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Barbie Girls and Xtractaurs: Discourse and identity in virtual worlds for young children

This paper examines the ways in which Mattel’s Barbie Girls and Xtractaurs, online sites aimed at girls and boys of six years of age and up, respectively, offer markedly distinct literate and semiotic resources for their young users. Analysis focuses on the multimodal layers of meaning and the mediating tools, artefacts, and literacy objects that both afford and constrain certain types of play and shape the possibilities for self-representation and interaction in these spaces. Through content analysis and comparison of the two sites, the authors explore the kinds of discourses made available in these spaces and examine how they might impact on young players’ perceptions of the social roles and life opportunities accessible to them both within and outside of these virtual worlds.