Comments on: What the hell is “real” in Second Life?

By: Xaxoqual

Xaxoqual — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:49:08 +0000

Exactly, Soph. I the whole point is to be who you are – ironically even if you play someone else you are still you (because you are exercising your property of playing others) – and that trueness will shine through. The great thing about SL, as I said, is that its big enough to hold all these viewpoints – realism, fantasy, futurism, perversion, chastity – sometimes with muckups, but its all there!

As for the pregnancy thing – its all what you make of it. Some of it is adding meaning to a relationship – some of it is reflecting reality (embodiment). sometimes its for roleplay, sometimes its sexual…its enough that the person wants to and enjoys doing it, I think.

By: myg

myg — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:44:32 +0000

Yeah, well sometimes people do get a little confused between role play and what’s real. At least their emotions do.

By: dandellion Kimban

dandellion Kimban — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:46:38 +0000

This one provoked me to give my two cents on virtual pregnancy. And yes Mikalis, drama is kind of second life's essence.

By: Mikalis Karas

Mikalis Karas — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:00:17 +0000

I have never understood the desire to be pregnant in sl or even the desire to marry. I come to sl to experience and to meet people from varying backgrounds and places. Someone I know was pregnant recently because she “loved the father” and after he left had “the baby.” Well the “baby” is in inventory and the father is back after an absence with the person now being with another guy. Well, drama abounds and there is my answer, people love drama, they are drawn to it.

By: Sophrosyne Stenvaag

Sophrosyne Stenvaag — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:04:24 +0000

Myg! Great post and great comments. I love Xax’s, and dande unsurprisingly really hit it, beautifully and concisely.

It’s not *what* you do, but why. If you want a sales counter because “RL stores have them,” that’s stupid and thoughtless. If you want taxation and advertising and corporate push media because that’s how things should be, dammit, that’s stupid and thoughtless. If you want to be pregnant because it’s “real,” that’s stupid and thoughtless.

If you want to be pregnant in SL to get a sense of the experience, or if you want to be a different gender, species, profession, in order to give it a try, or because it represents what you truly are – fantastic!

SL is a world without need, a world with only desire. Desire can be addiction, can be the product of bad memes, can be stupid and petty. Or desire can be true, empowering, creative.

It’s all here somewhere…

By: dandellion Kimban

dandellion Kimban — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:13:07 +0000

The only way to look real and be honest in SL is to live your god damned dream. Anyting else, including recreating the meatspace is fake.

By: myg

myg — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:46:15 +0000

good points. I don’t know that we have to base our ideal on whatever cultural ideal is out there though. I wasn’t assuming that, though my main av is tall and thin and that’s arguably pretty standard female cultural idealism. I meant you should take advantage of the medium SL is, and have your av reflect whatever you need or want, and not be constricted by being true to your RL self – unless you’ve got a specific purpose for doing so.

By: Xaxoqual

Xaxoqual — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:14:46 +0000

Its an interesting discussion, this one.

There is an irony with the whole realistic/idealistic thing in sl, really, because well..a lot of times the ‘idealistic’ body is as unimaginative as the realistic one – mostly because its a shared idealism without individuality.

Mabye just looking like your meatself is bland, but..whatever helps embodiment I think. To each their own. I mean, there are multidimensions to everything – since a lot of it is also what you do. And..if you allow yourself to be changed (for example, the idea of one’s body ‘downloaded’ into SL and then venturing, changing, kind of like that series of vids.

For me anyways, I just think that the plus size look is nice, realism or no – and that an ideal self need not be perfect – especially when the ‘perfect’ thin body is the assumed norm. And I also think that given people’s responses to some of my friends who have larger avas – its often more based on a fear of the negative stigmas of being obese than an aspiraton to be something greater.

By: Kitty Lalonde

Kitty Lalonde — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:57:35 +0000

I totally agree, I pretty much hate the way I look in RL on a daily basis, why the hell do I want to reduce myself to the same level of low self esteem in a virtual world?

Great post and nice to see you back Myg!