By Becky Shamen
One of the coolest things
about Second Life is, if you can think it, they probably have an avatar
for it. In real life, we only get one body and are stuck with it until
it wears out. Your body in SL is a winged vehicle of your imagination
and is shaped by it. Take full advantage of SL and let it help to stretch
your imagination. We are not limited to just one either. Face it, Ironman
isn't going to feel very welcome in a MLP sim. Some people don't mind
always looking the same and doing the same things, week after week,
If you like new adventures and things to learn, like me, you'll soon
have almost as many avatars as LMs.
Another important selection,
you get to make in how you present yourself, is gender. In many cases,
with a few clicks of the mouse, you can change from male to female.
Do men play as women in SL? Yes, a lot. There are also many cases of
women playing as men. It is impossible to find exact numbers, but I've
heard guesses of over 50%. I've also heard of many clever attempts to
determine true gender by speach patterns or sign up name, One girl told
us, girls don't have numbers after their name, like "Susie2013". Only boys would be lazy enough to take the next name in line. Recently,
I heard that boys write "LOL," in chat, way more than girls.
One guess is as good as another.
Why do they do it? No doubt,
there are as many reasons as there are people doing it. In the first
place, it is like a Prime Directive of SL. You can, and should become,
anything you can become. Perhaps, because, by default, the camera always
follows behind the avatar, if a guy is going to have his nose hauled
behind a butt, it may as well be one he likes to watch jiggle. There
are many cases of ye ol' "woman trapped inside a man's body"
players that can live out the change in SL, when it may be too painful
and expensive in real life. Whatever the reason, it is your right, given by
our Linden, who art in heaven.
Should they tell us the
truth? The rules state that our real life self is off limit to others,
unless you are willing to share it. Some wear tags, boldly announcing
their status. Others only answer when asked by good friends. Pitty those
that won't let anyone know. It is said, a cloak that hides you from
your friends will also hide your soul from you. Getting to know the
real life people, behind your avatar friends, allows you to see through
each other's eyes, increasing the Love and Oneness shared. Where there
is Oneness, there is no duallity, hence, no gender.
To female or not to female, aye, that's the question.
Now, go have fun, finding the answers.
Becky "Sha" Shamen
Also, please don't forget that there are those of us who are "differently gendered" and don't fit the male-female paradigm. My culture considers me both "male" and "female", and I have the "gender responsibilities" of both genders. SecondLife allows me to interact with a world as female, male, or neither if I choose.
ReplyDeleteThere is a blessing in this. On SL, I can be whichever gender strikes my fancy at that moment, and let both the male and female out to play and interact in a world where I'm not limited by the impressions that might be left by the physical.