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Women, Kin-Keeping And The Inscription Of Gender In Mediated Communication Environments., Julie Dare

Julie Dare Dr

The notion of the Internet as a transformative communications platform, through which concepts such as embodiment, gender, and identity can be transcended, deconstructed, or subverted, represents an enduring theme in communications literature over the last two decades.1 Underpinning early analyses was the premise that new opportunities presented by the Internet were driving innovative communication and behavioral practices. For example, the ability to interact anonymously opened the door for identity play and gender swapping, the implications of which, as Nancy Baym suggests, were "theoretically intoxicating"