Abstract
Out of the 54 countries that make up the African continent, homosexuality is illegal in 34 of them, with the death penalty being the punishment in a further four. Homosexuality remains a taboo for most of the continent. This research attempts to understand how to bridge the perceived empathy gap between the marginalised Queer community and those outside it. This research focused on the extent to which contemporary storytelling technology – in this case, virtual reality - can impact non-minority members' perceptions leading to increased empathy with minorities. Virtual Reality is considered an empathy machine because of its ability to allow a person to embody another's experience. A participatory action research approach was taken by working alongside a focus group of young queer creatives who had no prior access to virtual reality equipment. This group participated in storytelling workshops to create a communal narrative that targets adolescents with educational and representative stories. An interactive-beat-based virtual reality experience was created and tested by qualified experts. Virtual reality storytelling successfully elicited self-reported emotional responses in users embodying a member of another community. For novel users of virtual equipment, the medium proved extremely successful in evoking immersion. Although user’s cognitive abilities were distracted by learning controls, the technology showed that virtual body language was fundamental in creating empathy. Narrative agency was more effective than interaction in producing immersion and empathy in users. This engagement with narratives was heightened by virtual presence, thus allowing cognitive empathy to form towards the community being presented. Virtual reality significantly raises chances of empathic connections but is purely a tool and functions practically as an immersion machine.
M.A.