Gopi Passiflora Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I've heard quite a few people call Second Life a "Barbie Doll Game for adults". I was wondering if you think this is an apt description of this virtual world. In a way, I agree at least when it comes to my female human avatars. I like playing dress-up with them - they're the Barbie Dolls I never had as a boy because of cultural gender norms. The male human and non-human avatars are more like "Boy Toys" or "action figures" to me, though, rather than dress-up dolls. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfie Reanimator Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 If you want it to be, why wouldn't it be? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Evanier Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Not for me. Dressing up is secondary. I do so many other things like running a business, djing, wandering, exploring. Dressing up Cindy is nice but not the reason I log in 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowTenage Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 It is apt for some people, I do enjoy finding a nice outfit so in part it is kind of like a barbie game for me.. but I would do the same thing in World of Warcraft and few people would consider WoW a Barbie game. Most of my time spent in SL, is either building something, exploring what others have built, or playing around with vehicles. Accessorizing is fun, but not my main activity, in fact I still use a system avatar rather than a mesh one because for me that is good enough. So, it could be explained as a Barbie game, but it could also be explained as a sandbox like Minecraft, it could be explained as a driving game, a flying simulator, a zombie shooter, an RPG, a virtual classroom, an online business, the list goes on and on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laoise Rumsford Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I've always thought the same, @Gopi Passiflora except there's a heckin' astonishing amount of drama from "adults" (see what I did there?) Then again, I also did not play with Barbie so I'm not sure what kind of drama little girls put their dolls through, besides cutting off all their hair and crying because it didn't grow back. I log in to socialize. I don't have a lot of friends where I live and so all of my pals are online-based. The dress up comes second because it has helped immensely with, well, being a girl when in the past I would have trouble matching colors and putting appropriate shoes with those worn colors. It's basically helped me find myself (style-wise.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliJo Aldrin Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 since so many woman go around with the high foot form even when barefoot I have to agree, for many people they are just playing Barbies, because they sure look like Barbies 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai Lyvingstone Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I don't see why that's a problem, haha, I love the mindset of it. Dressing up avatars can be super fun and relaxing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 13 minutes ago, Laoise Rumsford said: I'm not sure what kind of drama little girls put their dolls through, besides cutting off all their hair and crying because it didn't grow back. I never cut my Barbie's hair. I launched her across the yard with a trebuchet, or hurled her skyward in model rockets (which left her rather sooty and stinky), wrapped in parachutes I sewed myself. Fetching her back often required climbing skills or tremendous patience, with leaves and bodies falling from the trees in autumn. I dropped her from kites, also wrapped in parachutes, accidentally drowning one in Lake Michigan. Although she was wearing a little Mae West (which in Barbie world should be called a "Barbie"), that doesn't help if the winds are carrying you 500 scale miles across a lake full of razor teethed killer whales that look a lot like Pike or Muskie. Recalling this has me thinking that I should dig out an old Barbie, drop her from my drone, and video her potentially fatal plunge from an aerial perspective for all the world, or at least me, to see. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Gregoire Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said: I never cut my Barbie's hair. I launched her across the yard with a trebuchet, or hurled her skyward in model rockets (which left her rather sooty and stinky), wrapped in parachutes I sewed myself. Fetching her back often required climbing skills or tremendous patience, with leaves and bodies falling from the trees in autumn. I dropped her from kites, also wrapped in parachutes, accidentally drowning one in Lake Michigan. Although she was wearing a little Mae West (which in Barbie world should be called a "Barbie"), that doesn't help if the winds are carrying you 500 scale miles across a lake full of razor teethed killer whales that look a lot like Pike or Muskie. Recalling this has me thinking that I should dig out an old Barbie, drop her from my drone, and video her potentially fatal plunge from an aerial perspective for all the world, or at least me, to see. I was the opposite. I didn't play with mine because I didn't want to mess them up. Not after seeing the condition of some of my friends' Barbies. I never wanted mine to look like that so they stayed on the shelf where everyone could see them. Every once in a while I would change their outfits. That's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 3 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said: I was the opposite. I didn't play with mine because I didn't want to mess them up. Not after seeing the condition of some of my friends' Barbies. I never wanted mine to look like that so they stayed on the shelf where everyone could see them. Every once in a while I would change their outfits. That's all. I ended up in the doctor's office several times over my youth, with various bruises and lacerations caused by dumb stuff I did. If I couldn't keep my own body in tip-top shape, it seemed pointless to keep Barbie pristine. It was a hell of a lot of fun to do things as her that were impossible otherwise. She was my first avatar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blush Bravin Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I have always loved dolls, all kinds of dolls, not just Barbies. As a young adult I began collecting and building miniature furniture to put in the dollhouse I would build some day. In my 40's I built that dollhouse and sculpted dolls and dressed them to display in the dollhouse. At the age of 50 I discovered The Sims Online and quickly fell in love with online gaming, which led me to Second Life. I exchanged my RL miniatures for my pixel "miniatures" in SL. I began creating in SL because I wanted either clothing for my pixel doll or furnishings to use in my pixel dollhouse. It eventually grew into a little SL business. So yes, I'm still playing dolls. While I do still have a full trunk of dolls I've collected from childhood and through adulthood, I sold the dollhouse, furnishings, and dolls when I downsized and moved to an apartment last year. So for now, SL is my only dollhouse. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 3 minutes ago, Blush Bravin said: I have always loved dolls, all kinds of dolls, not just Barbies. As a young adult I began collecting and building miniature furniture to put in the dollhouse I would build some day. In my 40's I built that dollhouse and sculpted dolls and dressed them to display in the dollhouse. I should have taken your path. It would be so much easier to work on a 1/6 scale version of my RL home. I'd have superhuman strength and a budget to match. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela Galli Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) 51 minutes ago, Blush Bravin said: I have always loved dolls, all kinds of dolls, not just Barbies. As a young adult I began collecting and building miniature furniture to put in the dollhouse I would build some day. In my 40's I built that dollhouse and sculpted dolls and dressed them to display in the dollhouse. At the age of 50 I discovered The Sims Online and quickly fell in love with online gaming, which led me to Second Life. I exchanged my RL miniatures for my pixel "miniatures" in SL. I began creating in SL because I wanted either clothing for my pixel doll or furnishings to use in my pixel dollhouse. It eventually grew into a little SL business. So yes, I'm still playing dolls. While I do still have a full trunk of dolls I've collected from childhood and through adulthood, I sold the dollhouse, furnishings, and dolls when I downsized and moved to an apartment last year. So for now, SL is my only dollhouse. I mostly used Barbie to sit on the doll furniture I made. Otherwise what would have been the point of making doll furniture? yes, when I started making SL furniture it felt very much like making Barbie furniture. I thought to myself “ I am eight again.” Magic.. Edited January 22, 2019 by Pamela Galli 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Psaltery Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Laoise Rumsford said: I'm not sure what kind of drama little girls put their dolls through, besides cutting off all their hair and crying because it didn't grow back. Barbie's hair was generally very long but you could shorten it by pressing a button that made it vanish into the head. Then you pulled the hair to lengthen it again. So I'm told. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laoise Rumsford Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) ... I am 34 years old and now I realize how much I missed out in playing with Barbies. I blame Second Life. (And Jurassic Park!) Edited January 22, 2019 by Laoise Rumsford lol forgot to add... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aebleskiver Thibedeau Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Madelaine McMasters said: I never cut my Barbie's hair. I launched her across the yard with a trebuchet..... You had a trebuchet? Ooooh, now I am impressed! ☺ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 36 minutes ago, Aebleskiver Thibedeau said: You had a trebuchet? Ooooh, now I am impressed! ☺ We had several. We started with a desktop version that hurled peas at Mom, moved up to a floor model that tossed marshmallows, and finally an outdoor version that hurled over-ripe tomatoes onto the roof of my neighbor's house and Barbies into her vegetable garden (okay, mostly into our trees, as previously mentioned). I've watched large trebuchets hurl pumpkins at the Punkin' Chukin' festival and seen countless videos on YouTube. They are magnificent machines and, unlike me, get more graceful as they get larger. Most of the fun is in sharing the absurdity of such things with others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bree Giffen Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I wouldn't say Gopi's description of SL is a good general description. Like all things in SL it is only one piece in a multitude of play-styles that exist in SL. The whole passion for fashion is something that appeals to many in SL but it's not appealing to everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innula Zenovka Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Or, since it's SL 2 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionalein Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 For some it is, for some it is something else instead. For quite a lot it is a place to feel better because they can mock all the others who do SL "the wrong way",... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlotteStargazer Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I only liked dressing up my Barbies when I was a kid, I don't recall doing anything else with them. When my oldest daughter was small and wanted me to play Barbies with her, we'd dress them up, then follow a storyline where they'd get into a fight. Kid thought it was hilarious. Youngest never liked Barbie, her thing was Polly Pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelindaN Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I had more fun parachuting eggs from an upstairs window. With a home made parachute. It really got the neighbours going........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Gregoire Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 5 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said: I ended up in the doctor's office several times over my youth, with various bruises and lacerations caused by dumb stuff I did. If I couldn't keep my own body in tip-top shape, it seemed pointless to keep Barbie pristine. It was a hell of a lot of fun to do things as her that were impossible otherwise. She was my first avatar. Yeah... I was the same more or less. I still can't decide which was more fun. Falling out of trees or falling off horses. Setting empty cans of model airplane fuel on fire to watch them launch. That sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceka Cianci Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 15 hours ago, Gopi Passiflora said: I've heard quite a few people call Second Life a "Barbie Doll Game for adults". I was wondering if you think this is an apt description of this virtual world. In a way, I agree at least when it comes to my female human avatars. I like playing dress-up with them - they're the Barbie Dolls I never had as a boy because of cultural gender norms. The male human and non-human avatars are more like "Boy Toys" or "action figures" to me, though, rather than dress-up dolls. People will take away from it what they Will.. If that is all they seen it as,then that is what it was to them.. I think with everything in the second life universe being user created,it's much much more than a Barbie game. That's my opinion anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelindaN Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) Oh and I don't think I'll ever be an adult anyway....... I still play with matches........... Edited January 23, 2019 by BelindaN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
Flickr
Recommended Posts
Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now