MEANING AND IDENTITY IN CYBERSPACE - THE PERFORMANCE OF GENDER, CLASS, AND RACE ONLINE

This article explores issues of gendered, classed and raced identities using examples drawn from my research on a type of online forum known as a mud. I critique previous accounts of research regarding identity online which have suggested that online interactions encourage greate r identity fluidity and multiplicity. Drawing on examples from face-to -face interviews and online interaction, I discuss several aspects of identity. I first examine participants' efforts to meet race-to-face a nd discuss their privileging of offline information regarding identity . Using two examples of ''gender-switchers,'' I then show how some par ticipants distance themselves from experiences of gendered identities which might otherwise disrupt previously held beliefs about gender. Ne xt I discuss classed and raced identities, which participants express in conversations about income and ethnicity. These discussions point t o the interconnections between online and offline interpretations of c lass and race. Thus, in discussing these examples, I emphasize the nee d to examine not just online performances, but also the participants' interpretations of such performances. Despite the potentially disrupti ve effects of online ambiguity, many participants continue to believe in essence and continuity of identity.