Searching for the American Dream: Capital and Virtual Hegemony in

1. Geraldo Raygoza 2 June 2010 WS 197 Senior Seminar Searching for the American Dream: Capital and Virtual Hegemony in

2. Research Question • Is there an illusion of hegemony within Second Life, or is there an actual hegemony that sets boundaries for users' access of in-world resources and amenities? What are those virtual boundaries that reify social inequalities prevent users from achieving their virtual American Dream? • How does the existence of hegemony within Second Life alter notions of in-world freedom and access for all users? • What can a feminist analysis of actual-world social inequalities tell us about virtual social inequalities?

3. Second Life residents can acquire many forms of virtual capital: economic, cultural, and social. (Bourdieu) Second Life runs on a system of “creationist capitalism” (Boellstorff) that is sustained by users’ production and consumption of virtual goods.

4. What would a virtual hegemony look like? Second Life residents can emulate the American Dream by owning virtual land, virtual automobiles, and virtual mansions or homes in gated communities. The virtual production of materials already existent in the actual world only perpetuates the actual-world social inequalities that sustain them.

5. Second Life residents also have the privilege to roleplay lower-class lifestyles. Not all residents necessarily seek to emulate the American Dream, but also the dearth of it. The risk: lacking an awareness of actual people who lead class underprivileged existences that they cannot easily escape. Feminist authors hooks, Allison, and Jordan talk about their personal experiences with class underprivilege.

6. THANK YOU!