VR's Feminine Mystique

Abstract

Chapter 6 examines how VR’s promise of catalyzing social good is bolstered by conversations and activities oriented toward creating an industry comprised of diverse workers. Gender equity became a key measure of VR’s demographic success, and the descriptor “women in VR” found both voice and visibility in Los Angeles. This chapter does not describe a utopia, but rather moments of triumph—including the successful disenfranchisement, catalyzed by the #MeToo movement, of a VR company when its male founders were charged with harassment—and moments of exclusion felt by some members of this community with regards to the label of “woman.” To articulate that women could lead VR is to articulate a fantasy of a different kind of industry, and this chapter works through what strengthens and weakens this fantasy.