Black, white or green: 'race', gender and avatars within the therapeutic space

Abstract

Personal identity is critical to providerepatient interactions. Patients and doctors tend to self-select, ideally forming therapeutic units that maximise the patients' benefit. Recently, however, 'reality' has changed. The internet and virtual worlds such as Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com/) allow models of identity and providerepatient interactions that go beyond the limits of mainstream personal identity. In this paper some of the ethical implications of virtual patienteprovider interactions, especially those that have to do with personal identity, are exploreds.