ABSTRACT
In this chapter we continue to explore the notion of embodiment within the context of Balsamo’s (1993) metaphor: that the virtual worlds of cyberspace provide a fresh arena for the staging of the body. In Chapter 11, we discussed how virtual worlds can present, for the embodied subject, an opportunity for physical transcendence: a means by which the subject can transcend the limits of the physical body but not, importantly, the necessities of embodiment and, in doing so, virtually realize possible selves. Almost as a corollary, then, is the further belief that cyberspace provides the potential for somatic flexibility (Bateson, 1972). As Coyne (1994, p. 65) notes:
Virtual reality is celebrated as a highly significant challenge to … the way we view our bodies and ourselves. According to some, we will find that with [virtual reality] it is possible to change from one body to another according to what the situation demands ….
