N1kk1 Camino

Yes, race matters and on some many different levels beyond just skins in second life. When I first joined second life a year or so ago I was totally optimistic as to what this "new world" would be like. I was open to the experience of knowing it and embracing others who already exist in this ...bubble. Well, long behold the big R word came into play very shortly after joining (days after). Racism is one of the few things that I find odd about secondlife but I do understand it's presence in virtual reality. If someone is a racist in rl then why wouldn't they be in sl ? That's a retorical question I had to ask myself in order to not be bothered by the closed mindedness of people. I have nothing against anyone who is racist, afterall it is your life be it rl or sl so you can do whatever you please. I do have something against those who are only a certain way online in general. You know the closet cases...those who only behave a certain way behind a computer screen. Sure we secondlifers can all fit that profile because it is virtual reality but when a person is an extreme in their characteristics (not so much their character/avatar looks) then that to me becomes an issue. For example ... don't get on me for being a person of color or how my avatar is shaped based on the physical attributes that are GENETICALLY INCLINED to people of color (afro etc.) all while calling me a "**bleep**" yet your avatar is shaped just like mine and you're european/caucasian! I was asked on several occasions to change my shape and even the complexion of my skin to fit a mold. It was nicely put to me that in sl especially if I wanted to be a dancer that my look wasn't appealing because it wasn't thin with long legs etc. Which kind of boggled my mine. Like i was being rediculed for my avatar on one hand and on the other hand my avatar was being imitated by those who made such a fuss about it. I was briefly dancing at a club (no name) and the size of my ass and my shape was a big issue among mostly the "female" dancers there but as I would get attention and tips from the male customers. Then I start to notice that those same "female" dancers were changing their shapes and making their booties bigger and going for a more curvaceous voluptuous look as mine all while still trying to degrade me for being the "black" woman. So many times I see people who are european/caucasian with dark tanned and oiled up avatars being complete assholes about RACE towards people of color when they are literally a few RGBs away from that person's skin (avatar). I even went through a phase where I would constantly have my facelights and body lights whatever they're called attached to my avatar nonstop...why? Because it gave it a certain glow, a brightness to a skin of color like mine. I now only wear them to highlight certain outfits. I say all of this only to point out that there are issues of race in second life. I'm sure there are lots of people of color posing as other races in sl only to fit into a mold that really shouldn't exist because it's virtual reality. It's SECOND life and that to me means that the things such as ignorance, shyness , racism or anything that may be stopping you from being yourself in real life should be left at the "login" button before entering. The real question shouldn't be does it matter because that's an easy yes....the real question for me would be WHY DOES RACE MATTER IN SECOND LIFE?