A fundamental goal of avatar cyberspace is to bind the Real Person at their computer ~with~ the Virtual Avatar in cyberspace. (Steve Di Paola, Onlive Technologies)

In AW users build homes, towns, cities, and worlds which define their identity in virtual space The avatars they choose are just as fundamental to that definition. Users choose specific objects and textures to create their spaces with; they use or design special objects to place within these environments, because they symbolize who they are. What their avatar looks like: species, gender, hair colour, skin colour, eye colour, clothing, etc are all integral to how they define their virtual bodies. Object creators are always striving to make better and different avatars for use in privately owned worlds. Many of these avatars include props and personality characteristics that are deemed necessary additions to the basic identity. Many users have prefererred avatars in other worlds, or custom order their avatars to meet the needs of their virtual identity.

GRAY AND CY

The replacement of the androgynous Gray avatar with CY as the default tourist avatar raises several issues. First it changes the perception of self that was originally associated with the CY avatar when it was an identity of choice. Now, those users who identified themselves with the faceless anonymity of CY are lost amongst a wash of tourists being used as CY. Second, the Gray avatar was sexless, and therefore a more appropriate choice of a default avatar, because it didn't imply one gender or another- nor did it imply a human or human-like form. It covered many more areas as a neutral avatar than CY does. CY as the default now makes all the female tourists male by default. This is not a welcoming sense for many women in virtual space. It blatantly implies that the default identity and the default users of AW are male rather than a mix of both genders.

Obviously, for business purposes, COF would like to make the default avatars unappealing enough so as to encourage new users to register, and be able to choose from a variety of avatar options. They have accomplished this in a minimum by creating two avatars without facial features, and in plain grey clothing. They are dull, lifeless, but offer enough of a concept of the avatar experience to entice users. The problem, at present, is that only the male option, Mr. Tourist is available for use. In addition, there is no anthropomorphic choice.

GENDER, ANIMALS AND AVATARS

How is the society of AW to be defined? After the first change in avatars, one had the choice to be male, female, or the male robot CY. This implied that the only society that could exist in AW Prime (and other COF worlds) is human. That it is a mirror of the "real world", rather than a parallel but distinct environment. In this human environment there was a predisposition to favour the male citizens as they were afforded a choice of 12 identities in the avatar menu, including the default male CY. The female populace was offered only 4 choices, not including the default male avatar CY. This is an obvious imbalance. During the intial changes to the avatar menu in AW Prime it should be noted that only one male avatar, Willy, was removed; and there were 3 male avatars added to the menu. Meanwhile, the female menu had two original avatars replaced with two new avatars. This is seems a rather sexist approach to the representation of the female self in this particular cyber community.

The second round of changes saw the arrival of two new female avatars, Katrina and Alicia, and the departure of Barbara. It also saw the departure of seven male avatars Butch, Dredd, Willy, Shred, Caldius,Hotep and Helmut. Two of which, Butch and Dredd, were among the most frequently selected personnas. Shred was replaced with Dude, who also carries a surfboard as a prop. Willy was replaced with Opie, who resembles all the new adult males, except that he is diminutive and carries a balloon as a prop. Gunther, Joey, Colt, Dnalor, and Bill were the other new additions to the male selections. Several of these have facial hair that actually looks as though they have pigment discolorations.

The newer avatars raise distinct issues in and of themselves. Some of them are positive, while others are blatantly negative. [Note: The new avatars were designed by an individual with no experience within the AW community, and only 4 weeks of object design practice.] Although on many artistic levels the avatars are a marked improvement upon earlier versions; there is evident inexperience with avatar identity in the clothing the avatars wear, and their physical appearance. Many of the new male avatars are decidedly more feminine in form. This has its good points, as it offers representation to members of the community that would like to have this kind of physical representation. Several of the bodies look similar to male gymnasts, and give an altogether more athletic appearance to the virtual self. This is good as it allows for diversity. Yet the avatars are still developmental enough as not to be final products, and the question is raised as to whether this is a final issue or a beta test.

BEING FEMALE IN AW

The female avatars raise several questions in and of themselves. On a physical level they are blatantly sexual creations. They have large bustlines, tiny waists, and are wearing suggestive clothing. One wears a crop top and hot pants, while the other wears a leather skirt and a leopard skin top. These are outfits associated with prostitutes and promiscuity in many social groups. [Note: these avatars replace the more plain looking avatars in the menu- Barbara, who wore shorts and carried a camera, and Marsha who wore a mid-length dress and go-go boots (or knee socks). Both avatars had less than sexual body types, and were plainer looking. They were more representatives physically of 'real' body types than their replacements.] Alicia and Katarina are of the same body type, but wear only slightly more appropriate clothing. One wears a suit dress and the other a pair of tight jeans.

Granted there is probably a portion of the AW community that will enjoy the representations that they can associate with these avatars, to use them to replace others is a negative statement to the female populace of AW. As many women will already attest to, a good portion of the virtual experience is spent dealing with sexual advances. The female avatars that are left on the menu are all wearing tight clothing, slit skirts, cropped tops, high heels, and have fantasy physiques. This means that there will be a marked increase in sexual advances to the women participants in AW- which is one of the crucial reasons that women leave virtual communities of all types.

With the exception of Marsha, who wears glasses, none of the female avatars have props or costumes like those of the male avatars. Ken wears a karate outfit and has actions that are specific to marital arts. Hotep was a rendition of a traditional Egyptian costume. Willy wore a baseball cap and looked similar to may young boys in American society. Butch is only lacking his Harley Davidson. Caldius looked vaguely like Julius Caesar. Shred carried a surfboard. The female avatars on the other hand all stand around with no props, and wear basically the same outfit in different colours. Shanubia and Tanya wear essentially the same dress with a slit up the front, while Kelly wears a similar outfit with Capri length skintight pants. Only Barbara carried a camera as a prop. This displays a lack of interest and creativity in the creation of the female identities in AW.

QUESTIONS OF RACE

The avatars are predominantly Caucasian. Shanubia is the only representatives of the African community, Hotep was the only Middle Eastern representative, and Ken is the only representation of the Asian community. All of these avatars are stereotypes of the races that they represent. To be precise, Dredd is a Rastafarian, Hotep is typical of ancient Egypt, and Ken is the Karate Kid. There isn't an Asian/African/Middle Eastern/Latino man or woman. In fact, all of the avatars are stereotypes of one form or another. In some respects this is sufficient as it allows for users to find a general type cast for their virtual identity, and in other respects it limits those who would like to have their social or ethnic group represented adequately.

CONCLUSIONS

It is interesting that COF chose to debut these new and controversial avatars during the Avatars '97 Conference; particularly when many of the issues that these avatars raise were being discussed at the conference. It is doubtful that these avatars were introduced to highlight the issues that face avatar designers in Active Worlds. It is more likely that COF thought they were showing off the diversity and artistic advances of the software since they have taken the product over from Worlds, Inc. [Note: Worlds, Inc. showcased the software at last year's conference Earth To Avatars held by the same organization.]

What is equally doubtful is that COF fully understands the importance that avatars play in the dynamic of virtual communities. If they did, they would have been less likely to allow their avatars to be designed by an individual with no experience of the software or the concept of virtual self. Nor would they have deleted crucial identities from the menu without consulting the user base.