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As a Person-of-Size, I am wondering if others choose to trim down their avatars?


ClarkStudy
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I am new, and hope not to offend.  I just wonder about these things.  What does an avatar say about you?  Do you choose someone who is an optimal version of yourself?  Do you choose someone you think others would be attracted to?  To whom you would be attracted?  There are just so many choices, I wonder what folks base their decisions on.  I fear I am a bit overwhelmed by the available options.  What descriptors are best to describe me?  Or, what do I want others to think of me?  Ah, decisions, decisions.

 

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Doctoral Dissertation in Progress:  Developing a Survey to Measure Diet Sabotage by Romantic Partners

http://surveys.clarku.edu/Survey.aspx?s=eb8b5da9cb6940d88f2cfd4d48207f56

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You might want to point out that this is a study that you're conducting, rather than just another Forum thread started by just another resident of SL, if indeed it is part of your research.

Yes, there's your signature, which might tip some people off... and your name... but...

To not do so wouldn't be very ethical, would it?

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Welcome to Second Life and the forum, Clark.

Yes, the choices can be a bit overwhelming.  The beauty of SL is that you have the freedom to make yourself into anything you want, but that also means you have to figure out what that is.  I suggest trying different things until it just feels "right" to you, you'll know when that happens.  And even then, you can always change again, every few minutes if you want to, so deciding on something isn't permanent at all... that should take some of the pressure off.

As for me, well, my avatar is the epitome of what I'm most attracted to... I figure I'll be looking at myself more than anyone else so why not enjoy it (being gay does come in handy in this instance).  I never set out to make my avatar look like myself, but strangely enough, it ended up that he's got the same coloring as me in RL, dark hair and blue eyes.  It kind of just evolved that way.... sometimes your avatar can seem to have a mind of it's own... lol.

...Dres

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Griffin Ceawlin wrote:

You might want to point out that this is a study that you're conducting, rather than just another Forum thread started by just another resident of SL, if indeed it is part of your research.

Yes, there's your signature, which might tip some people off... and your name... but...

To not do so wouldn't be very ethical, would it?

Lol... that's rich.

...Dres

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Hi, Griffin,

My question about avatars is not related to my research.  I was just posing a question to others about choices in avatar descriptors.  I thought it might lead to interesting discussion about the importance of body size consistency between first and second life.

My signature points to my research which is about the experiences of individuals who feel that their weight loss attemtps are somehow undermined/sabotaged by their romantic partners.  I'm collecting data for my doctoral dissertation, so I've included it in my signature as it's definitely the most important thing going on in my life right now.

 

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      Help me get my PhD:  Take My Survey on Diet Sabotage by Romantic Partners
     http://surveys.clarku.edu/Survey.aspx?s=eb8b5da9cb6940d88f2cfd4d48207f56


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ClarkStudy wrote:

I am new, and hope not to offend.  I just wonder about these things.  What does an avatar say about you?  Do you choose someone who is an optimal version of yourself?  Do you choose someone you think others would be attracted to?  To whom you would be attracted?  There are just so many choices, I wonder what folks base their decisions on.  I fear I am a bit overwhelmed by the available options.  What descriptors are best to describe me?  Or, what do I want others to think of me?  Ah, decisions, decisions.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doctoral Dissertation in Progress:  Developing a Survey to Measure Diet Sabotage by Romantic Partners



Well, I'm not attracted to avatars, so I don't much care what other people's avatars are like, though I do appreciate a beautifully detailed or unique one, but as a minor "art" form, and not as something which reveals anything more than creative talent in the person who operates it.

My main avatar is elderly, over-weight and is no beauty. She is, however, a figure which, on the streets of real-life, would pass utterly unobserved, because she is one of many possible forms of "normal". She would pass unobserved, unless wearing her slave silks, obviously.

I liked the idea of something so normal, so realistic that, in SL, where hyper-beautification is the norm, she would stand out. The initial idea was that she'd attract people with a sense of humour and those more interested in the people behind avatars, rather than those who believed (or wanted to believe) that the avatar was somehow indicative of the real person's physical looks. I am happy to report that the idea wasn't wrong and have met some splendid people thanks to her looks.

She does not resemble me in real-life, however, but then, neither do my other accounts, where I take refuge in "hawt" avies when being the sore thumb gets tiresome.

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Welcome to SL Clark.  Given the number of absolute knockouts who spend 6+ hours a day in SL, which of course means that they are obviously not getting a whole lot of exercise in their real lives, I'd venture to say that most people accentuate the positive. Not me of course, except for my white hair I haven't changed a bit since I was 17.:smileywink:

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i made mine look similar to my RL, how well i did can be seen in my 1st life pick. i am not one of these...sl is sl and rl is rl i keep them separate type people, as i have nothing to hide, nothing to fear from being found out about. although i dont give personal information out such as my address or name, and of course any information that may get me tracked down by a weirdo...suburb i live in and street blah blah.......but i will tell the city i live in and what i do for a liviung as this would make it impossible for someone to trakc me on that info. when i joined sl, i believed the avatart was a representation of me, so that is why i attempted to make it look like me, although my skin isnt as detailed as i would like it to be ( when i imported the skin to sl, it looked differant ti what it did in photoshop) and got sick of mucking with it and left it as it finally turned out.........

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after experimenting for a while on looks i choose an image that was pleasant to look at, non threatening, not ugly, and my first try was fairly good. i evolved my avatar with time, adjusting here and there, right now im comfortable with how my avatar looks.

you may be that way, you may start with a project to make you how you want to look, and that project may evolve with time to whatever your desire goes.

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"As for me, well, my avatar is the epitome of what I'm most attracted to... I figure I'll be looking at myself more than anyone else so why not enjoy it (being gay does come in handy in this instance).  I never set out to make my avatar look like myself, but strangely enough, it ended up that he's got the same coloring as me in RL, dark hair and blue eyes.  It kind of just evolved that way.... sometimes your avatar can seem to have a mind of it's own... lol."

 

I couldn't help but laugh along with you here...and applaud your confidence and love of self :smileyvery-happy:

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UncommonTruth wrote:


"As for me, well, my avatar is the epitome of what I'm most attracted to... I figure I'll be looking at myself more than anyone else so why not enjoy it (being gay does come in handy in this instance).  I never set out to make my avatar look like myself, but strangely enough, it ended up that he's got the same coloring as me in RL, dark hair and blue eyes.  It kind of just evolved that way.... sometimes your avatar can seem to have a mind of it's own... lol."

I couldn't help but laugh along with you here...and applaud your confidence and love of self :smileyvery-happy:

Thanks, but, I think you're confusing love of self with love of avatar... lol.  And believe me, Dresden's the one with the confidence.  Though I might be a little more confident in RL if I had his looks... alas, I shall never know. sorry-053.gif

...Dres

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Choice of avatar is as varied as the ways in which people use SL. Not everyone that chooses a furry does so for the same reason or everyone that chooses to have a human avatar of the opposite gender to RL.

For some SL is a fantasy, for others its a reflection of themselves, others like to experience life & people`s reactions to them from the opposite side of the fence to RL...Thin/fat, male/female, disabled/ablebodied, gay/straight, human/nonhuman, even rich/poor.

The theory that no two people are the same is as true in SL as it is in RL, even if they "appear" to be more the same in SL.

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Peewee Musytari wrote:

The theory that no two people are the same is as true in SL as it is in RL, even if they "appear" to be more the same in SL.

You ain't kiddin'.  Though it hasn't happen to me all that often, every now and then someone will say to me, you look just like so-and-so.  My first thought is, "Damn them," cool-unhappy-071.gif; my second is, "Are they single?" whistle.jpeg... lol.

...Dres

 

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I am attracted to avatars, but not in an, "OMG, I wanna smexx yer pixels", way. People who have clearly put some thought and creativity into their look draw my attention. People who have clearly only put money into theirs, who look like they checked the marketplace, searched 'bestselling' sorted by 'price high to low' and threw some cash at it, just don't.

Best not to rush your look either, just let it evolve and change as often as the mood strikes you. Some people eventually find a look they like and stick with it, others change shapes, eras, species, etc. by the minute. Enjoy getting your look together :). Oh, & don't forget your profile! Something about your self,  as much or little as you like, but something;  a song lyric you love, or a favorite quote helps break the ice and makes it easier for people to start talking to you. Profile info is at least as important as avatar look to me.

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As for me, well, my avatar is the epitome of what I'm most attracted to... I figure I'll be looking at myself more than anyone else so why not enjoy it 


both of my brothers play second life as women avatars, and one of them made an almost exact duplicate of his RL girlfriend (even giving her the same first name) and the second one made his 'dream girl' so he could look at her and enjoy it... he'd always be like "omg she's so gorgeous!"

 

my avi looks like me but a more perfect version, as if i'd had lip augumentation, a nose job and a bit of lipsuction.   i've played men avis, really large women avis too.  i'm boring though i'm most comfortable being 'me'.  i can't even get past the blonde hair, i can't wear brown or red hair cuz i'm a blonde irl.  i have no friends in SL, i must have a crappy write up in my about me section.  no one approaches me.  oh well.  i guess i like to play dolls on SL buying clothes and shoes and hair.  by myself.  i think i'm not playing SL right or something.

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  • 3 years later...

The real issue for me is physics. Body mass obeys fundamental laws of physics:  energy in/energy out = net gain/loss of mass.

Physical attractiveness is hard wired.  Unless one has a wiring problem, BMI is negatively associated with attractiveness, to a point.

SL may allow residents to pretend to be something they aren't, to what end positive or negative is not clear cuz their is no empirical evidence.

What is clear is that time in front of a computer 

screen tends to be a hi energy in low energy out situation

I wonder whether this can be mediated if one attends an SL weight loss program, should there be any generalization.

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It near got me too.

Wrote a good response an hour or two ago, then noticed the dates of what I was responding to...

 

Note to necro-posters: I know there are two battling memes on the internet between 'don't necro post seriously old stuff' versus 'stop making all these new threads and learn to search for the already existing topic'...

But keep in mind that, over time, opinions on things change.

This is why you have to suss out that point when something moves from an 'already existing topic' over to 'seriously old stuff'.

- Its not good form to dig up old points the people who made them might not even agree with anymore... And so you kind of need to learn to let the 'old ghosts lingering around the dark corners of the internet' stay buried.

 

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Griffin Ceawlin wrote:

You might want to point out that this is a study that you're conducting, rather than just another Forum thread started by just another resident of SL, if indeed it is part of your research.

Yes, there's your signature, which might tip some people off... and your name... but...

To not do so wouldn't be very ethical, would it?

Oh..I missed that. Thanks Griffin.  I skip past the signatures and didnt read anything into the name! 

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Cheers, Drake. I wrote and posted a reply to a post on the first page, but it wasn't until I went to the second page and saw a reply from Void that I realised it's an old thread. I deleted my post, of course.

And it looks like the post above this one got caught out on the first page too lol.

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