K: Weird. I don’t think its good for communication skills for people to be changing how they look and to be able to be just super skinny, super big boobs, trendy, whatever. I tried on a bunch of different clothing, but its like you can be whatever you wanted to be without having to actually deal with it in real life. I think that makes people live in a fantasy world, instead of a real world. Like C, she doesn’t look like that in real life. Neither does S. How am I supposed to trust Mina and Xolo in SL if they are constantly changing who they are? It makes me wonder who we aspire to be, though. Like does C aspire to be who Mina is or is she just playing, trying something? Is it weird I am wearing short skirt, it makes me feel powerful and a little slutty in a positive way. Weird too to see S like that, like Xolo because I know he spends so much time composing. So what is it when he is like this? He doesn’t seem Mexican anymore, just seems like some rando without a social life. Like everyone on here.
S: (written in Spanish, translated by Chelsey) I think it is very interesting people are able to look differently, and to change their look so often here. In real life, we can’t change out look like this, and because of that how we think and act has to do with how we look. Here, we sort of live without that. But then again, its like inventing the reality, like trying to be whatever you feel like at the moment- things the rich people can do at a seconds notice because they have money money money- its like in SL you get to be a celebrity with access to body shifting surgery to fullfill your whims. How did we get here, where we have this standard? I think its interesting and can be neat and amazing and make you think about the kinds of different people who live different lives because of their skin color- except the realities are not even real in SL. In RL, perceived difference has real consequences. In SL, perceieved difference is only perceived because you don’t know who it really is…
C: I think its empowering and shifts identity into this more fluid state to be able to change your look so completely you become someone else. In some ways I agree with S that there are less physical consequences to percieved differences on SL, but I still think people treat you in ways related to your look. Perhaps it is in a different modus opperandi… At the same time, gender/sex/size/etc stereotypes are madly reinforced as you see so many avatars that are just compeltely impossible to be real- why do we pursue these Barbie standards? On the other hand, who am I to tell a woman what is beautiful, and who am I to say what she wants to be is or is not valid?
