The Confusion in the World of Versions

When the Gertie was introduced by a famous cartoonist Winsor McCay in 1914, the world was shocked. Now, however, with the advent of high technologies, we can see and touch the realistic robot dinosaurs. How about the future? In a virtual reality, we can live with dinosaurs, and we can even become one of them. Of course, they are not real, but we will feel them like real. Then how does it work?

Incredibly fast developing 3D technologies and Computer Graphics (CG) makes computer simulations become more realistic, which creates the Virtual Reality (VR). Besides, some technologies or tools help VR to maximize its effects and functions. Wodaski and Coyne, computer scientists, explain VR based on the Immersive system, which enables users to be immersed in a vivid fake world created in computer system.* Head Mounted Display (HMD), data glove, and data suit are special tools for Immersive system.

HMD is a display device, worn on the head or as a part of a helmet, which generates 3D audiovisual effects through head motion detecting sensors and output devices. It captures the movement of viewpoint and head angle and continuously provides images corresponding to that movement, having users to maintain the degree of immersion. Data glove is a tactile device which inputs data about the position and direction of hands into a computer and outputs simulated sense of touch. Data suit tracks the movement of entire body. Those tools require precise calculation about graphics, sound effects, and interaction with VR. Now people can overcome acrophobia by indirectly experiencing high environment with HMD. Furthermore, Tele Robotics fortifies the impact of VR. A doctor in New York can operate surgery of a patient in France with a feeling of presence by being connected to a robot.

Such high technologies have benefits not because they can represent the reality perfectly, but because they can make us experience something difficult and impossible in real world. Besides its modeling and rehearsal functions, VR enables us to be free from time-space restriction. Due to such tele-presence function of VR, by simply being connected to systems in our room, now we can do whatever we want with whoever we want at wherever we want; the ‘perfect day’ has begun. Moreover, VR can provide much more exciting and sensational entertaining experience. The question is, however, who is a real doctor, a human or a robot? Or do they have a single identity? And if we cannot distinguish VR from reality, can it be still called ‘perfect’? Or will be the real perfection destroyed by the simulated perfection? Let’s discuss more the sociological effects of computer simulation technologies.

In 2001, one trembling event happened in South Korea. A boy killed his innocent brother. According to psychiatrists, the serious symptom of his game addiction had this young murderer confused cyberspace with reality, so he impulsively killed his brother because of the desire to upgrade game character’s level. As Augmented Reality (AR) combines real and virtual, and makes interaction among multi-dimensional information in real time possible, the distinction between reality and VR is getting fuzzier. Then, is VR another world? If so, how is this world constructed? According to Goodman, the world is not given but manipulated by symbols, is not independent from people but depends on the systems of such symbols, and is not absolute but relative.* The systems of symbols, defined by Goodman, include vocabularies, numbers, sounds, and images, and also refer to ‘Version’. Reality is also composed of version and relatively changing, hence philosophically VR can be interpreted as another world or reality. However, even though VR arouses the feeling of existing in real environment via elaborated images and sensory simulations, VR does not reflect reality as it is, rather represents vividness with some distorting processes such as Composition and Decomposition, Weighting, Ordering, Deletion and Supplementation, and Deformation. Thus, our world is becoming more complicated. Thanks to such distortions, we can acquire various benefits that do not exist in reality, but at the same time, we are now facing the end of real world. We mix up VR and reality, and even without this mixture, we might decide to escape reality and remain in VR because more possibility and freedom are allowed in VR.

The more threatening problem than the confusion of world view is that of identity. In VR, appearance of human being is also made up of image version. If a bit-segmented human is comprised of sounds, characters, and images, human can become a freely duplicated, synthesized, and modified body-free structure. Consequently, physical appearance and personality of one person will have various forms as well. Since we can transform our version whenever we want, Robins expressed his concern about difficulty of maintaining social relations such as love and friendships as a result of loss of consistency or continuity in identity, and he also thought the needs for others would disappear.* However, postmodern psychoanalysts like Freud have argued that identity in reality is also neither fixed nor monistic structure. Therefore, the real problem is not the various identities, but the chaos from combining such various identities. Then, how can we prevent this dystopia from happening?

‘Killing people upgrades level’ is not the appropriate version. According to Chae-Li, Lee, a philosopher, distinguishing appropriate version from inappropriate one, and managing version corresponding to the context will untangle the mess of world view and that of identity.* Unfortunately, however, in the invasion of VR becoming more realistic and attractive, criteria for “appropriateness” becomes unclear. Furthermore, although people can evaluate appropriateness of certain version, it still remains questionable whether they will make responsible decisions when returning to reality after experiencing freedom in VR. Above all, in the world of AR where the perfect combination of reality and VR happens, is it even possible to return to absolute reality? Then, we need to admit that there are various worlds, and to develop the ability to flexibly cross between real and virtual world, instead of trying to find appropriate versions.

Now, let’s get out of capsule. Disconnect all the immersive VR systems and come back from the virtual world of dinosaurs. Then, look yourself through the mirror. Is it a human being or still a dinosaur? More interestingly, once again, will you ever get a chance to disconnect from the virtual world, end of privacy, and end of loneliness? Is it even your choice? Will the reality become extinct like dinosaurs? The perfect day of confusion in convergence is now coming.

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References;

[1] Wodaski, R., Virtual Reality Madness! 1996, 1995, Coyne, R., Designing Information Technology in the Postmodern Age, From Method to Metaphor, 1995.

[2] Goodman, N., Ways of Worldmaking, 1978.
[3] Robins, K., Cyberspace and the World We Live in, 1995.

[4] Chae-Li, Lee., Virtual Reality, Star-Making, 2004.

Tele Surgery

Robot Dinosaurs

Korean Couple T-shirts as a Transvestic Fetishism

Ok. Now we understand the definition and cause of Transvestic Fetishism. Then, how this phenomenon appears in Korean society? There are some Korean guys wearing skinny pants and carrying feminine style of bags. Plus, Korean male singers are wearing quite strong make-up on their faces like female. Especially in fashion, Korean men are now obsessed with following the female style, such as skinny bodies, clean and white skins, long hairs, make-ups, and various accessories. People tend to think the more girly your fashion is, the more stylish you can be.

Why? There could be many reasons to interpret this trend in Korean fashion, and definitely Transvestic Fetishism is one of them. That is, by wearing feminine style of clothes, Korean guy feels narcissism regarding himself as a fashion leader, and at the same time, feels sexual pleasure identifying himself with stylish female models. However, this form of Transvestic Fetishism can also be found in Korean couple wearing same t-shirts.

For many Korean boys, putting girly style of costumes on their bodies to follow the trend is maybe quite a challenge, because of conservative Korean culture. As a substitute to such embarrassing fashion trend, they might choose to wear same design, brand, or color of t-shirts with their girlfriends as another way of expressing their unconscious Transvestic Fetishism.

The video clips posted below, covers a guy who is in the process of finding his desire of Transvestic Fetishism from his unconscious urge to wear same black t-shirt as his mother does and to have his girlfriend wear it as well, and finally realizes the roots of his fetishism.

Transvestic Fetishism

Transvestic Fetishism

If it is your first time to visit Korea, you will be shocked to find out that quite many Korean couples are wearing same design, color, or brand of t-shirts, shoes, caps, and even underwear. By wearing same or similar clothes, they might be able to show off how deep their love is, and how strong bond they have with each other. It could be regarded as a cute phenomenon. However, it could also be interpreted as another way of expressing the Transvestism or Transvestic fetishism which is having a sexual or erotic interest in cross-dressing. Some male transvestic fetishists collect women's clothing, e.g. nightgowns, slips, and other types of nightwear, lingerie, stockings, pantyhose, high-heels, and boots, items of a distinct feminine look and feel. They may dress in these feminine garments and take photographs of themselves while living out their secret fantasies.

For more clear understanding, comparisons to other similar concepts or symptoms should be introduced, e.g. homoevestism and paraphilia. Homoevestism is one of the transvestic fetishism related symptoms, and homoevestites feel sexual arousal in response to donning sex-typical clothing particularly.
According to the mental health professional handbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, which is also called DSM-IV, transvestic fetishism is defined as one of the prarphilias. The paraphilias are a group of mental disorders characterized by obsession with unusual sexual practices or with sexual activity involving non-consenting or inappropriate partners, such as children or animals. The essential feature of transvestic fetishism is recurrent intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving dressing in clothing associated with members of the opposite sex. The key difference between transvestic fetishism and other forms of paraphilias is that most men who have transvestic fetishism do not have any problems with their assigned sex, in other words, occurrence of transvestic fetishism is uncorrelated to occurrence of gender identity disorder. A diagnosis of transvestic fetishism is made only if an individual has acted on these urges or is markedly distressed by them. In other systems of psychiatric classification, transvestic fetishism is considered a sexual deviation.



The basis for a transvestic fetish is obtaining sexual gratification by dressing in clothing appropriate for the opposite sex. The cause may be adolescent curiosity. A person with a transvestic fetish may not be aware of its roots. Transvestic fetishism sometimes begins when a young boy dresses up in the clothes of an older sister or his mother. The activity is continued because it is enjoyable but the reasons for the enjoyment remain unconscious. In other cases a boy's mother may initiate the cross-dressing by dressing him as if he were a girl. This behavior is sometimes related to the mother's anger at men or to a preference for having daughters rather than sons.
One of many psychiatric explanations about the cause of transvesitc fetish is related to castration anxiety. A boy who feels castration anxiety will try to hide his masculinity by wearing female garments, and more interestingly, later he will even identify himself with his mother by doing so. The video clips that I posted on this blog shows one boy who just has realized his strong urge to wear same t-shirt with his girl friend and even with his mother. And later he has realized the root of his unconscious transvestic fetishism has started from his childhood, when his mother put a hair band on his head as if he were a girl.

Transvestic Fetishism PPT Files

Transvestic Fetishism

Cross Dressing Fetishism from Ah Yeon Kim on Vimeo.

by Chung, Sung-woo.

(ahyeon Kim helped me to upload this clip on her vimeo.)