MODULE UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

CHAPTER 8: THE VIRTUAL SELF

Objectives:
a.) Define online identity
b.) Describe the influence of Internet on sexuality and Gender.
c.) Discuss the proper way of demonstrating values and attitudes online.

REAL-LIFE REALITY
- Outside the cyberspace is the reality with which
you engage most frequently.
- Basically this pertains to life away from
digital devices and where interaction
happens on a physical level.
- Conversely, relationship in the tangible
world can sometimes be affected as well by
purely abstract one established online.

SIMULATION
- Quite simply, simulation’s basic purpose is to
copy reality as closely as it can.
- This abstraction offers uncanny representation
of real-world aspects, and can also be used for instructions (i.e. flight navigation
simulators)

AUGMENTED REALITY
- This is real life reality splice with the unreal. Through rather creative ways,
augmented reality permits you to simultaneously interact with both the tangible
world and various digital add-ons for more enhanced experience.

VIRTUAL REALITY
- Is a type of abstraction completely detached from real-life reality. Here, you are
granted relative freedom to explore
and eventually inhabit digitally made-up worlds vicariously through a character or
avatar you can create yourself.

THE DRAMATURGY OF THE SELF

The Elements of the Dramaturgical Self:

1. PERFORMANCE - based on Erving Goffman's framework, performance explicitly

refers to the set of activities in which the self-participated in front of others (labeled the
"audience").

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2. SETTING - this primarily centers on the scenery where an interaction where take
place.

3.APPEARANCE- the function of appearance rest mainly on it's ability to portray the
self's various statuses, with one of it's several props being a person's attire of choice.

4.MANNER - this pertains to how an actor sense various signals to the audience to
ultimately inform them in advance of the role he/she seeks or is about to perform; a
prompt, if you may.

5. FRONT - this works as a kind of social script that actors follow for a more guided
performance.

ANONYMITY VS. PSEUDONYMITY

ANONYMITY - Honesty and openness are hallmark virtues, through in some cases,
they need to take the backseat to privacy.

PSEUDONYMITY - on the other hand lies in the middle of the identity continuum,
especially as it combines both the benefits of anonymity and joys of assuming some
semblance of identity.

THE DISINHIBITED SELF

Online Disinhibitions: The Causes

DISSOCIATIVE ANONYMITY ("People Don't Know Me") - this is the confidence you
feel every time you anonymously engage in online activities.

INVISIBILITY ("People Can See Me") - in this factor you can sometimes intentionally
misrepresent yourself to come across as an entirely different person.

ASYNCHRONICITY ("See You When I See You") - time is a very important element in
face to face communications.

SOLIPSISTIC INTROJECTION ("It's All In The Mind") - we essentially communicate

online through type written words.

DISSOCIATIVE IMAGINATION ("It's All A Player") - simply put, this is the faulty belief
that online interaction is a game, and whose rules you can easily break with in
perceived implications.
MINIMIZATIONS OF STATUS AND AUTHORITY
("Your Rules Don't Work Online") - take notice how complete nobodies suddenly
have the guts to engage influential people in arguments on social media.

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Defining Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

Sex refers to biological characteristics,

while gender is socially determined based on
those characteristics.
When filling out official documents, you
are often asked to provide your name, birth
date, and sex or gender. But have you ever
been asked to provide your sex and your
gender? It may not have occurred to you that sex and gender are not the same.
However, sociologists and most other social scientists view sex and gender as
conceptually distinct. Sex denotes biological characteristics and exists along a spectrum
from male to female. Gender, on the other hand, denotes social and cultural
characteristics that are assigned to different sexes. Sex and gender are not always
synchronous, meaning they do not always line up in an easy-to-categorize way.

Sex

“Sex” refers to physiological differences found among male, female, and various
intersex bodies. Sex includes both primary sex characteristics (those related to the
reproductive system) and secondary sex characteristics (those that are not directly
related to the reproductive system, such as breasts and facial hair). In humans, the
biological sex of a child is determined at birth based on several factors, including
chromosomes, gonads, hormones, internal reproductive anatomy, and genitalia.
Biological sex has traditionally been conceptualized as a binary in Western medicine,
typically divided into male and female.

Gender

A person’s sex, as determined by his or her biology, does not always correspond
with their gender; therefore, the terms “sex” and “gender” are not interchangeable.
“Gender” is a term that refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with being
male, female, or intersex. Typically, babies born with male sex characteristics (sex) are
assigned as boys (gender); babies born with female sex characteristics (sex) are
assigned as girls (gender). Because our society operates in a binary system when it
comes to gender (in other words, seeing gender as only having two options), many
children who are born intersex are forcibly assigned as either a boy or a girl and even
surgically “corrected” to fit a particular gender.

Cultural Variations of Gender

Since the term “sex” refers to biological or physical distinctions, characteristics of

sex will not vary significantly between different human societies. For example, persons
of the female sex, in general, regardless of culture, will eventually menstruate and
develop breasts that can lactate. Characteristics of gender, on the other hand, may vary
greatly between different societies. For example, in American culture, it is considered

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feminine (or a trait of the female gender) to wear a dress or skirt. However, in many
Middle Eastern, Asian, and African cultures, dresses or skirts (often referred to as
sarongs, robes, or gowns) can be considered masculine. Similarly, the kilt worn by a
Scottish male does not make him appear feminine in his culture.

Sexuality

“Human sexuality” refers to people’s sexual interest in and attraction to others, as

well as their capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. People’s sexual
orientation is their emotional and sexual attraction to particular sexes or genders, which
often shapes their sexuality. Sexuality may be experienced and expressed in a variety
of ways, including thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors,
practices, roles, and relationships. These may manifest themselves in biological,
physical, emotional, social, or spiritual aspects. The biological and physical aspects of
sexuality largely concern the human reproductive functions, including the human
sexual-response cycle and the basic biological drive that exists in all
species. Emotional aspects of sexuality include bonds between individuals that are
expressed through profound feelings or physical manifestations of love, trust, and
care. Social aspects deal with the effects of human society on one’s sexuality,
while spirituality concerns an individual’s spiritual connection with others through
sexuality. Sexuality also impacts and is impacted by cultural, political, legal,
philosophical, moral, ethical, and religious aspects of life.

To know more about Virtual Self, please click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4viXOGvvu0Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdEAz3mjaSw

Alata, Castillo, et. al, Understanding The Self. Rex Book Store: 2018
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-
psychology/chapter/introduction-to-gender-and-sexuality/

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