Today I'm going to talk about body image and body positivity, so if you are in any way triggered by this topic, click away from this post now.
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I have touched on this topic a little bit before. In another blog post, I will link to you.
To say that second life is" just a game" is really a desperate attempt to not acknowledge the fact that second life is so much more than "just a game."
This is not World of Warcraft; this is not The Sims; this is
not Grand Theft Auto.
Second life, well, the name speaks for itself, really, and I
just wish that more people could realize how powerful second life is
when I say powerful. I mean it positively, but second life can also be
detrimental and powerful in a negative way,
People in second life are just as fixated on looks as they are in real life.
I can't tell you how often I have been told to change my look because this is a fantasy world, not real life. I have even been told that I should make a "fantasy version" of myself, so when people say the second life is just a game or a fantasy world, well, excuse my language, but they can just shove something hard up their ass.Apart from my first maybe two years in second life have
always Been plus size, I have a tough time "seeing myself" in
second life. Any other was,y the few times that I've had made a shape for myself
that is slimmer and taller, it has felt like I have been lying in a way because
I don't see myself in that shape.
Being plus size for as long as I can remember in
second life, I have also bumped into people and unleashed their unnecessary
opinions about me and how short and "fat" I am.
"you are too short!"
"you are too wide."
"you are simply too fat. The animations well now look sexy
enough!"
"Make yourself slimmer."
"make yourself more attractive."
Are you still telling yourself that second life is "just a game"?
People don't seem to realize how hurtful these types of
comments can be.
when I get these types of words, my head immediately starts
going into "OK, I need to fix myself."
and I find myself spending hours upon hours trying to make
myself "look better" even though I know there is nothing there to "fix." YES! in second life!
Not too long ago, I came across this creator in second life
when they talked about different bodies in their own group chat. This
person proceeded to tell everybody that" I am very, very fat in my real life, so
I enjoy being slim and second life.
First of all, WTF!?
Second, people in second life are so fixated on how a
person should look. The people won't dare to make a version of themselves that
they resemble!
It's not easy being plus size when you come across something
like this
when you're just out shopping for clothing or whatnot. I literally had to ask my real-life husband to come over it makes sure I was not reading the ad wrong (click photo to enlarge)
It says, "Make sure you have a body to match the face with."
To me, it sounds like the creator is saying, "if you are fat,
don't use my skins!"
That is just wrong on so many levels. It's crazy. I literally have no words, and let me clarify this is a huge, massive creator within second life. No, I'm not going to mention the brand name or the creator.
Are you still telling yourself that second life is" just a
game?"
Why am I "so short" in second life?
I am 4.11 inches in real life?
Why am I plus size in second life?
I am 176.4lbs in real life.
I will not make a version of myself in second life that I can't "stand behind."
Of course, people can look the way they want to look, but
I just think it's sad that more people choose to make" a better" version of
themselves when there is no better version than what they are.
Seeing that ad made me realize that people are caving into
pressure because of what other people tell them.
Seeing that ad made me go into "oh I need to fix" mode, so
after spending hours and hours yet again trying to perfect something that doesn't need a perfecting. I just felt like I needed to write this post because
people don't realize how one simple thing can throw another person off-balance, even in second life.
Are you still thinking that's second life is "just a game?"
leave a comment let me know what you think about it.
Personally? I've always loved your Flickr posts. Your avatar is adorable (sexy, plus sized and 4'11" fun sized). I like that you're keeping it real and having fun with it, rather than following the crowd. IMHO the people who obsess over "just a game" and badmouth people's appearance tend to be adolescents who think (of all ages). Block/Mute is SL's greatest feature!
ReplyDeleteI've noticed some positive trends in SL over the years. "thick" mesh bodies are more common these days. We're starting to see some nice "plus sized" skins, like Boataom and Leronso. (In defense of the skin vendor you mentioned, I THINK they were warning the buyer to be sure to buy a body skin tone that matched the head tone. I've made that mistake before; I hope that's what they were saying).
I feel your pain about perfecting avatars. Brenda and my avies are based on our looks while we were in our late 20's (back when dinosaurs walked the earth). She's taller than me in heels, which is fun in RL but doesn't play well with poseball animations! I am compulsive about tweaking and modding rather than getting out there and exploring!
Helloo. Mr Ozymandias♥
DeleteSeeing your comments with make me smile.
yes I do love the fact that more and more creators in second life or making skins that are plus size but so many people still tend to not make a version of themselves that they can “stand behind” just because they are afraid of what people might say, which I think is ridiculous to be honest.
You made me giggle at the fact that you mentioned poseballs That is just so 2012 ish!!!
When it comes to this game creator I understand your point of view but there are just so many other ways to say that sentence. I just don't understand why they would choose to say it that way.
Thank you for “loving” me.
/Tessa