The notion that online identity can be more fluid than “real life” identity is pervasive in the literature and takes into account the different ways in which attributes of identity including gender, age, religion, cultural heritage, etc., manifest in online as opposed to physical settings (Bowker & Tuffin, 2007; Whitley, 1997; Suler, 2002; Nowak & Rauh, 2005) Because of the relative absence of objective identifying information or cues, and the use of text based communication, individuals can depict themselves in whatever form they choose, allowing freedom from embodied identities (Coates, 2001). Furthermore, the lack of cues can create an environment where individuals can explore alternative aspects of identity, including gender (Roberts & Parks, 2001). In computer mediated environments, decisions regarding gender presentation are an important element in an individual’s overall self-presentation (Samp, Wittenberg, & Gillett, 2003).
Online gender identity does not necessarily map onto the biological “sex” or gender of the user. Roberts and Park (1999) reported that users may choose to gender swap when representing themselves in the computer mediated environment. However, research regarding the degree or frequency of online gender swapping has been inconclusive. While Roberts and Parks found that between forty and sixty percent of users admitted gender-swapping, Samp et al. (2003) reported that only 28 percent of their respondents had admitted to portraying themselves as the “opposite” gender. Samp et al. had hypothesized that individual’s with strong gender schemas (either masculine or feminine) would be more likely to gender swap in a computer mediated environment than those who were gender aschematic (more androgynous). Kacen (2000) reported that women have a greater tendency to mask their true gender identity in a computer mediated environment. Kacen added that since physical appearance can be so significant in the formation of gender schemas, online gender identity may be superfluous. Computer mediated environments free the user from the necessity of adopting normative binary gender rules and presents the user with fluidity regarding the presentation of one’s online gender identity.