Race Play

[BilliJo Aldrin]

A new friend I hadn't even met face to face offlined me the other day and asked if i was into race play. She said she had been going through my profile and doesn't take such activity lightly.

Looking at my profile picks  i have to wonder, Is it because I'm white and I have a black boyfriend?

I imed back asking her definition of Race play.

I asked my partner if she thought I engaged in "race play" and despite her knowing me very well, and being on the left side of every issue, couldn't answer either.

She couldn't even understand exactly what the term meant.

So I'm asking here, what is race play and is it "evil".

And if it is evil is it any more evil than any other "play" in here that depends on and perpetuates stereotypes?

[cykarushb]

I've got absolutely no idea and I've never even heard someone talk about "race play".

You sure that isn't a typo for p instead of c?

Otherwise I'd imagine race play would just be some kind of RP where they're a different race. On secondlife I would see playing as a different race as a normal experience like anything else. I see no harm in it unless it were to get really racist. And honestly even if it does, as long as its private who cares.

[ChinRey]

2 hours ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

So I'm asking here, what is race play and is it "evil".

I don't know and it's something that has always worried me too since I use avatars representing a wide variety of ethnicities. So far I have only had one response that even as much as hinted at something negative and that was easily sorted out. You never know what people think but don't say though.

Edited November 12, 2017 by ChinRey

[Phil Deakins]

I found this:-

An avant-garde, but increasingly accepted form of sexual role play in which people of different races consensually reject all political correctness (especially verbal) and propriety in favor of sexual pleasure and fulfillment.

Don't ask me what rejecting all political correctness means in this scenario because I've no idea, unless it means using words to describe the other person that are no longer acceptable to use; e.g. the 'n' word.

[Nyx Karas]

It's usually a fetish thing, not just regular interracial relationships. From what I've seen it tends to be stuff like slavery roleplay, with a white owner and black slave in like a plantation setting or something. Or like black men as 'breeding bulls' where they are played as being sexually aggressive towards white, innocent women. It seems to be using a lot of racial stereotypes as fetish fuel, which I could see being a bit uncomfortable and problematic.

I don't know if it's 'evil' or not. I find it kinda distasteful myself, but I'm not really in any position to judge... But it's not race play just because you date someone of a different race.

[Chic Aeon]

It sounds like Nyx might be correct (and disturbingly so). 

But that being said there have been lots of posts over at [a popular metaverse blog]  about having a black avatar when you were white etc with some folks being very against it.  I guess the folks against it might not get that some people actually ADMIRE the look of other races?   I personally don't see anything overtly derogatory about "changing your race" unless of course you use that in some sort of hurtful way.  Personally I am not sure why it comes up so often on that blog -- pointing to "evidence" from the dark ages of SL which doesn't seem to have much credibility these days. 

 

So it could just simply be that. 

[Bree Giffen]

What a thing to ask! Your new friend needs to mind her own beeswax. Unless you are doing things in public or directly in front of your friend, what a couple does in privacy is their own, and not the subject of conversation. Good, evil, weird, boring, doesn't matter. People can do whatever they want. 

[Solar Legion]

Race Play is a 'friendlier' term for the use of often negative stereotypes in normal or erotic role play as well as the use of racist/charged/controversial scenes ... You get the idea I am sure.

While not inherently 'evil' per se it is still viewed as rather distasteful to say the least.

That someone would associate that with something as innocent as a simple profile image and actually ask if that is something one is into because of such an association ... I'd have to say that it speaks volumes about your friend.

[Madelaine McMasters]

Is it possible your new acquaintance doesn't approve of interracial relationships and thinks that's "race play"?

[MoiraKathleen]

I think she's re-interpreting what she sees in your profile.  It would make me wonder about her, about why is she reading more into your profile that what is actually there.  

I'm not familiar with the term race-play, however, I wouldn't think that it would apply to an interracial relationship (at least without concrete evidence that the relationship is fully centered on some of the types of fetished Nyx mentioned).  I haven't checked your profile, but from you asking this question here, I would hazard a guess that you don't have anything in your profile alluding to any of those types of fetishes.   

[LittleMe Jewell]

Based on what Nyx said, I'd guess it has to do with the 'Bull and Bunny' Pick in your profile.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it - I don't see anything "evil" about anything being done in any of your picks

[Tari Landar]

People have weird definitions for things.

I got called evil for using a rl pic, sadly, that's happened more a few times lmao. So..that should give you a idea of how twisted the word "evil" can be in the right(wrong?) mind, much like countless other words get discombobulated every which way. 

Just bless their wee lil hearts, no one ever offered them a proper education...or just throw a dictionary at their face..either works  

[Ceka Cianci]

NASCAR driver dating a gymnast track star maybe?

Edited November 13, 2017 by Ceka Cianci

[Amanda Crisp]

I once encountered someone who was trying to shame people whose avatars did not match their RL racial demographic; they called it Racial Play-Acting and cultural appropriation and were quite indignant about it.

I tried to politely educate them that they were shaming people who were filling Non-Player-Character roles in our RP sim, because we had no one PLAYING a Chinese scientist or a Colombian Politician.....but they were pretty invested in the notion that SL should always match RL.

People like that confuse me....

[Anna Nova]

If we going to get up-tight about people playing an avi with a skin-color more or less melanin-challenged than their RL corpse, we are in big trouble with old men playing pretty young ladies.

[Tari Landar]

2 minutes ago, anna2358 said:

If we going to get up-tight about people playing an avi with a skin-color more or less melanin-challenged than their RL corpse, we are in big trouble with old men playing pretty young ladies.

Oh goodness, could you imagine? Or av's perceived age not matching the rl age...hell most of sl would be in trouble. 

Then again, this is people we're talking about, one of the...imo THE..most finicky species on the planet. People get all butthurt and uptight about the strangest of things. We have a rl neighbor that likes to vacuum her yard. I used to think perhaps she was just getting super old and, well, the mind's not such a nice fella after a certain age for some folks. But, nope, she's just SUPER ***** retentive about her grass(it's not even the good kind, bleh). She will literally vacuum it if anything touches it, and don't you dare let her see you even LOOKING like you're going to touch a blade of grass, the look she gives...shudders..

Sweet old lady otherwise though, just....peculiar.  My kids bake her stuff all the time, shovel her drive, rake leaves(only in the driveway, can't touch the grass, lol) and walk her dogs  

 

[Amanda Crisp]

8 minutes ago, anna2358 said:

If we going to get up-tight about people playing an avi with a skin-color more or less melanin-challenged than their RL corpse, we are in big trouble with old men playing pretty young ladies.

Oh, there is plenty of up-tightness about THAT too :-) Just look at all the “voice verified” blurbs in people’s profile info.....

You’d think this was Second FaceBook or something....

 

[Jerilynn Lemon]

1 hour ago, Tari Landar said:

We have a rl neighbor that likes to vacuum her yard.

Is she using a special vacuum made for such use (something from Home Depot) or is she breaking out the Dyson or Bissell? I have a $400 Bissell that does a wonderful job at vacuuming carpets, but in no way would I use it for garden/yard work.

And it would just plain odd to see.

[JackSinned]

I used to have an awesome sports car in SL and play race a lot. Did not know it was evil.

[Aislin Ceawlin]

2 hours ago, Tari Landar said:

If we going to get up-tight about people playing an avi with a skin-color more or less melanin-challenged than their RL corpse, we are in big trouble with old men playing pretty young ladies.

 

2 hours ago, Tari Landar said:

Oh goodness, could you imagine? Or av's perceived age not matching the rl age...hell most of sl would be in trouble. 

Is it wrong that my avie has beautiful, tanned skin, and I am pretty much incapable of tanning in RL? 

[Cindy Evanier]

2 hours ago, Aislin Ceawlin said:

s it wrong that my avie has beautiful, tanned skin, and I am pretty much incapable of tanning in RL? 

Only as wrong as my hair not being this blonde in rl and as for the position of my boobs when i lie down in rl  *sighs*

[Nyx Karas]

Yeah... people can be weird. I don't think just playing as a different race falls under race play even, it's more "race bending". And I can't see why that would be wrong unless you're like, specifically acting out racial stereotypes or something. I'm mostly in SL for the roleplaying and I feel it would be weird if all my characters were always white.

[Ceka Cianci]

Some people point to somewhere else just to keep the attention off themselves..

Wonder what this ones trying to distract ya from..

[Zeta Vandyke]

Second Life, were we have people walking around as elves, furries, animals, werewolves, mermaids (well, swimming around..) and I don't know what not, and people complain about race play???

If someone is misbehaving, insulting or whatever, address that, but please keep the race argument far away from Second Life.

[Tari Landar]

6 hours ago, Jerilynn Lemon said:

Is she using a special vacuum made for such use (something from Home Depot) or is she breaking out the Dyson or Bissell? I have a $400 Bissell that does a wonderful job at vacuuming carpets, but in no way would I use it for garden/yard work.

And it would just plain odd to see.

Oh it's not an outdoor vacuum, lol, not even a wet/dry vac, it's a plain old vacuum one would use inside. not sure the brand. She used to have a bagged one, but switched out to a bagless one about a year ago. 

It is odd, and quite funny at the same time.