Identity
A wise friend said this to me after I told her about some of my SL experiences. It was in response to my stories and reflections about revealing one’s RL identity. I should preface by saying that these stories come from experiences I’ve had in social venues where there is mature content and activity. In these sims, a fair number of people deliberately explore fantasies, other’s perhaps not so deliberately, and certainly some not at all. You can sometimes tell from profiles who’s thought about identity, role playing, fantasy, etc.
I have an Alt (alternative avatar) whose RL identity is mostly hidden. In that profile, I’ve given some basic information I thought was important. No matter what you write, you’re revealing something about yourself. In fact, everything about being in SL (your looks, behaviors, the places you go, etc.) says something about your RL identity.
In my profile, I’ve given the languages I know because it says a lot about my RL and SL identity in an international context. And I’ve written that I live in southern California so that others know I’m likely American and I live in a cool place .
I think of identity as Who I am, which is different than the roles I play in life. In RL, I’ve noticed this distinction in women who are mothers. I’ve met women for whom being a mother is role and others for whom it’s their identity. This is but one example; there are many.
In this SL example, an RL paraplegic man runs a successful SL club as a paraplegic. In this video he talks about is RL, SL and identity.