A Study on Gender Performativity and Spatial Design Language in Virtual Spaces

(Background & Purpose) The purpose of this study is to analyze how gender identity is performed within virtual spaces through the structural and interactional conditions of digital environments, thereby demonstrating that the concept of a spatial design language can serve as a valid interpretive framework for analyzing gender performativity. This approach is based on the recognition that digital space is not a neutral backdrop but a socially constructed environment that enables or restricts identity performance. In particular, gender performance is intricately shaped by the spatial configurations of each platform. Grounded in this problematization, the study aims to assess gender sensitivity in virtual space design and suggest directions for inclusive platform design. (Method) This study combines a critical theoretical literature review with qualitative case analysis. First, it critically examines the need to spatially expand the concept of design language and defines spatial design language accordingly. Theoretical foundations were established through Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, Henri Lefebvre’s theory of spatial production, and Paul Dourish’s notion of embodied interaction. Based on these frameworks, the study identified five spatial components—boundariness, mobility, occupiability, visual structure, and interactivity—as core elements for case analysis. Subsequently, a qualitative case study was conducted using documentary data on seven platforms: The Sims 4, Second Life, VRChat, Roblox, ZEPETO, Meta Horizon Worlds, and ifland. (Results) The analysis revealed that in all platforms, spatial structures functioned to either facilitate or constrain specific forms of gender performance. In The Sims 4, room-based divisions and function allocations consistently elicited emotional labor in female characters. In Second Life, community norms and avatar appearance influenced spatial access and occupation. VRChat tended to localize female performativity in emotionally expressive and private spaces through affective interactions and privacy-based structures. Roblox allowed greater freedom of movement and occupation via user-generated maps but offered limited support for affective expression. ZEPETO and ifland enabled active emotional expression and personalized spatial occupation but reinforced gendered access boundaries through fixed visual perspectives and relationship-based access structures. Meta Horizon Worlds exhibited divergent gender performance paths depending on users’ behavioral tendencies within a space that combined autonomy and control.(Conclusions) This study confirms that digital spaces are not merely backdrops for gender performance but operate as active frameworks that shape such performance. Accordingly, it proposes a Gender Sensitivity Assessment Framework for Virtual Space Design, which can serve as a practical tool for digital platform designers, operators, and planners to identify gender bias and promote inclusive spatial structures. The study contributes a theoretical foundation for identity-diverse spatial design and provides a basis for future discourse on gender-sensitive digital design thinking.