VR and Queerskins

I really enjoyed the Tedtalk about virtual reality. The medium is so immersive that it makes sense it could be called an "empathy machine." It is such a powerful tool because it can take you anywhere in the world and put you in anyone's shoes. Last semester I took a women studies class on privilege and it really opened my eyes. One of the main causes of inequality and discrimination is lack of exposure. People are not always trying to be close-minded, they just are not aware of the problems in the world because they live in a bubble. You typically surround yourself with people who are similar to you in terms of interests, class, and race, and this results in people assuming that their experiences are the norm. I think virtual reality like the one shown in the video has the power to cause change and lead to equality and acceptance.

I could not figure out how to watch Queerskins, but I watched short clips of it. From what I saw it seems really heartbreaking and emotional. Living in the northeast and going to a college that is pretty liberal it is easy to forget that there are many people out there who are not accepting of the LGBTQ community. People's brains naturally want to stereotype so that we can put people into boxes and be able to know everything about a person when we first meet them. I think of the conservative southerner who is not accepting of gay people as some kind of exaggeration that doesn't actually exist, but there are people like that out there. It's easy to think that there is equality now since gay people can get married, but that is not the case. it's kind of like when people say that we don't need feminism because women are equal now. Sure, women are equal on paper, but they are not treated equally, and neither are people of color. Hopefully virtual reality pieces can help people step out of their bubbles and realize that there is still a lot in inequality in the world.

Meg Champagne