In April the Gendernet project team held a workshop in the Virtual and Immersive Production Studio at the University of Nottingham. The event was a follow up to earlier interviews with research participants and their feedback around how they envisioned online social spaces that promote equal participation.
The workshop started with discussions between participants and the team about online misogyny in social media, online games and VR social spaces. Participants then got the opportunity to play out as avatars in an online virtual world (see photos) based on our interview participants’ ideas and visions. Following the interviews, we worked with Albinomosquito productions to create these virtual environments.
The workshop participants joined in creative exercises, online games and activities led by Sophie Flack a professional director/performer. The day finished with final group discussions around their activities and experiences of attending the event.
Below are some reflections from participants following the workshop:
“The workshop was an incredibly rewarding experience. I loved meeting everyone and found it interesting to hear such a wide range of experiences and observations of misogyny across social media and gaming. Immersion into the VR world and the different tasks broadened my perspective on how misogyny and other forms of discrimination could be prevented, addressed and challenged. The workshop left me feeling empowered, knowing that I was able to contribute ideas to help shape the future.”
“As someone who has faced online misogyny myself, I found the workshop really engaging because it reflected a reality I’ve experienced firsthand. It was interesting to see how deeply these issues are embedded in games and social media. things I’ve noticed but didn’t always have the words or framework to explain. It felt validating and also empowering to talk about it in a space where others were open to listening and learning”.
Another participant shared: “The workshop had an educational and somewhat liberating impact. It gave me a deeper understanding of how virtual spaces can influence people’s behavior, perceptions, and sense of safety. Interacting with diverse individuals in a VR environment helped me challenge my own assumptions and reflect on how inclusivity can be built into digital spaces. One key takeaway from the entire workshop”.
To provide the opportunity for online gamers and users of VR social spaces to consider, and reflect on their own experiences of misogynistic, sexist and anti feministic behaviours, we have created an additional online survey for contributions. The survey takes approx. 15 minutes to complete and involves answering a series of questions – a mixture of tick box and free text responses – relating to:
For more information, please email us: ps-horizongendernet@nottingham.ac.uk
Tags: antifeminism, avatars, Online Misogyny, sexism, virtual reality
Horizon Digital Economy Research, University of
Nottingham Innovation Park, Triumph Road, Nottingham,
NG7 2TU
horizon@nottingham.ac.uk
