so, did I ever tell you guys about the time my roommate accidentally simulated gender dysphoria in VR?
too bad, i’m posting it anyway
My roommate is a cis man who sometimes makes lady characters in video games because why not? So when he started a new VR game and made a lady character, he didn’t think anything of it.
But then he heard the NPCs talking about him with fem pronouns. He got miss/ma’am’d - and indeed, milady’d. This had never bothered him in non-VR games, but in VR it’s much easier to feel like you are actually in the room. They’re not talking about the avatar you control; they’re talking about you. They’re looking at you.
Then he happened across a mirror. He saw his pretty lady character instead of his internal picture of what his body looks like. He moved and saw his avatar’s body move in sync.
And it was so unsettling that he started over with a new character. He asked if that was what dysphoria was like. I told him “yeah, that’s def in the ballpark” and he was floored, like, “HOLY SHIT, how does anyone deal?”
And sometimes I wish I could shove people into a VR headset and give them that experience.
also yes, of course I tried the game with a male character. I went straight for the mirror and it sounds silly but I was honestly awe-stricken and almost cried. Yet another “yep, definitely trans” moment.
honestly, I'm surprised that we don't use VR more in psychology for this kind of situation
After all, we already use VR to desensitize for arachnophobia or vertigo.
Why not for self-perception disorders / different types of disphoria? (to help you get better or to diagnose it)