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One unique feature of Whyville is the player\u2019s ability to customize their avatars with various face parts and accessories, all designed and sold by other players in Whyville. Our findings report on the racial diversity of available resources for avatar construction and online postings about the role of race in avatar design and social interactions in the community. With the growing interest in player-generated content for online worlds such as Teen Second Life, our discussion addresses the role of avatars in teen\/tween identity development and self-representation, and the role of virtual entrepreneurs and community activists in increasing the diversity of avatar parts available.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1555412009351261","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,12,30]],"date-time":"2009-12-30T00:58:53Z","timestamp":1262134733000},"page":"43-63","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":60,"title":["\u2018\u2018Blacks Deserve Bodies Too!\u2019\u2019: Design and Discussion About Diversity and Race in a Tween Virtual World"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"5","author":[{"given":"Yasmin B.","family":"Kafai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melissa S.","family":"Cook","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of California, Los Angeles, California"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Deborah A.","family":"Fields","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of California, Los Angeles, California"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2009,12,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"atypb1","unstructured":"always_black. (2005). Bow, nigger . In K. Salen & E. Zimmerman, (Eds.), The Game design reader (pp. 602-608). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press."},{"key":"atypb2","author":"Anonymous.","year":"2003","journal-title":"The Whyville Times"},{"key":"atypb3","author":"Artista.","year":"2005","journal-title":"The Whyville Times"},{"key":"atypb4","author":"Bluegirl7.","year":"2002","journal-title":"The Whyville Times"},{"key":"atypb5","volume-title":"Coming of age in second life: An anthropologist explores the virtually human","author":"Boellstorff, T.","year":"2008"},{"key":"atypb6","unstructured":"Byrne, D.N. ( 2008). The future of (the) \u2018race\u2019: Identity, discourse, and the rise of computer-mediated public spheres. In A. Everett (Ed.), Learning race and ethnicity: Youth and digital media (pp. 15-38). 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