores the places where transgender physicality, cyberspace, and anxiety intersect, discussing the ways in which clinicians and clients can use virtual reality to expand beyond traditional notions of body and self, real and unreal.

‘Troubling’ gender in virtual gaming spaces

“…Over a 20‐year time span, the nature of the Internet has continuously changed. Hansbury (2011, p. 309) suggests that experiencing an active online social life is increasingly common in many countries and becoming ‘more integrated with life in general’. The World Internet Project (WIP) reports that out of the countries surveyed, 3 Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the highest proportions (86%) of population connected to the Internet (Smith et al .…”

“…Performing one's gender within gaming spaces is a unique experience for each individual. Hansbury (2011, p. 315) suggests that ‘for many, exploring in cyberspace is much like playing in a transitional space’ 6 Butler (1990…”

“…Similarly, gamers often share an embodied identity with their avatars, and there are numerous ways in which virtual and real environments are affected by the other, where there is a cross‐over of dominant values and norms between both spaces (Yee & Bailenson 2006). For example, Hansbury (2011, p. 316) reports that recent studies by Standford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab show that people who use attractive avatars ‘tend to behave in more confident, friendly, and extroverted ways in cyberspace’, and that these qualities stay with them for some time even after logging off the computer.…”

“…6 6 Hansbury's (2011) work draws attention to the links between ‘gender‐bending’ avatars and transsexual embodiments. In this interplay of masculine and feminine embodiment in cyber/space, there are some intriguing dialogues with new work on ‘trans geographies’ (e.g.…”

Playing with digital gender identity and cultural value

“…Some players might see it as a frontstage where they can explore and act out their countless possible selves and fantasies or adopt an alternative digital gender identity (Chen 2014). Hansbury (2011) suggested that experiencing an active digital social life is becoming increasingly common in many countries and becoming 'more integrated with life in general' (309). Simply put, the digital dating game creates an innovative, fantasy, and performative space for trying out a new identity and gender identity as people are who they act or fabricate to be.…”